BACKGROUND Adequate feeding is essential to realizing the potential of small ruminants to alleviate poverty among smallholder farmers. This study was conducted in two villages in the Ejura-Sekyedumase District of Ghana and was motivated by farmers' non-adoption of modern feed technologies, but more importantly by the need to understand the small ruminant feed system considering farmers' differe...

J. Anim. Sci. Vol. 88, E-Suppl. 2/J. Dairy Sci. Vol. 93, E-Suppl. 1/Poult. Sci. Vol. 89, E-Suppl. 1 751 Live and carcass leg characteristics in terminally sired lambs. M. R. Mousel*1, T. D. Leeds2, D. R. Notter3, H. N. Zerby4, S. J. Moeller4, and G. S. Lewis1, 1USDA, ARS, U.S. Sheep Experiment Station, Dubois, ID, 2USDA, ARS, National Center for Cool and Cold Water Aquaculture, Leetown, WV, 3Vi...

Based on available sequence data, a phylogeny of small ruminant lentiviruses (SRLV) was established for env, pol, gag and LTR fragments using maximum likelihood, neighbour-joining and minimum evolution reconstruction techniques. To reconstruct topologies as accurately as possible, phylogenetic parameters like base composition, percentage divergences, kappa, the gamma shape parameter alpha and c...

Tropical Africa contains almost one tenth of the world's sheep and over a quarter of its goats. Small ruminant production throughout this area takes place entirely under traditional systems, and since the meat produced is mostly for home consumption, a great deal of it escapes official marketing channels. As a result there is an undeniable lack of knowledge as to the part played by sheep and go...