The present case describes the successful vaginal delivery of a buffalo calf with Aplasia Cutis Congenita co-existence with Ablepharon Macrostomia Syndrome (AMS) in a graded Murrah buffalo.

Cattle temperament is defined as the fear-related behavioral responses when exposed to human handling. As cattle temperament worsens, their response to human contact or any other handling procedures becomes more pronounced. The agitated and/or aggressive response expressed by cattle with excitable temperament when exposed to human handling can be attributed to their fear and consequent inability to cope with this situation. In addition to altered behavior, temperamental cattle may also experience changes in their body physiology, and the hormones produced during this fearrelated stress reaction influence several factors, such as growth and health. Within the cattle industry, producers select cattle for temperament, primarily for safety reasons. However, our recent studies demonstrate cattle temperament may also have productive and economic implications to beef operations. Stress increases stress hormones such as cortisol levels and results in lowering the levels of  reproductive hormones. Most cattlemen recognize that cattle under stress may not eat as well but may not know of its effect on reproductive behavior and physiology. This article will summarize our findings that could have an impact on the beef herd.

The plant Limonia acidissima belongs to family Rutaceae. Various parts of this plant like fruit, seed, rind, bark, leaves and roots are being used to treat human and animal ailments. The fruits of the plant are most essential therapeutic portion containing bioactive molecules. This study is intended to reveal presence of some phytoconstituents from leaf extracts and review it thoroughly in order to validate its medicinal use. In the study it was found that aqueous and ethanolic extracts revealed maximum types of phytochemical classes as compared to acetone and petroleum ether extract which can be used for treatment with reference to its mentioned use. Many phytochemicals namely alkaloids, carbohydrates, glycosides, proteins, saponins, phenols, resins, etc. were detected which  reflects its therapeutic value.

Milk is one of the primary protein diets of high biological value available to the human population. As bovine beta casein gene is highly polymorphic with functional implications, this study was designed to detect the beneficial A2 genotype in the native Umbalachery cattle breed. Genomic DNA was isolated from blood samples of Umbalachery cows and A1 and A2 variants were detected by Tetra ARMS polymerase chain reaction. It was observed that the A2A2 genotype frequency was 82% and that of A1A2 was 18%. The A1A1 genotype was not detected in Umbalachery cattle in the present study. It may be concluded that majority of the Umbalachery cows retain their original beta casein protein variant that produce safer A2 milk for human consumption and that Tetra ARMS PCR is an efficient and rapid method that allows detection of single nucleotide polymorphism of A1 and A2 variants of beta casein gene.

One hundred lambs (11.8 kg ± 0.56) divided at random into 4 groups G1, G2, G3 and G4 were supplemented with exogenous fibrolytic enzyme mixture (EFE) in concentrates after 6 hours outside grazing. G1 and G2 were given 200 and 400 g of EFE per 50 kg feed in dry form, G3 and G4 were given EFE in solubulized form at 20 and 40 g per litre of water, respectively. The initial and final weights (kg) were non-significant among treatments. The total weight gain (kg) was higher (P<0.05) for G4 and G2 as compared to other two. Average daily gain (g) was highest (P<0.05) for G4 followed by G2, G1 and G3. Total weight gain (%) is 15, 7.6 and 16.5 lower (P<0.05) for G1, G2 and G3 (Table) as compared to G4. Lowest (P<0.05) FCR was observed for G4 and is in the order of G4< G2< G1< G3. The cost of the feed per kg gain was lower (P<0.05) by 21%, 26% and 13% for G4 as compared to G1, G2 and G3. It can be concluded that addition of EFE in solubulized form was found better for the reason that it forms a stable complex with the feed and thus facilitates for the rumen bacterial attachment earlier for rapid action due to an increase in rumen bacterial population

Physico-chemical parameters of fresh milt and mitochondrial activity of fresh spermatozoa of the endangered golden mahseer, Tor putitora (Hamilton) were investigated. Cryopreservation and fertility evaluation of cryopreserved-thawed spermatozoa of T. putitora were carried out. The concentration of spermatozoa and the spermatocrit values of the fresh milt were estimated to be 3.96±0.12 x 107 spermatozoa/ml and 70.00±1.53% respectively. The motility percentage of spermatozoa in the fresh milt was estimated to be 94.84±0.43. The elemental composition analysis revealed that the concentration of K+ was higher i.e., 14.13±0.32 mg/l when compared to that of Na+, Ca+, Mg+ and Zn+. The concentration of total reducing sugars and total proteins were estimated to be 51.79±0.47mg/100 ml and 40.57±0.75 mg/100ml respectively. The absorbance value of the fresh spermatozoa in Sperm Mitochnodrial Activity Index (SMAI) assessment by Nitro Blue Tetrazolium (NBT) assay was estimated to be 0.33±0.012. The optimum sperm: egg ratio was estimated to be 3.96 ±0.12 x 104+ no./egg. Hatching percentage of 45.97±1.72 was recorded for the cryopreserved-thawed  spermatozoa while the fresh milt control recorded a hatching percentage of 73.10±0.82.

