D2—Lancaster Farming, Saturday, May 5,1984
B Chester D, Hughes
Extension Livestock Specialist
\ ■ - ■ ■
Since the depopulation of several
chicken flocks in the county, there
has been some interest in con
version of poultry buildings to
swine units, veal housing and
facilities for raising rabbits. There
are possibilities for all of these
enterprises with some conversion,
reconstruction, and of course some
additional expenditures.
Through exploring these dif
ferent possibilities, I have become
intrigued by the business of rabbit
production. There seems to be
increased interest in raising
rabbits for fur production, and
what beautiful creatures they
really are.
Along with their value as fur
bearers, and their celebrated
ability to multiply, rabbits have
another quality going for them that
may someday add to their fame:
their meat is nutritious and
delicious to eat. In fact, rabbit
meat is higher in protein and lower
in saturated fat, cholesterol and
calories than either beef, pork,
chicken or fish. What’s more, their
tender, all-white meat tastes
NEWARK, Del. Every swine
producer has a favorite system for
moving gilts into the breeding
herd. Some say it’s best to breed
gilts after they’ve cycled two or
three times. Each successive heat
period (supposedly) allows a gilt to
shed another egg or two.
But according to University of
Delaware extension livestock
specialist Dr. Ken Kephart, some
studies suggest this theory isn’t
everything it’s cracked up to be.
For example, an experiment in
Europe about 11 years ago showed
that waiting until the third estrus
to breed gilts gave only one extra
half-pig per litter compared to
breeding at the first heat. And in
Canada, researchers at the
University of Guelph who con
ducted a similar study found
virtually no difference in litter
sizes between two such groups.
What about the age of the gilt at
first breeding? Does this influence
litter size? “If you looked at a 1951
experiment at the University of
Wisconsin, the answer would be
no,” Kephart says. “But a 1974
study at Oregon State says that
breeding gilts before they reach
six months of age will reduce litter
size.”
Such conflicting results are
confusing, admits the specialist.
“You don’t know whom to believe.
And neither did folks at Oregon
State, so they conducted another
study.”
For this study three scientists,
R.E. Knott, D.C. England and W.
H. Kennick, raised 123 gilts in
confinement. Then they moved the
gilts into a breeding facility at a
light weight (155 to 175 pounds),
medium weight (200 to 220 pounds)
or a heavy weight (240 to 255
pounds). In the breeding area the
researchers hand fed the gilts 6
pounds per day. To help stimulate
the onset of heat, gilts were
regrouped and penned next to a
boar.
Those in the heavy weight group
were bred at their first heat. But
the light and medium weight gilts
weren’t bred until the third heat.
At about four weeks after
breeding, the gilts were
slaughtered in order to determine
actual ovulation rates and number
Livestock Ledger
remarkably like chicken.
In recognition of rabbits’ low
cholesterol content, the American
Heart Association recommends it
for heart patients. Because it also
goes easy on the calories, rabbit
has been endorsed by Weight
Watchers. And, due to rabbits’ low
sodium content, it’s a boon to meat
eaters on a low sale diet for high
blood pressure.
With all these health benefits,
you’d think that rabbit meat would
be available on every supermarket
meat counter, but it isn’t. The fact
that Americans ate about 25
million pounds of rabbit in 1980
only means that we consumed less
than one-half ounce per person. In
Italy, where rabbit has long been
popular, the average person
consumes over 5 pounds a year.
Another great thing about
rabbits is that they produce more
meat per pound of feed consumed
than any other domestic animal.
They produce twice as much meat
from the same amount of alfalfa as
sheep do, for example, and four
times as much as cattle.
Oregon study sheds light on gilt breeding
of live embryos. Here are some of
the results;
* All gilts came in heat an
average of two weeks after they
reached the breeding bam.
* All gilts were roughly the same
age (about 228 days) and weight
(about 254 pounds) at breeding.
* The number pregnant four
weeks after breeding was the same
for all groups (90 percent).
* Ovulation rate (about 13 eggs),
number of live embryos (about 11)
and embryo survival (about 86
The 1984 American-International
Junior Charolais Association
Summer Conference has been
scheduled for June 18 to 21 at
Texas A&M University in College
Station, Texas. The conference will
feature the 9th Annual National
Junior Heifer Show, 6th National
Junior Public Speaking Contest,
Panel Debate and Variety Show.
Events will begin Monday, June
18 at 9 a.m. at the Animal Pavilion
at Texas A&M University with the
National Junior Heifer Show.
Juniors from all across the United
States will compete for national
titles. This year’s show will be
dedicated to Johnny Ragsdale of
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C- It Jt, ■.«, ~^. -*--■»■
Charolais Assoc, to hold summer conference
Md. Simmental Assoc, sale
BY JOHNS. SCHMIDT
FREDERICK, Md. - Election of
officers highlighted the Maryland
Smunental Association’s 10th
Annual Spring Sale held at the
Frederick, Md. Fairgrounds on
Saturday, April 14.
The annual meeting and banquet
preceded the sale, with about 85
members and friends in at
tendance for the meal.
