Vivian Fischer

Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul | UFRGS · Departamento de Zoologia

Laminitis is usually considered a consequence of digestive disorders that reduce ruminal pH. However, it is still not clear the direct relation between low ruminal pH provoked by excessive fast-digesting carbohydrate ingestion and laminitis, considering indicators, signs, and diagnosis aspects. This study aimed to clarify the association between di...

Infrared thermography (IRT) is a non-invasive and efficient tool to detect changes in the animal's body surface temperature, which is directly associated with the animal's energy loss. Methane emission represents a significant energy loss, particularly in ruminants, as well as heat production. Therefore, the aim of this study was to correlate skin...

Context Feeding behaviour is an important tool for the early detection of diseases in dairy cows. Aims The aim of this study was to evaluate whether the variation in time spent feeding in the prepartum and postpartum periods may be used to detect the occurrence of metritis and subclinical ketosis (SCK) before the onset of the clinical symptoms at t...

Maternal behavior has been related to ewe's reactivity, as more reactive ewes might have greater risk of presenting worse maternal ability. This study aimed to determine the association between maternal behavior score (MBS) of Corriedale ewes with their physiological and behavioral variables measured at weaning of their offspring within two handlin...

We aimed to evaluate the effects of the addition of oregano (Origanum vulgare) or green tea (Camellia sinensis L.) extracts (separately and associated) on feed intake, milk production, and hematological and antioxidant profiles of dairy cows. For that purpose, 16 Holstein and 16 Holstein-Gyr cows with 526.3±10.2 kg and within the first third of lac...

The transition period in taurine dairy cows is widely reported in the literature. However, little is known about the metabolism of zebu animals and their crossbreeding with taurine breeds during this phase. Considering the importance of these breeds in tropical and subtropical regions, this study aimed to evaluate the feed intake, milk production a...

Given the current threatening scenario faced by coral reefs, reproductive biotechnologies can be a helping hand in the fight against extinction. Therefore, safe methods to assess viability of coral gametes are essential. In this study, we aimed to develop a reliable method to assess oocyte viability for scleractinian corals using Mussismilia hartti...

Infrared thermography of the lateral side portion of the udder was taken from 38 lactating cows in a 6-day experiment. Thermograms were analyzed using specific software with the use of eight different methods. The experiment was aimed at correlating the different methods with each other and with rectal temperature (RT), in order to suggest a method...

Plant extracts have been fed as additives to domestic animals, but their effects on behavior are variable, although synergism between products is rarely explored. This study aimed to evaluate the effects of oregano (Origanum vulgare) and green tea (Camellia sinensis L.) extracts fed separately or associated as additives on behavior in lactating dai...

Water is necessary to maintain life, improve feed intake (FI) and performance of animals. This study evaluated water intake (WI) and behavior at the feeder and drinker of confined Brangus cattle in the subtropics, as well the adequacy of previously published WI prediction equations. Two trials were carried out from 2017 to 2018, with 60 Brangus hei...

This preliminary study aimed to compare feed intake, milk production and composition as well metabolites in blood, and redox status in Holstein and Girolando F1 (½ Holstein × ½ Gyr) heifers presenting high body condition score (BCS) during the transition period (-d15 to d21 related to calving). A completely randomized experimental design was used,...

In this Research Communication we investigate the motivations of Brazilian dairy farmers to adopt automated behaviour recording and analysis systems (ABRS) and their attitudes towards the alerts that are issued. Thirty-eight farmers participated in the study distributed into two groups, ABRS users (USERS, n = 16) and non-users (NON-USERS, n = 22)....

The objective was to describe the behavior of Pantaneiro ewes and their lambs during the peripartum and to correlate these behavioral characteristics with the maternal behavior score (MBS) and productive characteristics of the lambs until weaning. During 2 years, on paddocks with Brachiaria brizantha pasture, 288 ewes aged of 3.5 ± 1.5 years and we...

This trial aimed to evaluate the ingestive behavior, feed intake (DMI) and its relationship with health in Holstein, Gyr and Girolando-F1 (½ Holstein ½ Gyr) cows during the transition period. For that purpose, 34 cows were distributed in three groups according to their breed compositions. Behavior, DMI and health conditions were monitored daily dur...

