This trial characterized residual feed intake (RFI) and residual maintenance requirement (RME(m)) as measures of energetic efficiency in broiler breeder hens. The RFI was defined as the difference between observed and expected ME intake and RME(m) as the difference between observed and expected maintenance requirements. A total of 600 Ross 708 1-d-old pullets were placed in floor pens. At 16 wk...

To establish the basis for implementation of a producer education program, a social assessment of the willingness and barriers to adoption of a measure of feed efficiency in beef cattle [residual feed intake (RFI)] was conducted. A 35-question mailed survey was sent to 1,888 producers acquired from the stratified random sample of the Idaho Cattle Association member list (n = 488), Red Angus Ass...

The efficiency of producing salable products in the pork industry is largely determined by costs associated with feed and by the amount and quality of lean meat produced. The objectives of this paper were 1) to explore heritability and genetic correlations for growth, feed efficiency, and real-time ultrasound traits using both pedigree and marker information and 2) to assess accuracy of genomic...

Ergot contains numerous poisonous substances (alkaloids), which upon ingestion by animals may lead to poor growth rate, decreased feed consumption and poor feed efficiency. The effect will depend on the age or physiological stage of the animal, and the amount consumed. Results obtained in this study indicate that the consumption of diets containing more than 0.10% high alkaloid ergot by weanlin...

Improved feed efficiency is a primary goal in dairy production to reduce feed costs and negative impacts of production on the environment. Estimates for efficiency of feed conversion to milk production based on residual feed intake (RFI) in dairy cattle are limited, primarily due to a lack of individual feed intake measurements for lactating cows. Feed intake was measured in Holstein cows durin...

this investigation aimed to assess genetics of body conformation and feed efficiency traits in a control line of rhode island red (rir) chicken taking single hatched out pedigreed 100 chicks at central avian research institute, izatnagar, india. data was analyzed by least squares analysis of variance. least squares means of chick weight (cw), body weight (bw), shank length (sl), keel length (kl...

Ruminal microbial fermentation plays an essential role in host nutrition, and as a result, the rumen microbiota have been a major focus of research examining bovine feed efficiency. Microbial communities within other sections of the gastrointestinal tract may also be important with regard to feed efficiency, since it is critical to the health and nutrition of the host. The objective of this stu...