A full term pregnant pluriparous Jersey crossbred cow was presented with the history of difficulty in parturition, bloody vaginal discharge and straining with distended left ventral abdominal wall and the cow was recumbent. Based on the clinical examination, the case was diagnosed as dystocia due to ventral abdominal hernia with hysterocoele and its successful per-vaginal delivery was reported in this communication.

Semen production performance data of 88 buffalo and 179 cattle bulls of different breeds from 1975 to 2018, were collected from two frozen semen stations of BAIF Research Development Foundation. The objective of the present study was to document the lifetime semen producing performance of cattle and buffalo bulls. Traits studied were lifetime frozen semen production doses (LFSP),lifetime production period (LPP),age at first semen production (AFSP) and age at last semen production (ALSP). The factors tested for influence on these traits were breed, period and season of birth. Overall means of AFSP, ALSP, LPP and LFSP were 1859.6, 4257.2, 2581.7 days and 183631.9 semen doses in buffalo bulls, while 1386.7, 4029.4, 2076.16 days and 264566.3 semen doses in cattle bulls. Production performance for results obtained for various breeds could be useful in devising important culling and disposal policies for AI centres in the country.

Growth factors synthesized from mammalian oocytes popularly known as Oocyte Secreted Factors (OSFs) play numerous role in ovarian folliculogenesis. Growth differentiation factor-9 (GDF- 9) produced within the ovary plays an essential role during follicle maturation through their actions on granulosa cells, but their expression in follicular fluid has not been studied. The purpose of this study was to detect the temporal expression pattern of GDF-9 from the follicular fluid of buffalo ovary, which may be correlated with the oocytes and embryo quality. The sensitive messenger ribonucleic acid detection of GDF-9 from follicular fluid was determined by Reverse Transcriptase-Polymerase Chain Reaction using bovine oligonucleotide primers. Our finding showed the qualitative detection of GDF-9 mRNA transcripts from follicular fluid of buffalo ovary.

The objective of the present study was to assess changes in biochemical and mineral parameters during prepartum and postpartum period in Murrah buffaloes. Eight healthy pregnant Murrah buffaloes of four to six years of age were randomly selected for the study. Same animals were used as self control and divided in to two groups, G I: pre-partum (n=8) and G II: post-partum (n=8). Whole blood was collected one week before and one week after calving by venipuncture. Plasma was separated and used for estimation of biochemical and mineral parameters. Significant differences between groups were analyzed using paired t-test. The total protein, albumin, globulins, cholesterol, calcium and phosphorous levels were significantly (P<0.05) lower during post-partum compared to pre-partum period. No significant difference (P>0.05) between pre-partum and post-partum was noticed with respect to BUN and creatinine concentration. Significantly lower levels of protein profile, cholesterol, calcium and phosphorus is indicative of negative energy balance and susceptibility of dam to metabolic diseases. Thus, ameliorative nutritional strategies might be adapted to optimize animal health and production.

The study was aimed at providing a complete picture of milk yield and composition during different stages of lactation in Tellicherry does. A total of 40 Tellicherry does aged between 2 – 2 ½ years in 2nd parity were selected for the study. The lactation period wasdivided into three stages namely early, mid and late lactation stages and data on milk yield, and milk composition such as milk fat, SNF and specific gravity of milk during lactation were collected. The milk yield did not vary with lactation stages. The total lactation milkyield was 33.29±0.45 kg and the milk yield/doe/day was 0.36±0.04 kg. The average fat, SNF and specific gravity during lactation were 3.47±0.17%, 8.74±0.11% and 1.032±0.00 respectively. The fat percentage was significantly (P<0.01) higher during mid (3.61±0.19%)and late lactation (4.21±0.22%) than that of early lactation (2.60±0.12%). The SNF percentage and specific gravity were found to be significantly (P<0.01) higher during early lactation (9.24±0.17%; 1.035±0.00) followed by mid (8.76±0.06%; 1.031±0.00) and late lactation (8.23±0.06%; 1.029±0.00).

Data on production and reproduction performances of 373 Jersey cows born and reared at the Exotic Cattle Breeding Farm, Eachenkottai, Tamil Nadu, India, pertaining to 27 years were collected. They were analysed to study the effects of various non-genetic factors on milk production and reproduction traits. The least-squares means (± SE) for 305-day and total lactation milk yields for all the parities were 1491.6 ± 25.9 and 1560.9 ± 29.9 kg respectively. The averages for lactation length, service period, calving interval and dry period for all lactations were 303.1 ± 4.0, 177.0 ± 10.0, 461.0 ± 9.7 and 160.2 ± 9.7 days respectively. Years grouped into five periods had significant (P<0.01) influence on all the traits studied. Season of calving showed a significant (P<0.01) source of variation in milk yield traits and calving interval. Parity was found to influence 305-day milk yield, service period, dry period and calving interval significantly (P<0.01). The study revealed that the performance of the Jersey cattle was much lower than those maintained under high altitude conditions in Tamil Nadu and other places in India.

