The study utilises artificial intelligence to improve buffalo recognition in livestock management. It employs facial images of 11 buffaloes to develop a dataset and utilises four CNN (convolutional neural network) algorithms to identify buffaloes based on muzzle patterns. Results indicate successful performance, with SqueezeNet achieving the highest accuracy of 99.88 %, along with high precision, recall, and F1 score.

This study was conducted to identify key welfare risks using the AWIN (Animal Welfare Indicators) protocol for extensively managed sheep farms. Each farm was visited once. A total of 702 sheep were individually assessed on the farms as part of the second-level welfare criteria. The main animal welfare risks identified were housing facilities, the provision of adequate and balanced diets to the animals, and the implementation of appropriate animal health plans in accordance with the breed requirements.

Replacing soybean meal with fermented feed led to a decrease in the abnormal egg rate during the late laying period of Hy-Line Gray laying hens as well as enhancing eggshell strength and thickness. Moreover, this replacement strategy reduced breast muscle drip loss, increased pH levels, and improved meat color. Moreover, it lowered fat and cholesterol content in muscle and facilitated amino acid deposition. Notably, replacing 10 % of soybean meal with fermented feed for 8 weeks demonstrated promising outcomes.

In this study, we found that Lin28a protein is expressed in the oocytes and granulosa cells of follicles at different development stages and is also expressed in the corpus luteum and corpus albicans. A mutation in intron 2 of Lin28a was found but without significant difference in terms of kidding number among the three genotypes of Jining Grey goats, an unique local breed with high prolificacy in China. A mutation in exon 4 of the Lin28b gene had an association with the litter size of Jining Grey goats.

We examine the effects of Booroola fecundity (FecB) gene introgression into the genome of a less prolific breed on the timing and distribution of ovulations after estrus synchronization with progestogen devices (controlled internal drug release, CIDR, vs. vaginal sponge) and reproductive indices after insemination. CIDR-treated ewes ovulated earlier than sponge-receiving ewes. FecB carriers ovulated smaller follicles than non-carriers. Reproductive indices were improved by the introgression of FecB in ewes.

In response to the urgent need for enhancing food security amidst a rapidly growing global population, our study develops new models to improve breeding programs for plants and animals. Traditional models often fall short in capturing the full genetic complexity. However, our three new models demonstrate improved performance by better predicting breeding values, thus supporting more effective breeding strategies and contributing to global food security.

The classification and regression tree (CART) method produced good models for predicting albumen weight, with R² values of 0.94 and 0.96, and yolk weight, with R² values of 0.93 and 0.92, in Potchefstroom Koekoek and Lohmann Brown layers, respectively. This study suggests that a CART data mining algorithm might assist in determining the breed standards of Lohmann Brown and Potchefstroom Koekoek chicken breeds.

The pre-weaning and weaning traits of sheep breeds native to Türkiye were studied. The rs427117280 intronic mutation in ENSOARG00020011332 was associated with the weaning weight and average daily gain until weaning in lambs. The weaning weight and average daily gain were higher for the GG genotype than for the TG and TT genotypes.

In some areas, the health and growth of sheep are impacted by severe winter weather. To cope with this problem, we explored the effects of dietary additions of different concentrations Caragana korshinskii (CK) aqueous extract on the antioxidant properties and immune performance of sheep under cold-stimulation conditions. The results showed that the sheep with diets supplemented with aqueous extracts of CK exhibited higher antioxidant and immune performance.

For the purposes of this study, height at withers (HW), back height (BH), croup height (CH), chest depth (CD), body length (BL), chest width (CW), and chest circumference (CC) were measured in lambs. It was shown that it is possible to make a successful estimation of the live weights of lambs by using measurements of the morphological features listed.  

We studied whether thyme, a common herb, can improve the growth and health of chickens raised for meat. By adding different amounts of thyme powder to their feed, we found that chickens grew better and had stronger immunity, healthier guts, and an improved blood profile, especially at the 2 % level in the diet. This suggests that thyme could be a natural alternative to antibiotic additives in poultry farming.

We investigate the association between single-nucleotide polymorphisms of RING finger protein 34 (RNF34) and RING finger protein 128 (RNF128) with carcass and meat quality traits. Statistical analysis showed that RNF34 (3′ UTR-588 G>A) and RNF128 (I1-2380C>T) are significantly associated with testis weight, kidney weight, tare weight, dressed weight, forepaw weight, carcass depth, carcass brisket depth, and hind leg length (P<0.05), influencing meat yield and quality.

Follicular atresia is a process that eliminates follicles and oocytes. MicroRNAs, including miR-383, play a vital role in regulating follicular atresia by affecting granular cell (GC) apoptosis and proliferation. In this study, RT-qPCR, western blot, luciferase reporter assay, and flow cytometry are used to detect the regulation of miR-383 in sheep GCs. The results show that miR-383 inhibits the proliferation and promotes GC apoptosis, and the mechanism of miR-383 affecting apoptosis is to target Bcl-2.