Election results were as follows:
president, Tom Stevenson,
Langdon Farms, Sherwood, Md.;
vice president, Dr. Brenda
Stewart, Oak-n-Thistle Farm,
Woodbine, Md.; secretary
treasurer, J. Fred Grooms,
Ravenwood Farms, Boonsboro,
Md.
LIVESTOCK
LATEST
percent) weie Olllllicu 10l all
groups.
“So here’s another study which
shows that age, body weight and
number of previous heat cycles in
prepartum gilts have little or no
influence on litter size,” Kephart
says. Based on these results,
growers might conclude that it
doesn’t matter how or when gilts
are brought into the breeding herd.
“But stop and think about the
procedure followed in this ex
periment,” he advises. The
researchers took the gilts off the
Richmond, Texas.
Schedule for Tuesday, June 19, is
a live animal and carcass
evaluation program by Dr. Gary
Smith, head of the animal science
department at Texas A&M. In
addition, a tour will be given of the
Texas A&M agriculture depart
ment, large animal, medicine and
surgery department and the meats
research center. A panel debate
will be held that evening at 7:30
p.m. in the Kleberg Center.
Beginning at 8:30 a.m., Wed
nesday, June 20, a tour of Granada
Transplant Center and C-J Ranch
in Leona, Texas, will take place.
That evening at 8 p.m., a special
Elections held at
Newly elected president
Stevenson is also a member of the
board of trustees of the National
Simmental Association. Secretary
treasurer Grooms is one of the
founding members of the
Maryland Association.
After the banquet, breeders
purchased semen from 15 national
sires for a total of $l6OO to benefit
the Maryland Junior Simmental
Association.
The Association’s 1984 Maryland
Queen, Mindi Wrightson, assisted
with the auction along with entire
junior association. All behind the
scene preparations were carried
out by these juniors. Many of the
junior association members
worked sale day to clip, wash, fit
and move the animals in and out of
feeder when they went to the
breeding area and hand fed them
six pounds a day. That represented
a potential saving in feed. The
amount saved, of course, depended
on how long the gilt was in the
breeding bam before she was bred.
From the initiation of the
preheat regimen in this study
(when gilts weighed between 155
and 175 pounds) each group con
sumed the following amounts of
feed per head:
Light weight group 336
pounds.
variety show will be held for
participating Juniors.
The AIJCA public speaking
contest will convene Thursday,
June 21 at 10:30 a.m. in the Kleberg
Center. Following at 2 p.m., the
AIJCA will hold its annual
meeting.
This vear’s conference is
Encephalitis vaccination
NEWARK, Del. - Now’s the
time to vaccinate horses against
both the eastern and western
forms of equine encephalitis.
University of Delaware extension
equine specialist Dr. Mel Reitnour
says horse owners should take
steps to protect their animals
before mosquitoes become active.
Eastern encephalomyelitis
(EEE) has about a 90 percent
death rate, while the western form
(WEE) kills about 30 percent of its
victims. In most cases, both forms
of the disease are transmitted by
mosquitoes.
According to Reitnour, en
cephalitis, or sleeping sickness, is
caused by a virus which affects the
nervous system. At first, an in
fected horse or pony will wander
aimlessly around. circling
mechanically. As the disease
\*\ lull .'is
for horses urged
the sale ring. The senior
association was very pleased with
the total performance of the
juniors in what has become an
annual role for them.
The sale averaged $9Ol on 69
females and 10 bulls. All top selling
bulls, cows and heifers were sired
by the Abricot bull. The top cow
and calf were consigned by the
George Poole of Myersville and
sold for $2,000 to ' Ravenwood
Farms, Boonsboro, Md.
J. Fred Grooms bought the top
open heifer for $2400. An Abricot
yearling son sold for $l2OO to
Hargett Farms of Boyds, MD.
Volume buyers were Woodbourne
Farms, William, Carson and Betty
Queen of Warrenton, VA.
Wify
Medium weight group 470
pounds.
Heavy weight group 368
pounds.
So, based on this experiment, an
economical way to get gilts into the
sow herd is to move them into the
breeding barn at 155 to 175 pounds
and breed them on the third cycle.
“By using this scheme,” Kephart
says, ‘ ‘a grower can save feed as
much as 134 pounds per head
with no apparent reduction in
embryo numbers. ’ ’
dedicated to Mr. & Mrs. Arley
Chambers of Claysville, Pa. For
more information concerning the
AIJAC Conference and National
Junior Heifer Show, contact Terri
Sparrow, director of youth ac
tivities, P.O. Box 20247, Kansas
City, Mo. 64195,816/891-6432.
progresses, its lips and throat
become paralyzed. Dehydration
sets in and the animal stands
cross-legged, grinding its teeth. As
the paralysis spreads, it falls down
and is unable to rise. Death is
usually due to cardiac or
respiratory failure. Animals that
survive are seriously impaired.
Highly effective vaccines are
available against both EEE and
WEE. A combination vaccine is
available in forms suitable for
intramuscular injection. Some
combinations also include
protection against tetanus and
influenza. Reitnour urges horse
owners to contact a veterinarian as
soon as possible and make
arrangements to have their
animals died of encephalitis in
Delaware and nearby states.
1177