Person:
Moreno Gonzalo, Javier

Profile Picture
First Name
Javier
Last Name
Moreno Gonzalo
URI
https://hdl.handle.net/20.500.14352/81038
Affiliation
Universidad Complutense de Madrid
Faculty / Institute
Veterinaria
Department
Medicina y Cirugía Animal
Area
Medicina y Cirugía Animal
Identifiers
UCM identifierORCIDScopus Author IDDialnet ID

Filters

2008 - 20092
Reset filters

Settings

End date: 2009 × Start date: 2008 ×

Search Results

Now showing 1 - 2 of 2
  • Thumbnail Image
    Item
    Is the anthelmintic effect of heather supplementation to grazing goats always accompanied by anti-nutritional effects?
    (Animal, 2008) Frutos, Pilar; Moreno Gonzalo, Javier; Hervás, Gonzalo; García, Urcesino; Ferreira, Luis Mendes; Celaya, Rafael; Toral, Pablo; Ortega Mora, Luis Miguel; Ferré Pérez, Ignacio; Osoro, Koldo
    To test the hypothesis that the beneficial anthelmintic effect of consuming moderate amounts of tannins may not always be accompanied by anti-nutritional effects in goats, two experiments were conducted. In the first, 48 Cashmere goats were randomly assigned to two treatments: supplementation with tannin-containing heather (6.4% total tannins) and non-supplementation. All goats grazed continuously from May to September under farm conditions in a mountainous area of northern Spain. The mean percentage of heather incorporated into the diet of the supplemented animals was 29.1%. Supplementation reduced the mean number of nematode eggs in faeces (P < 0.001) and the goat mortality rate (P < 0.05). The rumen ammonia concentration was markedly reduced in the goats receiving the heather supplement (160 v. 209 mg/l; P < 0.01), while volatile fatty acid (VFA) concentrations were significantly greater (63.0 v. 53.6 mmol total VFA/l; P < 0.05). The heather-supplemented goats also showed a lower loss of live weight (P < 0.01) and body condition score (P < 0.001). In the second experiment, batch cultures of rumen microorganisms with rumen fluid from nine goats whose diet included 29% heather – or not, were used to incubate three substrates (pasture, pasture + heather and pasture + heather + polyethylene glycol) to investigate in vitro ruminal fermentation. Differences (P < 0.01) among substrates were observed in terms of dry matter disappearance (DMD), in vitro true substrate digestibility (ivTSD), gas production and ammonia concentration, the greatest values always associated with the pasture substrate. Cultures involving rumen inoculum derived from goats receiving the heather-containing diet showed slightly lower DMD (46.9 v. 48.5 g/100 g; P < 0.05), ivTSD (64.6 v. 65.9 g/100 g; P < 0.10) and gas production (105 v. 118 ml/g; P < 0.001) values, but much greater total VFA concentrations (48.5 v. 39.3 mmol/l; P < 0.05), and suggest that the efficiency of ruminal fermentation in these animals was probably improved. Together, the results support the absence of a clear nutritional cost counteracting the beneficial anthelmintic effect of supplementing the diet of grazing goats with tannin-containing heather.
  • Thumbnail Image
    Item
    Effects of Stocking Rate and Heather Supplementation on Gastrointestinal Nematode Infections and Host Performance in Naturally-Infected Cashmere Goats
    (Rangeland Ecology & Management, 2009) Osoro, Koldo; Celaya, Rafael; Moreno Gonzalo, Javier; Ferreira, Luis M.M.; García, Urcesino; Frutos, Pilar; Ortega Mora, Luis Miguel; Ferré Pérez, Ignacio
    The aim of this study, performed on 62 adult dry cashmere goats grazing upland perennial ryegrass–white clover pastures and naturally infected with gastrointestinal nematodes, was to investigate the effects of stocking rate (SR: 24 vs. 38 goats · ha-1) and tannin-containing heather supplementation (H: Calluna vulgaris [L.] Hull, Erica spp.) vs. nonsupplementation on parasite burden, fecal egg counts (FEC), and live weight (LW) changes. Goats were randomly assigned to four treatments in a 2 × 2 factorial arrangement and grazed continuously from May to October. Six goats per treatment were slaughtered at the end of the grazing period, and adult worms in the abomasum and small and large intestines of each animal were recovered, counted, and identified. FEC was affected by SR (P < 0.01) but not by H. However, the SR × H interaction was significant (P < 0.05). FEC increased (P < 0.001) along the grazing season in all treatments, and the SR × time interaction was significant (P < 0.001). In general, mean total worm counts in abomasum and small intestine tended to be higher under high SR, although the differences were only significant (P < 0.01) in Trichostrongylus spp. counts. In goats managed under the high SR, the mean of total Teladorsagia circumcincta counts was lower (P < 0.01) in supplemented animals, but no differences were recorded for Trichostrongylus spp., Chabertia ovina, Oesophagostomum columbianum, and Trichuris ovis. The goats gained more LW (P < 0.001) under low SR and when they were heather-supplemented. No significant SR × H interaction was found for LW change. In conclusion, high stocking rate increases the infectivity risk of pasture and the supplementation of grazing goats with heather contributing to improve animals' performance. Notwithstanding, the effect of heather availability on nematode FEC reduction could be highly dependent on the climatic conditions.