Past Events

The presence of stressors such as disease or heat stress can lead to negative economic impacts in animal production by creating additional costs to producers for management and medication, weakened productive performance, or increased mortality. Genetic improvement for resistance traits is permanent and cumulative and, therefore, a viable solution for these issues in animal production systems. This thesis focuses on gastrointestinal parasite resistance, genetic resistance to scrapie, and heat tolerance in sheep.

This thesis investigated the impact of complete replacement of inorganic sources of supplementary trace minerals by organic sources in the diet of transition cows on cellular and humoral immunity of dams and neonate calves, colostrum characteristics, and oxidative balance, health and growth of calves. In cows, neu-trophil function was assessed in vitro by flow cytometry assays, and acquired immunity was evaluated by in vivo IgG responses to ovalbumin.

The overall objective of this thesis was to determine how milk yield at dry-off in AMS-milked cows, as affected by milking frequency and feed supplement allocation in the AMS, impacted udder health over the dry period, and how those factors might also affect milk production and cow behaviour before dry-off and in the next lactation.

The Summer Undergraduate Research Showcase happened the week of August 23-27, 2021. Watch the 14 students from across campus showcase their summer research projects in 3-5 minute videos, then attend the live Question & Answer sessions running August 25 and 26, 2021.

This thesis investigates the effects of increasing fat at the expense of lactose in milk replacer (MR) on growth, voluntary feed intake, feeding behaviour, and blood metabolites in Holstein calves. When investigating the effects high fat MR fed ad libitum, it was found that higher fat inclusion reduced voluntary MR intake without an evident effect on solid feed intake or growth. However, greater fat inclusion reduced hunger-related behaviours during the weaning period.

The ongoing shift from conventional cage to alternative housing for layers necessitates a deeper understanding of how commercial rearing systems impact physical development in pullets. My thesis examined the effect of three styles of rearing aviaries, differing in the opportunities for load-bearing exercise available during early life, and conventional rearing cages on musculoskeletal characteristics and proximate composition in two consecutive flocks of Lohmann Brown Lite (B) and Lohmann Select Leghorn Lite (W) laying hen pullets.

A presentations and discussion on humane slaughter technology for farmed freshwater Salmonids focusing on equipment/technology available for both land-based and net pen aquaculture producers. Hosted by OMAFRA, Ontario Aquaculture Research Centre and UofG.

Fish farming facilities are rapidly intensifying their operations in order to meet the increased demand for aquaculture products worldwide. As a result, fish farming populations are exposed to increased stressors such as higher bacterial load and higher incidence of injury, leading to higher incidences of mortalities. Immunomodulators can improve an organism’s response to stress by augmenting the immune response via enhancement or inhibition.