<div><strong>Background:</strong> Visualizing the internal genital organs in cattle using vaginoscope or endoscope is a costly affair and practically it is not possible to use this instrument in diagnosis of anatomical defects causing infertility under field conditions. An attempt was made to replace the costly instruments with low cost and easily available borescope in the diagnosis of persistent hymen in a Jersey crossbred heifer and the procedure has been reported for the benefit of field veterinarians and theriogenologists.<br />
<br />
<strong>Methods:</strong> A Jersey crossbred heifer with normal estrous cycle length and that failed to conceive even after 6 inseminations with fertile semen was presented to the Gynaecological ward. Rectal examination revealed a fluctuating swelling in the vagina. Vaginal examination revealed obstruction in the passage and the vaginal speculum could not be progressed into the vagina. Ultrasonographic examination revealed hypoechoic fluid in the vaginal cavity. A novel approach with borescope revealed a clear view of the membranous obstruction at the level of vagino-vestibular junction. Hence, the case was diagnosed as persistent hymen and hymenotomy was performed.&nbsp;<br />
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<strong>Result: </strong>Upon hymenotomy, about two litres of thick, gummy, tenacious reddish brown colored mucus was evacuated from the vagina. The patency was checked and the animal was treated with antibiotics for three days. The animal was inseminated at the subsequent estrus on the 22<sup>nd</sup> day and pregnancy was confirmed on 45<sup>th</sup> day. The animal calved normally and delivered a live male calf. Thus, the borescope could be effectively used in the field of animal reproduction as an alternative tool for the diagnosis of developmental defects in the vagina.</div>


<div>Persistent Hymen in a Jersey Crossbred Heifer-A Novel Approach with Borescope</div>


<div><strong>Background:</strong> Supplementation of fat, especially those having unsaturated fatty acids has been proposed to carry positive effects on the reproductive organ, beside providing dietary energy to the animals. This experiment was designed to examine the effects of dietary &omega;-3 or &omega;-6 fatty acid (FA) rich oil supplementation on blood FA, metabolite and hormone concentrations; ovarian follicular growth and corpus luteum (CL) size in Sahiwal breed heifers.<br />
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<strong>Methods:</strong> Eighteen heifers of 18.33&plusmn;1.14 months of age and 194&plusmn;4.16 kg of mean body weight were randomly assigned to 3 diets and individually fed as per ICAR (2013) diets. The diets include chopped wheat straw, green fodder and concentrate mixture containing either (i) no added PUFA rich oil but palm oil @ 3.5% (PO; n=6); (ii) 3.5% added soybean oil as &omega;-6 FA source (SO; n=6); or (iii) 3.5% added linseed oil as &omega;-3 FA source (LO; n=6).<br />
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<strong>Result:</strong> SO increased (P&lt;0.05) the plasma concentration of &omega;-6 FA while LO increased (P&lt;0.05) the plasma &omega;-3 FA. Plasma glucose, triglyceride and non-esterified fatty acid (NEFA) concentrations was not affected due to different diets. Plasma total cholesterol and HDL-cholesterol were significantly higher (P&lt;0.05) in SO and LO in comparison to PO. However, LDL-cholesterol was at par among all the treatments. Growth Hormone (GH) was not influenced due to different types of oil in heifers&rsquo; concentrate mixture. Insulin concentration increased (P&lt;0.05) in LO compared to others. IGF-1 was statistically higher (P&lt;0.05) in SO and LO as compared to CON, which among themselves also varied significantly. Plasma progesterone concentration at day 12 post estrous was higher (P&lt;0.05) in LO. PUFA rich oil supplementation in the concentrate mixture of heifers (SO and LO) increased (P&lt;0.05) the size of the ovulatory follicles as well as size of CL. It was inferred that feeding PUFA rich oil to pre-pubertal Sahiwal heifer&rsquo;s results in advantageous changes in the blood metabolites, plasma hormones and ovarian functions.</div>


<div>Effect of Dietary Enrichment with Omega 3 and 6 Fatty Acids on Blood Metabolites, Hormone Concentration and Ovarian Function in Sahiwal Heifers</div>


