Past Events

The objective of this dissertation was to investigate if dietary supplements could improve dairy calf health and welfare. The first study was focused on investigating the effects of Echinacea purpurea (EP) supplementation on markers of immunity, health, feed intake, and growth of dairy calves. Overall, EP supplementation was associated with blood markers indicative of reduced inflammation and stimulated immunity, with minor benefits to health and growth.

Butyrate is a short-chain fatty acid with considerable benefits to gut health, and in recent years has been commonly used as an alternative to antimicrobials in agricultural animal production. In this thesis, we assessed the protective effects of sodium butyrate (NaB) on larval zebrafish during a lethal Pseudomonas aeruginosa polysaccharide (LPS) challenge and elucidated potential protective mechanisms of action. Larval zebrafish were pre-treated with 3 concen-trations of NaB for 24 hours at 72 hours post fertilization (hpf), and then immune challenged with 60 μg/mL of LPS at 96 hpf.

Poorly developed immune and digestive systems in neonatal chicks impede smooth transition to the production environment and have a significant impact on lifetime biological and economic performance. Integration of breeder nutrition may bolster perinatal immunocompetence and resiliency to production stressors. The work presented in this thesis investigated the impact of dietary sources of omega -3 polyunsaturated fatty acids (n-3 PUFA) in broiler breeders and their progeny.

Laying hens housed in complex housing systems (e.g., aviaries) must be raised in equally complex rearing systems to thrive. Using three-dimensional space requires physical and cognitive spatial skills, and low levels of fearfulness reduce the risk of injury. However, rearing aviaries vary greatly in the space and complexity of their brooding compartments, where chicks are confined for the first few weeks of life.

The object of the study was the assessment of the potential and limitations of predicting beef cattle body weight (BW) using machine learning (ML) models trained on measurements extracted from 2D images. From 51 Angus-cross calves, five linear body measurements were measured and recorded either directly from the cattle or from their images. These measurements were collected weekly from ages two to eight weeks.

Dear Department of Animal Biosciences, On behalf of the Animal Biosciences Social Committee, come celebrate the holidays at the Animal Biosciences Holiday Party on December 9th!  Enjoy great food and drinks in a festive atmosphere with your colleagues, friends, and family.  You may also participate in the (optional) Secret Santa Gift Exchange (see below)!

We are happy to have with us Dr. Troy Rowan, an Assistant Professor at the University of Tennessee, to present this Friday December 9th, 2022. The seminar will begin at 1:30 PM EDT/EST on the virtual platform Microsoft Teams. The title of the presentation is: "Using unconventional phenotypes to dissect complex traits in beef cattle".

We'll have our last United Way Pizza Lunch on Thursday Dec 8.   It is a busy time of year - what better way to treat yourself than with pizza for lunch (or dinner) as well as raise funds for the United Way! We will be selling Pizza ahead of time this week - you can come to ANNU110 between 12 - 12:30 and pick it up hot or we'll wrap it up for you to pick up from the Main Office later in the day. Prices are as follows and you are welcome to mix and match. $2.50 per slice,  2 slices for $4,  4 slices for $7,  

Happy Holidays! With the best time of the year right around the corner, we would love to invite all graduate students and staff to attend the ABSc GSC Holiday Ornament Decorating and Pizza Social! Come to room 230 on December 2nd for FREE pizza, hot drinks, and snacks!! Socialize with your friends and colleagues from 11am-1pm while decorating holiday ornaments!