Gastrointestinal nematode infection in beef cattle raised in silvopastoral and conventional systems in São Paulo state, Brazil.

The use of silvopastoral systems (SPS) can be a good alternative to reduce the environmental impacts of livestock breeding in Brazil. Despite the advantages offered by public policies, many producers hesitate to use this system. One of the reasons is the lack of information on health and productivity of cattle raised under these conditions. The experiment reported here was designed to compare the behavior of infection by gastrointestinal nematodes and weight gain of beef cattle raised in a SPS and a conventional pasture system. We monitored the number of eggs per gram of feces, the prevalent nematode genus, data on climate, forage availability, weight gain and packed cell volume (PCV) of the animals bred in the two systems. The infection by nematodes was significantly higher in the cattle raised in the SPS (p\0.05). The coprocultures revealed the presence of nematodes of the genera Haemonchus, Cooperia, Oesophagostomum and Trichostrongylus, in both systems, but the mean infestation rates of Haemonchus and Cooperia were higher in the SPS (p\0.05). The average of PCV values did not differ between the cattle in the two systems. The individual weight gain and stocking rate in the period did not vary between the systems (p[0.05). Despite the higher prevalence of nematodes in the SPS, no negative impact was detected on the animals? weight gain and health. The results of this experiment indicate that under the conditions studied, there is no need to alter the parasite management to assure good productive performance of cattle

Color Doppler ultrasound as a substitute to laparoscopy for the CL count in superovulated sheep.

This study aimed to evaluate the Color Doppler ultrasound as a substitute for laparoscopy for couting of corpora lutea (CL) in superovulated sheep. In conclusion, the Color Doppler ultrasonography is highly efficient to estimate the number of CLs in superovulated ewes. This represents an important advance because it replaces invasive laparoscopic procedure, avoids fasting, drugs use and unnecessary handling in animals that did not respond to the treatment. Therefore, the Color Doppler ultrasound can replace the laparoscopy for the assessment of superovulated sheep.

Restricted intake and lipid inclusion in Santa Inês ewe lambs diet: age, weight and progesterone concentration at first ovulation.

The age at first ovulation is influenced by several factors, and nutrition has an essential role on it. Lipids provide essential fatty acids that are positively associated to reproductive aspects. The aims of this study were to evaluate the effects of lipid inclusion and restricted intake on age and weight at the first ovulation and the serum progesterone (P4) concentration at the sixth day after first ovulation. The restricted intake imposed in this study did not delay the age at fist ovulation. The greater lipid intake did not favor reproductive parameters. Serum P4 did not increase with the soybean inclusion in the die.