2006 Abstracts - American Society of Animal Science

Physiology76 Using ultrasound as a quantitative tool to assess body conditionscore in Quarter and Thouroughbred horses. B. McCoy 1 ,N. Wheeler* 1 , J. Willard 1 , T. Wistuba 1 , P. Prater 1 , and B. Sandelin 2 ,1 Morehead State University, Morehead, KY, 2 California State PolytechnicUniversity, Pamona.Horse production in Kentucky is the largest agricultural system in thestate based on income from farm products. Horse operations are currentlythe most important source of agricultural income for producers,due to the continued decline in tobacco production. Twenty maturehorses (11 Quarter horses (QH) and 9 Thouroughbreds (TB)) weresimultaneously subjected to objective body condition scoring and realtimeultrasound. Overly conditioned horses can result in reproductiveproblems, increased maintenance costs, as well as, generalized healthand management issues. Measures of subcutaneous fat deposition weretaken at the center of the crest of the neck, the center of the neck, centerof 10th rib, center of rump between the point of the hip and point of thebuttocks, and over the tail head in accordance with evaluating BCS inhorses as reported by Henneke et al. (1983). Subcutaneous fat measurementswere taken by a CUP certified ultrasound technician with anALOKA 500V ultrasound unit equipped with a 5.0 MHz linear transducer.Ultrasound images were immediately interpreted by the technicianfor the determination of subcutaneous fat. Data were analyzed withmethod of least squares analysis of variance and correlation coefficientswere calculated using PROC CORR procedure of SAS When both breedswere included in the model, all subcutaneous fat measurements werecorrelated to BCS. The center of the rump measurement and the centerof the neck regions were the most highly correlated at 0.58 and 0.54respectively. When breeds were compared QH tended (P < 0.17) tohave higher levels of subcutaneous fat in the regions of the center of theneck, the center of the rump, and the crest. Furthermore, this resulted inQH having a greater BCS when compared to TB (P < 0.01). There wereno differences in subcutaneous fat levels detected between QH and TBat the center of 10th rib or over the tail head. This data suggests thatultrasound measurement may be a means of quantitatively analyzingbody condition score in horses.Key Words: Ultrasound, Horse, Body condition score77 Fatty acid composition of the pig conceptus and endometriumin response to maternal omega-3 fatty acid supplementation.A. E. Brazle* 1 , B. J. Johnson 1 , E. C. Titgemeyer 1 , S. K.Webel 2 , and D. L. Davis 1 , 1 Kansas State University, Manhattan, 2 JBSUnited, Inc., Sheridan, IN.Fatty acid composition of pig fetuses is affected by maternal diet,however effects on the composition of the gravid uterus in early pregnancyhave not been evaluated. Here we report effects of supplementinga corn-soybean meal diet (Control) with a marine source of protectedomega-3 fatty acids (PFA, 1.5% of diet). The PFA (Fertilium ® )contained equal amounts of eicosapentanoic (EPA), and docosahexanoic(DHA) acids and replaced corn in the diet. When gilts were approximately170 d old, a blood sample was collected and dietary treatmentsinitiated. A second blood sample was collected after 30 d of treatmentand gilts (n=13/treatment) were artificially inseminated at approximately205 d of age. At d 11, 15, or 19 of gestation, conceptus and endometrial26samples were collected. All gilts were pregnant. Plasma samples revealedthat PFA increased (P < 0.005) circulating EPA and DHA. In theendometrium, PFA increased (P < 0.05) concentrations of linoleic (13%)and linolenic acid (21%). Docosapentaenoic (DPA), DHA, and EPAwere greater (P < 0.05) for PFA than controls on all days and wereaffected by d x treatment interactions (P < 0.05). Both DPA and DHAdecreased (P < 0.0005) from d 11 to 19 but the percentage decrease wasgreater for PFA gilts. Endometrial EPA increased (P < 0.0001) from d 11to 19 and the increase was greater for PFA gilts. In extraembryonictissues (d 15 and 19) PFA more than doubled (P < 0.0001) EPA andDHA concentrations. Extraembryonic content of these fatty acids decreased(P < 0.0001) during this interval and the decline was greater (P< 0.002) in PFA gilts. In embryonic tissue on d 19, DHA was increased(P < 0.05) 47% by PFA. Therefore supplementing PFA from 30 dbefore breeding, affected conceptus and endometrial composition on d11 to 19 of pregnancy. Because dynamic day effects in fatty acid compositionwere also observed, this may be a critical period for maternalfatty acid resources to affect conceptus development and survival.Key Words: Pig, Conceptus, Omega-3 fatty acids78 Effect of feed restriction and hypothermia on fetal developmentof mice. E. Maricle* and W. Lamberson, University of Missouri,Columbia.Low birth weights in highly prolific pigs can result in increased preweaningmortality. Anecdotal evidence in sheep and cattle suggests restrictingfeed early in gestation and/or cooling late in gestation increase birthweights. Therefore, the objective of this study was to determine theeffect of early gestational feed restriction in combination with late gestationalchilling on term decidual and fetal weights, and prenatal survivalin mice. The study used 37 ICR male mice, each mated 8 d with 4females except for one male with 5 females. Once a female had a vaginalplug, she was individually caged. Pregnant females were allocated to oneof four groups: full feed-normal temperature (22° C), full feed-chilledtemperature (18° C), restricted feed-normal temperature, and restrictedfeed-chilled temperature (n = 18, 19, 23 and 16, respectively). Therestricted feed females were fed 80% of their previous five day′s intakefrom d 5 to 10 of gestation while full feed females were fed ad libitum(Labdiet 5001, PMI International, Brentwood, MO). All females werefed ad libitum from day 10 to 18. On d 14 the chilled temperaturefemales were moved to an 18°C environmental chamber while the normaltemperature females were moved to an environmental chamber at22°C. On d 18 the females were sacrificed and fetal weight, respectivefetus′s decidual weight, and number of corpora lutea and implantationswere recorded. During restriction, intake of restricted mice was 68% offull feed mice. Immediately after restriction, there was a compensatoryincrease in intake by restricted mice. During the full length of gestation,restricted mice consumed 93.8% that of full feed mice. There were nosignificant differences in pre- or postimplantation survival rates amongthe four groups. There was also no significant difference between chilledtemperature and normal temperature for decidual or fetal weights. However,full feed mice had greater (P