<div style="text-align: justify;">Poor reproductive performance is serious limitation in exploiting the potential of cows in India. Cows are generally fed poor quality forages and imbalance mineral and concentrate mixture resulting in late maturity thereby causing economical losses to the farmers. Keeping in view present study was planned to observe the effect of mineral mixture and concentrate feed on onset of puberty of cross bred cow heifers. Eighteen cross bred cow heifers (10&plusmn;1 months old) were divided into three groups (6 heifers in each) A, B and C. Group A &nbsp;animals were reared traditionally as farmers practice, the animals were not given the mineral mixture, Urea molasses brick and balance ration. They were reared on dry fodder, seasonal green fodder and 0.5 kg concentrate (wheat/barley) per day, no deworming and served as control. Group B animals were first dewormed with anthelmintic drug, 3g bolus of Albendazole and daily offered 30 grams of mineral mixture and 1.5 kg concentrate mixture. The composition of concentrate mixture is on the basis of recommendation of National Research Council (NRC). Group C animals were also dewormed and fed with 30 grams of Urea Molasses brick and 1.5 kg Guaras concentrate feed per day. Data regarding onset of puberty was taken by observing estrous symptoms and further confirmed through rectal palpation. Asignificant effect of the mineral mixture and concentrate supplementation was noted on age at puberty. Heifers in group &ldquo;A&rdquo; reached to thepuberty at 22 &plusmn;0.76 months and animals in group &ldquo;B&rdquo; attained the same stage at 18&plusmn;0.23 months while animals in group C attained the same stage at 19&plusmn;0.66 months. Type of feedingstrategy of group B showed significant effect (P&lt;0.01) on age at puberty over feeding strategy of group A and C. It appears from the results of this study that farmers could save tremendous time andresources by feeding mineral mixture and balance concentrate to young growing stock for better animal production.</div>

<div style="text-align: justify;">Effect of Mineral Mixture and concentrate feed on onset of Puberty in cross bred cow heifers</div>

<div style="text-align:justify">The objective of this study was to determine the effect of feeding two fermented total mixed ration (FTMR) on methane production in dairy heifers. Four Holstein Friesian dairy heifers with mean body weight (BW) of 301.1 &plusmn; 42.2 kg were used in a simple cross-over design trial. Treatments consisted of 2 FTMR formulated to yield either low (LMD) or high CH4 production (HMD). No differences were observed in dry matter intake (DMI; 6.49 and 6.19 kg/d), BW change (-3.37 and -7.25 kg), or DM digestibility (50.64 and 46.99%) between diets. Ruminal pH, total volatile fatty acids (TVFA) and molar proportions of acetate, propionate and butyrate were not different among diets. Concentrations of blood glucose were higher (P=0.05) for HMD compared with LMD at 2 h post feeding; however, blood urea nitrogen was not different. Methane emissions were 236.32 L/d for LMD and 273.70 L/d for HMD and not different. Feeding the FTMR differing in CH4 potential did not affect DMI, digestibility, ruminal TVFA production or molar proportions of VFAs in dairy heifers.</div>

<div style="text-align: justify;">Impact of fermented total mixed rations on intake, VFA and methane production of dairy heifers</div>

<div style="text-align: justify;"><strong>Background: </strong>In this study, the effects of different protein and energy levels in mixed feed on growth performance and reproduction characteristics of heifers were investigated.&nbsp;<br /><strong>Method:</strong> The material of the study consisted of 36 Holstein Friesian (black pied) breed cattle at the age of 6 months and average live body weight of 156.65 kg and the experiment was continued for 8 months. During the experiment, four different feeds containing 16% CP - 2500 kcal / kg ME for the 1st group, 16% CP - 2700 kcal / kg ME for the 2nd group, 18% CP - 2500 kcal / kg ME for the 3rd group, 18% HP - 2700 kcal / kg ME for the 4th group were given at 1.5% of the live weight of heifers. (Where CP and ME stand for Crude Protein and Metabolizable Energy, respectively). As roughage, an equal amount of straw and alfalfa hay mixture was given.<br /><strong>Result:</strong> As a result of this study, the effects of the different protein levels on live body weight and body measurements (body length-BL, withers height-WH, hip height-HH, hip width-HW, body depth-BD, chest girth-CG) were not found significant (P&gt; 0.05). Similarly, the effects of different energy levels on body weight and body measurements (P&gt; 0.05) and protein X energy interaction in terms of live body weight and size were also not found significant (P&gt; 0.05). Regarding the reproductive properties, the differences between the groups in terms of the effect of different protein and energy levels on the first estrus age were found statistically significant (P &lt;0.05). As a result of the analysis made in terms of heifers age during the first insemination, the difference was found to be statistically significant (P &lt;0.05). The effect of different protein and energy levels on the conception rate in the first insemination was found significant (P &lt;0.05). As a result, it was concluded that affordable mixed feed combinations can be used within the limits of mixed feed combinations containing 2500-2700 kcal / kg ME and 16-18% CP, which were given in the investigation; however, low energy-high protein combinations would give more positive results considering their effects on the reproductive performances and conception rates at first insemination.</div>