ABSTRACT This study aimed to typify smallholders’ dairy systems using quali-quantitative measures of feeding practices and detect the main discriminatory elements identifying the systems. We collected data from 30 farms distributed in 10 municipalities in the eastern region of Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil, using a survey with semi-structured questions...

This study aimed to typify smallholders’ dairy systems using quali-quantitative measures of feeding practices and detect the main discriminatory elements identifying the systems. We collected data from 30 farms distributed in 10 municipalities in the eastern region of Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil, using a survey with semi-structured questions, in addi...

This study aimed to determine the physiological and hematological parameters of sheep in Brazil. Therefore, 5,081 observations were used from previous experiments with animals from different Brazilian regions with the time of day, gender, breed, age, physiological characteristics, hematological and climatic variables. The animals were classified ac...

The trial aimed to investigate the use of infrared thermography (IRT) to estimate enteric methane production in dairy heifers. The study lasted 5 days with 36 Gyr, Gyr x Holstein and Holstein heifers. The sulphur hexafluoride (SF6) tracer technique was used to estimate methane emission. Superficial body temperature was obtained with an infrared cam...

Daily rumination time (RT; min/d) is recognized as an important tool for assessing the health of dairy cows, which may depend on the disease, lactation stage and individual cows. Using a systematic review-meta-analysis, this study evaluated whether the variation in RT is effective for early detection of metritis and subclinical ketosis (SCK) in dai...

The objective of this study was to evaluate the biomarkers of the redox state of pre-weaned Jersey dairy calves that consumed milk from cows supplemented with green tea (Camellia sinensis) or oregano extracts (Origanum vulgare). A completely randomized design was used with repeated measures in time. From their birth to 60 days of life, 8, 8 and 7 c...

Plant extracts have been recognized as beneficial to human health and have been evaluated as feed additive for domestic and companion animals. This study evaluated oregano and green tea extracts fed to Jersey cows from approximately 21 d before calving to 21 d after calving on milk production, milk composition, and blood metabolites as well as inve...

This research communication addresses the hypothesis that, during the summer in the subtropics, natural tree shade helps to improve milk functional characteristics such as stability and acidity. Sixteen Holstein lactating cows were enrolled. The study consisted of three periods (pre-stress, heat stress and post-stress) based on allocating grazing c...

Tight junctions are almost impermeable structures located near the apical border of epithelial cells; increase in the permeability of mammary gland cells’ tight junctions may alter milk composition and its suitability for industrialization. Sixteen Holstein dairy cows were studied to evaluate mammary gland cells’ tight junction permeability (indica...

The aim of this study was to evaluate the effects of green tea (Camellia sinensis) and oregano (Origanum vulgare) extracts on behavior, weight gain and health indicators of dairy calves from birth to 60 days of age. Twenty-one Jersey calves were distributed into three treatments: without additives (CON); green tea extract (GT): supply of 30 mg/kg o...

Context The effect of heat stress on the production and physiology of lactating dairy cows is well documented in literature. However, little is known about the effect of the provision of shade on DNA damage. Aims The present study aimed to evaluate the effects of shade provision on physiological, oxidative-stress, and DNA-strand damage in dairy cow...

This study aimed to evaluate the effects of feeding oregano or green tea extracts on feeding and social behavior, intake and health status of dairy cows during the transition period. Twenty-four Jersey cows were randomly assigned to treatments: control (CON), 10 g / day of oregano extract (OE) or 5 g / day of green tea extract (GT). Dry matter inta...

The objective was to investigate the effects of available shaded area on behavioural characteristics of lactating cows during the warm season in the subtropics. Twelve Holstein cows were divided into groups, with 2 (SH2) or 10 m2 (SH10) of available shade per cow (six cows per treatment). The behaviour was recorded when animals were grazing from 09...

In the period from 2004 to 2011, seven trials on lactating cows were conducted to evaluate the relationship between the amounts of energy required, and milk production and composition. In total, 392 observations on 132 animals were selected due to different levels of energy intake. The observations were classified into three groups according to the...

