This experiment investigated the effect of olive cake in the feed of weaned Pramenka lambs on their daily gain, carcass traits and on the chemical composition of different groups of muscles. For that purpose, 45 male lambs were divided into three groups with 15 lambs each and fed separately for 50 days. The first group (control) was fed a commercial concentrate, while the second and third (test) groups were fed a concentrate with the addition of 15% and 30% olive cake, respectively. The results showed that the high level of olive cake inclusion (30%) decreased (P < 0.01) daily gain, final weight, empty carcass weight and (P < 0.05) dressing percentage of lambs. The olive cake resulted in a significantly higher (P < 0.01) proportion of stomach and intestines in the carcass compared to the control. The content of fat, proteins and dry matter in all the analyzed groups of muscles was lowest in the carcasses of lambs fed olive cake. The results of this research suggest that the addition of 15% of olive cake to the concentrate had no significant negative effect on daily gain, carcass weight and dressing percentage of lambs.

The aim of this study is to examine the effect of sex and age on proximate chemical, fatty acid, amino acid and mineral content of axis deer (Axis axis Erx.) meat. Sixteen (n = 16) animals were hunt-harvested and assigned to groups according sex and age (sub-adult and adult). All analyses were made on m. longissimus thoracis sampled between the 9th and 13th ribs. Minor differences in nutritional composition of axis deer meat were found between analysed sex and age groups. Axis deer meat has a high protein (22.8%) and low fat (1.39%) content. Saturated fatty acids accounted for 44.97% and polyunsaturated for 29.66% of the total fatty acids. Ratios of fatty acids were within the recommended values. Glutamic and aspartic acid were the most abundant non-essential, and lysine and leucine the most common essential amino acids. The ratio of essential to non-essential amino acids was <1. Potassium and phosphorous were the dominant macro-minerals, while iron and zinc were the dominant micro-minerals. The results of this study show that regardless of sex or age, axis deer meat can be considered a good source of basic macro- and micro-nutrients, and can be recommended as a substitute for red meat from domestic animals.

Krk cheese is a hard, full‐fat cheese made from raw sheep's milk, characterized by a delicate, full and strong flavour. The aim of this study was to determine farm influence on the chemical composition of sheep's milk for Krk cheese production, and the chemical characteristics of Krk cheese during ripening. Gross composition of the milk used complies with the average sheep's milk composition from the Croatian Adriatic region. During ripening, fat, protein, salt content and lactic acid concentration increased (P < 0.01), as well as the water‐soluble nitrogen fraction and the 12%‐trichloroacetic‐acid‐soluble nitrogen fraction (P < 0.05). Degradation of β‐casein could be an indicator of the ripening quality of Krk cheese.

In recent years there has been an increasing trend in research of sheep and goat udder morphology, not only from the view of its suitability for machine milking, but also in terms of milk yield and mammary gland health. More precisely, herds consisting of high-yielding sheep and goats as a result of long-term and one-sided selection to increase milk yield, have been characterised by distortion of the udder morphology caused by increasing the pressure of udder weight on its suspensory system. Along with the deteriorated milking traits, which is negatively reflected on the udder health, some udder morphology traits are often emphasized as factor of production longevity of dairy sheep and goats. Since the intention of farmers and breeders nowadays is to increase the milk yield of sheep and goats while maintaining desirable udder morphology and udder health, the aim of this paper is to give a detailed overview of the current knowledge about the relationship of morphological udder traits with milk yield, and the health of the mammary gland of sheep and goats. External measures of udder size (circumference, width and depth of the udder) are strongly correlated with milk production in sheep and goats. The morphological udder traits determining its suitability for machine milking (such as teat position and teat angle, udder depth, teat size, cistern height) are related to the mammary gland health in sheep and goats. Thus, the incidence of mastitis is noticeably higher in the udders of unsuitable shape for machine milking (deep and hung udders, unfavourable position of teats, etc.). Consequently, the morphological udder traits that affect the milkability of sheep and goats are indirectly related to milk yield.

-Genetic parameters of number of piglets born alive (NBA) and gestation length (GL) were analyzed for 39798 Hungarian Landrace (HLA, 141397 records) and 70356 Hungarian Large White (HLW, 246961 records) sows. Bivariate repeatability animal models were used, applying a Bayesian statistics. Estimated and heritabilitie repeatabilities (within brackets), were low for NBA, 0.07 (0.14) for HLA and 0.08 (0.17) for HLW, but somewhat higher for GL, 0.18 (0.27) for HLA and 0.26 (0.35) for HLW. Estimated genetic correlations between NBA and GL were low, -0.08 for HLA and -0.05 for HLW.

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The aim of this study was to determine relationship between litter size and milk yield, udder morphology, and udder health of East Friesian ewes. For that purpose a total of 80 East Friesian ewes, from 2nd to 4th lactation, with symmetrical udders, without visible (clinical) signs of mastitis were involved in this study. Until weaning at average age of 60±5 days lambs suckled their mothers exclusively. During milking period regular milking controls (on a monthly basis) were carried out (AT method) and, on these occasions, individual milk samples for chemical composition analysis were taken. Three times per lactation (1st, 3rd and 5th milking control), prior to the milking, evaluation and measuring of udder morphology traits were performed. Also, during above-mentioned test-day controls (three times per lactation) one sample of half udder milk was taken with purpose of bacterial and somatic cell counts (SCC) tests. Ewes with twin and triplet lambs had significantly (P<0.05) higher milk yield (daily and lactation milk yield) and lower (P<0.05) average milk fat content and total solids content than ewes with single lamb. Ewes with twins and triplets had bigger and more developed udder than ewes with singles, i.e. their udders were of larger circumference (P<0.05), larger width (P>0.05) and depth (P>0.05). Besides that, udders of ewes with twins and triplets had higher cistern, greater teat angle and larger teat dimensions than ewes with singles, although those differences were not statistically significant. Ewes with single lamb had teats more (P<0.05) cranially oriented than ewes with twins and triplets. Significant (P<0.05) differences in somatic cell count (log 10 SCC) between ewes of different litter sizes were determined, regardless of the health status of mammary gland. The higher (P<0.05) prevalence of subclinical mastitis was observed in ewes with twin and triplet lambs than in ewes with singles. In 46% of mammary glands (udder halves) of sheep with twins and

The aim of this study was to determine the prevalence of individual udder shapes in three dairy sheep breeds, as well as the relationship of udder shape with the production and chemical composition of sheep's milk. For this purpose, the research included 111 Pag sheep, 93 Istrian sheep and 80 East Friesian sheep. During the milking period in all flocks included in the research, milking control was carried out using the AT method, while the udder shape assessment in all studied ewes was carried out by the same person once during lactation when conducting the first milking control (after weaning of lamb(s)). In Pag sheep four distinct forms or types of udder (types I, II, III and IV) were clearly identified, in Istrian sheep the existence of three udder shapes (types II, III and IV) was determined, while in East Friesian sheep were found two udder shapes (type II and III). In all three breeds the most frequent were ewes with the udder type III. in all three breeds, higher production of milk was observed in sheep with low and (almost) vertically positioned teats and with a pronounced longitudinal furrow between the udder halves (udder types III and IV) than in sheep with highly placed and horizontally positioned teats (udder types I and II). However, differences in milk production between sheep of different udder shapes were found to be statistically significant (P<0.05) only in East Friesian sheep. Irrespective to breed, the poorest average milk chemical composition was found in ewes (udder types) with the highest average daily and lactation milk yield.