<div style="text-align: justify;">Effects of Different Protein and Energy Levels in Mixed Feed on Growth Performance and Reproduction Characteristics of Heifers</div>

<div><strong>Background:</strong> Fungal laccases have widespread application in a number of biotechnological processes including the biodegradation of lignin. Their low yield in the native state limits their practical use in the deconstruction of lignocellulosic biomass for feeding ruminants. Enzymes in bulk quantities are required to treat biomass which has got greater product consistency and less lot to lot variations. The present study was an attempt to evaluate the effect of feeding finger millet straw treated with exogenous laccases in heifers.<br />
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<strong>Methods:</strong> The effect of feeding exogenous laccases obtained from immobilized <em>Schizophyllum commune</em> (MTCC 11893) on body weight gain, dry matter intake and nutrient digestibility in heifers was evaluated in three groups of heifers (4-each) with body weights ranging between 275 &plusmn; 47.12 to 276.75 &plusmn; 64.48kg. The control group received <em>ad lib</em>. finger millet straw treated with only production media (GI). Test group 1 (GII) received <em>ad lib</em>. straw treated with laccase rich media in a 3:5 (w/v) ratio, while test group 2 (GIII) received <em>ad lib</em>. straw treated in a 4:5 (w/v) ratio.&nbsp;<br />
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<strong>Result: </strong>After 14- days of feeding, gain in body weights for GI, GII and GIII were 277.9 &plusmn; 68.47; 277.50 &plusmn; 46.43 and 278.85 &plusmn; 37.22 respectively with an overall increase of 1.15, 4.25 and 3.60 kgs. No significant variation (P&gt;0.05) was observed with regard to DMD (%) between the groups which was 46 &plusmn; 5.8 for the control animals and 41&plusmn;13.0 and 41&plusmn; 3.4 in G2 and G3 groups. Though significant variations were observed digestibility studies proved inconclusive. Though preliminary results indicate that applying lignin degrading enzymes as feed supplements could enhance digestibility of crop residues in ruminants.</div>


<div>Evaluation of Exogenous Laccase Enzyme Treated Finger Millet Straw on Body Weight Gain, DM Intake and Nutrient Digestibility in Heifers</div>


<p style="text-align: justify;">Clomiphene citrate(an anti-estrogen) has the abilities for the secretion of gondaotropin from the anterior pituitary gland. The present study was designed to investigate the effects of CC and hCG on female sex hormones (FSH, Estrogen) and serum biochemical constituents in pre-pubertal Sahiwal heifers. The twelve animals were randomly divided into a) treatment and b) control groups. These animals were grouped on the basis of reproductive status of heifers. The animals in treatment group were fed clomiphene citrate with dose of 300mg/ animal for 9 days. &nbsp;On 10thday of experiment, hCG (IVF-C 5000 iu (hCG) LG Life Sciences, Korea) was injected I/V to both groups. For the serum biochemical constituent&rsquo;s evaluation and oxidative stress (MDA), blood on day 0, 14 and 28 was collected. Similarly, for hormones evaluation three blood samples per week (on alternate days) for 9 days were collected. The concentrations of both hormones were assessed by ELISA. For the comparison of variables, student t-test was applied. Analysis of data revealed that levels of hormones were higher in treated animals as compared to control. There was significant (p&lt; 0.05) increase in total cholesterol, triglycerides total protein and sugar.But there was nonsignificant(p&gt; 0.05) effect on liver enzymes (ALT and AST) and MDA. It was concluded that use of CC and hCG increase the FSH and estrogen and few alterations in serum biochemical constituents in the pre-pubertal Sahiwal heifers. &nbsp; &nbsp;&nbsp;<br />
&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;<br />
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<p style="text-align: justify;">Effects of Clomiphene Citrate (CC) and Human Chorionic Gonadotropin (hCG) on hormonal profile, serum biochemical constituents, and oxidative stress in pre-pubertal Sahiwal heifers<br />
&nbsp;</p>