Plant extracts have been proposed as substitutes for chemical feed additives due to their potential as rumen fermentation modifiers and because of their antimicrobial and antioxidant activities, possibly reducing methane emissions. This study aimed to evaluate the use of oregano (OR), green tea extracts (GT), and their association as feed additives...

The objective of this study was to determine whether infrared thermography is a useful tool for the recognition of dairy cows in a state of thermal heat stress, as well as to identify the best region of the animal to be evaluated for this recognition. Physiological variables, including rectal temperature, respiratory frequency, cardiac frequency, a...

Lameness can negatively affect production, but there is still controversy about the perception of pain in dairy cows. This study aimed to verify the effects of hoof affections in dairy cows on locomotion score, physiological attributes, pressure nociceptive threshold, and thermographic variables, as well as assess improvement on these variables aft...

This study aimed to investigate how type of hoof injury and corrective trimming alter the behavior of dairy cows. Thirty-four lactating Holstein and Jersey cows were used. They were scored for lameness score on days –2 and 6, before and after trimming and treatment, respectively, using a numerical rating system, in which 1 = perfect gait and 5 = se...

The objective of this research was to determine the variation of milk stability evaluated with ethanol, boiling, and coagulation time tests (CTT) to identify milk components related with stability and verify the correlation between the three methods. Bulk raw milk was collected monthly at 50 dairy farms from January 2007 to October 2009 and physico...

Data from 5689 lactating cows in 35 different dairy herds in Southern Brazil were evaluated over a 15-year period to examine the influence of meteorological variables on milk production in dairy cows with primiparous (1st) and multiparous (2nd to 4th) lactation. Meteorological variables considered were maximum and minimum temperature, relative humi...

This experiment aimed to describe the effects of Oregano extract (OE) inclusion into the concentrate fed to dairy heifers on physiological parameters, feeding behavior, intake, and performance. Thirty-two Holstein heifers were randomly distributed into four treatments: C = control, without addition of OE; OE2.5 = 2.5 g; OE5.0 = 5.0 g and OE7.5 = 7....

The experiment was carried out to identify changes in the behaviorr of lactating cows induced by severe feeding restriction and further refeeding that could serve as facilitators for the visual identification of cows more prone to produce milk with reduced stability. Twelve cows were separated into two groups: Control: full diet supply; Restriction...

Mortality of perinatal lambs and low weight at weaning cause huge liabilities to farmers. Current study describes maternal-filial behavior and evaluates the use of maternal behavior score (MBS) to estimate the behavior of ewes and lambs soon after birth, and correlate it with lamb mortality and performance during lactation. Thirty-seven Corriedale...

The objective of this study was to investigate changes in physiological parameters of dairy cows and understand which physiological parameters show greater reliability for verification of heat stress. Blood samples were collected for analysis and included hematocrit (Ht), erythrocyte count (ERY), and hemoglobin count (HEMO). In addition, physiologi...

Much of the Brazilian territory is located in tropical regions, where year-long high temperatures are an obstacle to the best expression of milk potential of high performance dairy cows from Continental breeds. In southern Brazil, some areas have subtropical characteristics, with mild summers and cold winters where average temperatures are within t...

The objective of this study was to compare the intake, digestibility, and performance of dairy cows fed corn silage, fresh sugarcane, and sugarcane ensiled in three different forms. Twenty-five Holstein cows at 114 ± 12.6 days in milk (DIM) were used. A randomized block design was adopted, using an arrangement of repeated measures over time. The fo...

O objetivo do presente estudo foi caracterizar as propriedades leiteiras da região do Vale do Braço do Norte, sul de Santa Catarina, Brasil, quanto à qualidade do leite e ao perfil em infraestrutura, manejo e alimentação dos animais. Foram coletadas informações de 50 propriedades leiteiras, obtidas por meio da aplicação de um questionário estrutura...

Data from five experiments with dairy cows where feed was restricted to 0, 40, and 50 % of the ad libitum amount, with 259 observations, were subjected to multivariate analyses to determine the effects of severity and duration of feed restriction on production, physical-chemical characteristics, ethanol stability, and somatic cell score of milk. A...