The present study was carried out to determine the specific energy consumption pattern in the manufacturing of different type of broiler feeds with different process conditions and thereby analyze the gaps between the benchmarking and actual energy usage pattern. The study was conducted in three commercial feed plants located at different locations. This was achieved by conducting energy analysis for the specific energy consumption for different type of the broiler feeds. The actual consumption was recorded from the electricity board department’s energy meter readings. The results indicated that the gap between actual consumption and bench marking was lesser at one plant whilst, it was considerably higher at other two plants. The gap was observed to be higher in the pre-starter feed and lesser in the finisher pellet feed. The gap between actual power consumption and benchmarking observed for pre-starter feeds at different locations viz., Muzaffarpur, Kanpur and Ambala was 2.70, 2.43 and 0.85 kwh units respectively. The gap analysis for starter feed was 1.71, 1.46 and 0.59 kwh units and for finisher feed 1.37, 1.81 and 0.92 kwh units respectively. The cost saving per metric tonne of feed ranged from Rs. 16.00 to Rs. 22.00. Among the three feed manufacturing plants, the gap between bench marking and actual power consumption was very minimal at Ambala plant due to better production efficiency. From the boiler’s fuel cost point of view, coal was found to be cheaper than wood due to its high calorific value and hence it was suggested to replace fire wood with coal at Ambala plant for further improvement of fuel efficiency. The present findings also revealed that the timely replacement of press roller of pellet mill and reduction in pellet fines recycling leads to better efficiency and cost control.

Glyphosate is an organophosphorus herbicide widely used in agricultural practices. The present study was conducted to find out the protective effect of P. amarus aqueous extract against hematobiochemical alterations caused by glyphosate toxicity in Wistar rats. About 60 Wistar rats were randomly (n=12) divided into five groups: Group 1 (Control group), Group 2 (Glyphosate (GLP)-500 mg/kg),Group 3 (Phyllanthus amarus (PA)-100 mg/kg aqueous extract), Group4 (Glyphosate 500 mg/kg +Phyllanthus amarus 100 mg/kg aqueous extract-GLP +PA prophylactic) and Group 5 (Glyphosate 500 mg/kg (Upto 9 days) + Phyllanthus amarus 100 mg/kg aqueous extract-GLP+PA therapeutic (10th to 28th day)}. Haematological parameters, liver specific enzymes (ALT, AST and ALP), kidney function tests (BUN and creatinine), serum electrolyte and minerals were studied in glyphosate induced toxicity. Phyllanthus amarus extract (Prophylactic and Therapeutic) showed highly significant reduction ((P<0.01) in the Haemoglobin, PCV and TEC compared with glyphosate group. Numerical reduction in the values of ALT, AST and ALP in the treatment groups compared with glyphosate group. Significant (P<0.05) reduction in the values of BUN and creatinine observed in treatment groups compared with glyphosate group. Significant (P<0.05) reduction in the value of sodium observed in treatment groups compared with glyphosate group.The results indicated that P.amarus had partially protective effect on haematobiochemical changes caused by glyphosate toxicity in Wistar rats.

The gene encoding the excretory-secretory antigen of TES-120 from larvae of Toxocara canis was cloned and the sequence was analyzed for utilization as a diagnostic molecule. The total RNA was isolated from T. canis infective larvae and reverse transcription was done with oligo dT primers to obtain complementary DNA (cDNA). Amplification by PCR was performed with cDNA as a template and specific primers of the gene of TES-120, yielding an amplicon size of 530 bp. The amplicon was cloned into pRSETa expression vector. The recombinant clones were transformed into BL21 (DE3) pLysS E. coli expression host and the clone was confirmed by colony PCR, restriction enzyme analysis and sequencing. The nucleotide sequencing of TES-120 gene of TN isolate showed 99.8 % homology with the previously published sequences of UK (U39815.1) and Venezuela isolate (KU951901.1) and 97.0 % homology with the published sequences of Iraq isolate (LC328969.1). Phylogenetic tree revealed close relationship of TN isolate with Venezuela isolate, which had a common ancestor with the UK isolate and it is distantly related to Malaysia isolate of T. cati (KP71707).

Pre and postpartum genital prolapse pose a threat to buffalo farmers and incur a financial loss in terms of milk loss and treatment costs. Effective clinical management warranted to treat the genital prolapse in field condition. In this context the present study was carried out to compare different therapeutic regimens for the management of genital prolapse in graded Murrah buffaloes. Buffaloe heifers (n=6) and She buffaloes (n=14) with a history of straining, discomfort, protruded posterior vagina and cervix through vulval lips were diagnosed with pre and postpartum genital prolapse. Depending on the severity of the prolapsed mass, either with or without oedema, different treatment modalities (finely powdered sugar, POP IN spray®, ice cubes, and herbal PROLAPSE IN powder®) were tested and were found to be effective without any complications.