<p style="text-align: justify;">Study was conducted to evaluate effect of supplementation different sources of bypass proteins on growth performance, haematological profile and economics of feeding in Murrah buffalo heifers. Eighteen heifers distributed into three equal groups and were offered similar basal control diet in T1, supplemented with commercial and natural bypass protein in two treatments groups T2 and T3 for a period 120 days in heifers respectively. Heifers were weight at monthly interval, simultaneously blood samples were collected. Body weight gain and average daily gain were significantly higher (P&lt;0.01) in heifers supplemented with protected protein as compared to control. Count of red blood cells, white blood cells, mean corpuscular haemoglobin, mean corpuscular volume and hemoglobin concentration, showed no significant difference among different treatments. Daily feed cost were significantly (P&lt;0.05) higher for both treatments groups but cost of feeding per unit body weight gain, were less in T2 and T3 &nbsp; treatments groups as compared to control T1.</p>


<p>Influence of feeding different sources of bypass protein on growth performance, hematology and economics in Murrah buffalo heifers</p>


<div style="text-align:justify"><strong>Background: </strong>Dystocia in cattle is a global problem which causes many health issues and economical losses in the beef cattle industry. However, to the greatest of our knowledge, use of pelvic areas and linear body measurements in South African Sussex heifers has not yet been reported on literature. Hence, the aim of this study was to use pelvic areas and linear body measurements in the selection of replacement Sussex heifers to reduce dystocia amongst heifers, while improving ease of calving.<br />
<br />
<strong>Methods: </strong>One hundred eighty-six first calf Sussex heifers 24 months old, weighing approximately 437 kg were used for this study. A number of six, two-year-old bulls, weighing approximately 800 kg were used for mating the 135 heifers during the first trial with a bull to cow ratio of (1:35; 1:35, 1;35 and 1:30). The second trial consisted of 51 heifers with a number two, two-year-old bulls respectively, with a bull to cow ratio of (1:30 and 1:21).<br />
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<strong>Result:</strong> A significant correlation between calving eases score and calf gender, r = -0.35 was revealed. The chances of a heifer to experience dystocia were more when a male calf was born. Birth weight, revealed that higher the birth weight higher the probability of a heifer to experience dystocia. It can be concluded that pelvic measurements in Sussex heifers may be a valuable tool to reduce dystocia.</div>


<div style="text-align:justify">Using Pelvic Areas and Linear Body Measurements in the Selection for Reduced Dystocia Rates in Sussex Heifers</div>


<p><strong>Background:</strong> The interaction between nutrition and reproduction has long been known to have important implications for the reproductive performance in animal.The present study highlights the effect of by-pass fat supplementation on genital changes and blood biochemical profile in pubertal swamp buffalo heifers and puerperal swamp buffalo cows.<br />
<br />
<strong>Methods:</strong> 24 heifers of 2-2.5 years of age and 24 puerperal cows on the day of parturition, irrespective of parity were used as experimental animal. The analytical method was based on the treatment protocols of 3 groups in both heifers and cows (n=8 in each group) viz., treated with oral bypass fat alone (I), oral bypass fat, mineral mixtures and injectable phosphorus (II) and control (III) respectively. Genital status, metabolic hormone (leptin, Ghrelin and IGF-1), reproductive hormone (estrogen and progesterone) and mineral constituents (calcium, phosphorus, zinc and copper) were analyzed on day 0, day 15 and day 30 in heifers and day 15, day 30 and day 45 in cows respectively.<br />
<br />
<strong>Result:</strong> Feeding of bypass fat alone or bypass fat fortified with minerals and injectable phosphorus was not found to induce significant genital changes in heifers and cows. The serum leptin and IGF-1 levels were increased significantly (p&lt;0.05) in heifers at day 30 in Group I and II. However, a significant rise (p&lt;0.05) of leptin was recorded at day 45 in group I and II cows. IG1-1 level was recorded increased significantly only in cows treated with fortified bypass fat (Group II). With the progression of treatment the serum phosphorus level was increased significantly (p&lt;0.05) in Group I and II cows. Serum estrogen levels were increased in both heifers and cows with progression of treatment in both Group I and II. However, serum progesterone levels were increased significantly only in heifers of Group I and II with progression of treatment.</p>