Apresentação dos fatores que influenciam na ocorrência do Leite Instável Não Ácido, ocorrência do LINA em diferentes países e regiões do Brasil, diferenças do SILA e LINA, fluxograma de diagnóstico do LINA.

A total of 90 cows from three commercial farms were used to evaluate the relationship between subclinical mastitis and clinical mastitis and thermal nociceptive threshold. Milk strips from all udder quarters were tested for clinical mastitis with visual inspection of milk and udder alterations and for subclinical mastitis using California Mastitis...

Dairy cattle raised under harsh conditions have to adapt and prevent heat stress. The aim of this study was to evaluate physical characteristics and their association with heat tolerance in different genetic groups of dairy cattle. Thickness of the skin and coat, length and number of hairs, body measurements, as well as physiological parameters and...

The effect of shade on behavior and physiological attributes of grazing cows in a high altitude subtropical zone is not well established. This work aimed to investigate how social and ingestive behaviors, as well as physiological and other attributes of dairy cows such as milk production, change in a subtropical environment during the hot season ei...

Abstract Text: Feed restriction adversely affects feeding and social behavior in cattle. However, data on the effects of nutrient composition on these characteristics are limited. The objective was to quantify the effects of dietary energy and protein restriction on feeding and behavior in lactating Holstein and Jersey cows. Twelve cows in mid-la...

Abstract Text: In the tropics, during several months of the year, air temperatures are well above the upper critical temperature for lactating dairy cattle. Despite this fact, many dairy farmers still do not provide shade. The objective of this trial was to study the behavior of dairy cows with or without access to shadow under mild (afternoon THI...

This study aimed to evaluate the effect of concentrate-to-forage ratio (C:F) on the performance, blood profile, and milk physicochemical characteristics of mid-lactation cows fed a corn silage-based diet. Twenty four Holstein cows, with BW 575 ± 70 kg, body condition score (BCS) 3.1 ± 0.2, milk yield 18.4 ± 3.0 kg, and days in milk (DIM) 121 ± 21 w...

The objective of this trial was to evaluate the effect of whole rice meal (WRM) inclusion in the concentrate upon body development, carcass traits, and meat quality of lambs. Twenty-four castrated lambs with an average initial body weight of 17.90 ± 2.72 kg were randomly blocked according to two genetic groups (Corriedale and Texel by Corriedale cr...

Feed shortages are relatively frequent in subtropical pasture-based dairy production systems. The effect of feed restriction on milk yield and physical-chemical traits was evaluated in this study. The experiment was carried out in Brazil's south region. Treatments consisted of control and restricted diet. Six multiparous and six primiparous cows, w...

The objective of this work was to evaluate the inclusion of sodium citrate and sodium bicarbonate in the diet of lactating Jersey cows, and its effects on the metabolic attributes, productivity and stability of milk. We evaluated urinary pH, levels of glucose and urea in blood, body weight, body condition score, milk yield, milk stability (ethanol...

A total of twelve lactating Jersey cows were used in a 5-week experiment to determine the effects of severe feed restriction on the permeability of mammary gland cell tight junctions (TJs) and its effects on milk stability to the alcohol test. During the first 2 weeks, cows were managed and fed together and received the same diet according to their...

O objetivo deste trabalho é apresentar os principais resultados da pesquisa sobre o leite instável não ácido ou LINA. A proporção de amostras de leite com estabilidade térmica, abaixo do mínimo exigido pela indústria brasileira, configura um sério problema, com uma ocorrência mais elevada durante os períodos de carência alimentar. Trata-se de um pr...

The relation between temperament with performance and meat quality was determined in 79 Charolais × Nellore steers kept in feedlot. Temperament was evaluated according to exit velocity, scale composite score and flight distance four times in the finishing phase, along with body weight, intake and feed conversion measures. Cattle were classified as...

The objective of this work was to evaluate the feeding restriction effects on milk yield and on its electrophoretic protein profile, and to relate them to milk stability to the alcohol test. Two experiments were carried out with Jersey cows: in the first one, the effect of 40% feed restriction was evaluated on semiconfined cows; in the second one,...