 The experiment was conducted to assess the effect of replacement of maize by wheat bran on growth and feed conversion efficiency in Large White Yorkshire (LWY) pigs. Thirty weaned piglets were randomly divided into three groups and were allotted to the three dietary treatments, T1 (control ration as per NRC, 1998), T2 (50 per cent of maize of control ration replaced by wheat bran) and T3 (100 per cent of maize of control ration replaced by wheat bran) and maintained for 70 days. The daily feed intake, fortnightly body weight were recorded and average daily gain and feed conversion efficiency were calculated. The average daily gain and feed conversion efficiency were 813.00, 769.86, 678.43 g and 2.80, 2.88, 3.08, respectively for three dietary treatments. There was no significant difference in the performance between pigs belongs to T1 and T2 treatments but had higher average daily gain and feed conversion efficiency than that of T3 treatment. This study reveals that pigs fed diet with 50 per cent of maize replaced by wheat bran performed in a similar way to that of control fed group and was better than those fed diet with 100 per cent replacement of maize by wheat bran.

The present study was undertaken to induce gonadal maturation of Mrigal, Cirrhinus mrigala using Human Chorionic Gonadotropin (HCG) implants in captive conditions. The male and female fishes of C. mrigala were implanted intramuscularly with hCG implants at the dosage of 1000 IU/kg body weight, to study the effect of hCG hormone. Hormone implants were given once in two months during the experimental period of February to June. Histological observation in the ovary of C. mrigala revealed the presence of four types of growing oocytes namely perinucleolar, previtellogenic, vitellogenic and hydrated oocytes. Histological observation of the testis of C. mrigala showed the presence of five types of spermatogenic cell types namely spermatogonia, primary spermatocytes, secondary spermatocytes, spermatids and spermatozoa. Hence, the present study recommends that hCG implants can successfully be used to induce sustained maturation of C. mrigala in captivity even during off season. 

Selection of breeding bucks is one of the crucial decisions in both organised and field populations for genetic improvement. Using high genetic merit bucks in the breeding programme could improve the overall production of the stock, thereby augmenting the economic sustainability of the rural goat keepers with zero input system of management. Therefore, understanding the effect of non-genetic factors with respect to semen characteristics is of paramount importance among the breeding bucks within a breed for effective breeding management. In this study, a total of 164 ejaculates from six adult Salem Black bucks were analysed to determine the effect of season and order of the ejaculate on conventional semen attributes using linear mixed models with lme4 package in R software. The estimated marginal means for semen volume (ml), sperm concentration (million per ml), mass activity (0 to 5 scale), initial and pre-freeze sperm motility (per cent) were 0.69 ± 0.05, 3253.00 ± 167.00, 4.70 ± 0.09, 81.80 ± 0.002 and 79.43 ± 0.003 respectively. Season had a significant effect (p < 0.5) on all the traits under study except for post-thaw motility, whereas, the order of ejaculation did not influence the traits except mass activity.

Test day milk yield data of 81,653 Jersey crossbred cows reared under farmers’ production system in Tamil Nadu state, over a period of 24 years (1999-2022) were utilised to determine the effects of non-genetic factors viz. agroclimatic zone, period of calving, season of calving and parity on lactation traits.  The production traits considered were 305-day milk yield (305DMY), total lactation milk yield (TMY), 180-day milk yield (180DMY), peak yield (PY), days to attain PY and lactation length (LL), the least-squares means of which were 2458.82 ± 7.02 kg, 2470.77 ± 7.04 kg, 1657 ± 4.71 kg, 10.69 ± 0.03 kg, 73.22 ± 0.56 days and 298.09 ± 0.17 days respectively. The agroclimatic zone had significant (P<0.01) influence on all the lactation traits studied with Western zone having the highest mean (2763.08 kg) for 305DMY followed by North Western zone and Cauvery Delta zone while North Eastern zone had the least (2066.85 kg) milk yield. Both period and season of calving significantly (P<0.01) affected all the traits. The estimated means of 305 DMY, TMY and 180DMY of 2960.99 kg, 2987.38 kg and 1934.75 kg respectively in period P2 (2004-2007) were significantly higher compared to other periods while period P1 (1999-2003) had the least milk production. Cows that gave birth in Northeast monsoon and Summer seasons produced more milk comparatively. Parity also had highly significant (P<0.01) influence on all the traits studied with cows above third lactation producing higher milk yield. The influence of non-genetic factors found on milk production of cows, revealed in this study will be useful in planning future breeding and management interventions for improving the milk production of the Jersey crossbred cattle under farmers’ production system in Tamil Nadu.