Past Events

Feed efficiency has been a major topic of interest in the dairy industry over the past decade. In recent years, feed efficiency in lactating animals has been incorporated into selection indices, but little is known about feed efficiency in calves. The objective of this thesis was to investigate feed efficiency in preweaning Canadian Holstein calves and estimate its genetic parameters. Preweaning is a significant period in a calf’s life, as man-agement can impact lifetime productivity, and rearing costs are a major expense for producers.

Genetic selection of dairy cattle for improved stressed resiliency is one strategy for mitigating the harmful effects of stressors that are expected to intensify as a result of climate change. With global temperatures increasing 0.15-0.20 °C since 1975, there has been a reduction in the quantity and quality of feedstuffs and drinking water, promoting the survival and distribution of pathogens and their vectors.

Ovarian follicular development is an important process that ensures female reproductive health and ovarian function. Many nutrients and microRNAs are known to play a role in regulating follicular cell proliferation, differentiation, extracellular ma-trix formation and ovulation during follicular development. Choline is an essential nutrient that has been shown to play criti-cal roles in the development and function of organs such as the brain and liver. It is reported that aberrant choline metabolism occurs in many ovarian-related diseases.

Good afternoon CGIL, This week we are happy to have Dr. Sarah Miller, Senior Genomics Research Scientist at Semex, presenting for us on Friday, April 28th, 2023. The seminar will begin at 1:30 PM EDT/EST on the virtual platform Microsoft Teams. The title of the presentation is: "Scrotal Circumference Genomic Evaluation and its Association with Semen Production in Semex’s Dairy Bull Population".

Probiotics influence mood and social behaviour, and could help manage gentle and severe feather pecking (GFP and SFP) in hens. While GFP is considered beneficial, SFP damages feather cover over time. In previous research, single-strain Lactobacillus rhamnosus reduced SFP under stressed conditions, and increased GFP overall, and multi-strain synbiotics could reduce SFP while providing other benefits. This thesis aims to as-sess the effect of a synbiotic containing Lactobacillus and Bifidobacterium on GFP, SFP, productivity, and body condition in hens.

The effects of novel Bacillus subtilis DFM (BS-9) on growth performance, indices of intestinal health, and cecal microbial composition in broiler chickens challenged with Eimeria Examining Chair: Dr. Mike Steele Advisor: Dr. Elijah Kiarie Adv. Committee Member: Dr. David Huyben Additional Graduate Member: Dr. Lee-Anne Huber  

Infection with gastrointestinal nematodes is a challenging and costly disease for sheep producers that impacts the economic efficiency of farms and reduces the welfare of infected animals. There is evidence that resistance to gastrointesti-nal nematodes is a heritable trait in sheep, and genetic selection for this trait is a novel method for Canadian sheep produc-ers to reduce levels of gastrointestinal nematode infection in their flocks.

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The assessment and adequate management of transfer of passive immunity in newborn calves is dependent on various factors, with the majority of research focusing primarily on immunoglobulin G. Even though there are clear recommendations for calf rearing protocols, colostrum feeding practices can still be improved.

The live body weight (LBW) is an important parameter providing guidance for estimation of growth and feed conversion efficiency, body condition, presence of disease, and management of housing, nutrition, and animal health in different life stages of livestock. My master research was focused on exploring the feasibility of a semi-automatic analytic system that estimated the LBW of pigs by applying machine learning methods that use approximated morphometric measurements extracted from digital images acquired with a consumer-level camera in the presence of a reference object.