The objective of this study to assess the relationship between ewe maternal behavior score and physiological parameters related to their temperament. During lambing, 258 Corriedale and 50 Polwarth ewes were evaluated. They were raised on native pasture in the southwest region of Rio Grande do Sul State, Brazil. The effects of farm, age, type of lam...

The objective of this work was to evaluate the feeding restriction effects on milk yield and on its electrophoretic protein profile, and to relate them to milk stability to the alcohol test. Two experiments were carried out with Jersey cows: in the first one, the effect of 40% feed restriction was evaluated on semiconfined cows; in the second one,...

We evaluated a new criterion for behavior or reactivity estimation for Saanen dairy goats, based on a ranking of attitude of goats submitted to social isolation from their herd mates. We also evaluated the influence of their behavior on milk production and composition during the whole lactation period and on reproductive characteristics. Twenty-thr...

The objective of this work was to evaluate the inclusion of anionic salt in the diet on the physical characteristics and chemical composition of milk, biochemical blood profile, milk yield, body weight and condition. It was used 20 Jersey cows, distributed into two diets, a diet with no addition of anionic salt and one diet with addition of 0.25 kg...

The economical profitability and viability of the implantation of a milk production system in free stall were evaluated. A technical-market analysis was done to define the necessary investment as well as to determine the costs of each production factor. A production model with 100 lactating cows averaging 2,595 liters of daily production was consid...

The aim of the study was to evaluate the effects of supplements with three combinations of energy and protein on milk production, milk physical and chemical characteristics, body weight, body condition score and blood biochemical profile of the cows. It was used, in this experiment, 24 lactating cows on natural fields distributed in a complete rand...

The objective of this work was to evaluate behavior of sheep and to relate behavioral aspects with breed and age of animals. It was observed 5,971 animals distributed in 181 plots regarded to: breed - Corriedale (n=2,731), Ideal (n=1,574), Merino (n=168), Texel (n=717), Suffolk (n=247) and six crossbreds (n=534); age - yearlings (1.5 year, n=3,021)...

This work aimed to study the temperament and the behavior of three sheep breeds (Suffolk, Texel, Ile de France) submitted to two grazing methods (continuous and rotational) with two forage supplies (10 and 20 kg of Italian ryegrass DM/100 kg body weight/day) during four evaluations from August to November 2006. A random block design was used with s...

O objetivo deste trabalho foi avaliar o efeito de duas dietas: baixo e alto nível de suplementação, fornecidas a vacas em estádio avançado de lactação sobre os aspectos produtivos, as características físico-químicas do leite e o perfil bioquímico sanguíneo. Foram utilizadas 12 vacas da raça Holandês, com média de 514kg de peso corporal, escore de c...

The trial aimed to verify the effects of two feeding supplements: low and high level supplementation given to cows at an extended lactation stage upon productive aspects, physical-chemical composition of milk and blood biochemical profile. Twelve lactating Holstein cows, with 514kg of body weight, body condition score of 3.5, yielding 13L milk cow-...

The effects of the dietary supplementation with selenium were evaluated on the concentration of the mineral in blood and milk, as well as changes in milk yield, physical and chemical characteristics, and somatic cells count (SCC). The trial lasted 63 days, the first 21 were designed to adaptation of animals to experimental conditions and standard d...

The effects of the dietary supplementation with selenium were evaluated on the concentration of the mineral in blood and milk, as well as changes in milk yield, physical and chemical characteristics, and somatic cells count (SCC). The trial lasted 63 days, the first 21 were designed to adaptation of animals to experimental conditions and standard d...

Com o objetivo de avaliar o efeito da estrutura de uma pastagem nativa nos parâmetros que compõem o processo de ingestão de forragem de ovelhas e bezerras em pastejo, foram estabelecidas quatro alturas de pasto (4, 8, 12 e 16 cm), em delineamento estatístico inteiramente casualizado, com quatro tratamentos e duas repetições no tempo e no espaço. A...

Aiming to evaluate the influence of native pasture structure in the intake process of grazing ewes and calves, four sward heights (4, 8, 12 and 16 cm) were established. A completely randomized design with four treatments and two replicates in time and space was used. Bite mass and forage intake were estimated by the short-term weight changes techni...