CALVES UNDERGO GENETIC EDITING TO PREVENT GROWTH OF HORNS.

The two calves that grace a muddy pen on the UC Davis campus will never grow horns typical of their breed. Instead, they’ll always sport soft hair on the parts of their heads where hard mounds normally emerge. The calves were designed in a petri dish at a Minnesota-based genetics lab, with the goal of making them easier to pack into pens and trucks without the nuisance of their horns taking up valuable space. Their offspring may also lack horns, and generations of hornless cows could follow, potentially saving the dairy and cattle industry millions of dollars, said Alison Van Eenennaam, a geneticist at UC Davis’ College of Agriculture and Environmental Sciences who worked with the Minnesota lab Recombinetics. This first-of-a-kind result of a process called genetic editing is a test run that’s expected to deeply impact the cattle and dairy industry and the entire food supply, Van Eenennaam said. It’s also part of a flurry of research looking at how to make cattle easier to maintain, transport and turned into food. The research has raised concerns among some farmers and animal-rights activists who warn of the health and ethical risks of consuming genetically modified food, but so far, that hasn’t stopped the research drive. At UC Davis, animal geneticist Pablo Juan Ross has been trying to perfect a technique developed a decade ago but now gaining more acceptance to design cattle that produce only male offspring.“Males grow faster than females, and in beef production they are more desirable,” Ross said. Another project uses stem cells to produce a clone animal, Ross said. Genetic editing could also help design cows that are less prone to pneumonia, which would reduce their need for antibiotics.Van Eenennaam is keen on using word processing as an analogy to describe the differences between genetic editing and engineering. She likens genetic editing to changing the spelling of a word within a document and genetic engineering to pasting in a word from a completely different document.“You’re not bringing in something foreign ... like introducing a protein from a tomato into a fish, which is what is associated in genetic engineering,” she said. The two dairy calves had a precise section of DNA responsible for horn growth was knocked out and replaced with a precise section from a cow that does not produce that trait. Many cattle varieties do not grow horns, including Angus cattle. With dairy cattle – both male and female – horns are a given, and the animals are dehorned soon after they’re born.Once the cows are sexually mature, Van Eenennaam will collect semen from the bulls to inseminate horned cows – the route by which most cows are impregnated in the cattle and dairy industry. The plan is to track the calves’ growth and development and see whether the two faithfully transmit the hornless trait to their offspring.“The odds are 100 percent if Mendelian genetics holds true,” she said.She added that it’s not clear whether other, unexpected effects of editing will appear. If successful, it will allow the industry to bypass decades of breeding for polled, or hornless, cows. At the University of Missouri, researchers focus on genetically modifying pigs to remove genetic traits for maladies such as retinitis pigmentosa, hemophilia and cystic fibrosis, said Randall Prather, an animal geneticist at the school. Story credit; http://www.sacbee.com/news/local/health-and-medicine/article50822850.html

BLIND DOG NAMED CHRISTMAS RESCUED AFTER BEING TRAPPED IN WELL .

According to ABC eye witness reports; a blind, elderly dog named Christmas has been rescued after months of living alone in a well, -- and his rescue was captured in a touching video, ABC News reports. (http://abc11.com/pets/blind-dog-named-christmas-rescued-after-being-trapped-in-well-for-months/1131401/) "Surprisingly, the dog is in fairly good, psychical condition," said Laura Simpson, founder of the Harmony Fund in Holden, Massachusetts. "The blindness of course is from a pre-existing condition, but he's now in foster care and we're hoping he can find a home there he's loved and respected in the way he should be." Simpson told ABC News that it was last week when international animal rescuer Fahrudin Caki Bravo and his friend Ratko Koblar received word of a dog trapped in a well in nearby Bosnia."The dog had been there for months and they don't know if he was thrown in, or if he fell in," Simpson said. "We're certainly hoping that he fell, but with the dog being completely blind, he was only kept alive because the local children were kind enough to feed him.""He (Bravo) and his friend thought it was perfectly feasible getting the dog out and they did a great job," she added. "They made it look easy." Following his rescue, , Christmas received veterinary care and was placed in foster care.

DOG BREEDERS AND SALE OF SICK PUPPIES.

Julie Crumpler Peele faces five additional felony charges of obtaining property under false pretenses. These are in addition to the two charges she already faced last month after two different viewers who say Peele sold them sick puppies.When confronted Peele in October, she denied the puppies she sells are sick."It makes me very angry," Paige McKeithan said.McKeithan told me she met Peele in July, 2014 and bought a dog named Gunner from her."My mom was holding him and we felt that the stomach was really tight, and so my mom asked if the dog was sick, and she said no he just didn't like car rides. So I thought he was just sick from that," McKeithan added.But she said within 24 hours of buying him from Peele, Gunner had to be rushed to the vet. McKeithan said the vet suspected the parvo virus and also that Gunner had parasites and bacteria in his bloodstream. She spent over $2,000 in vet care for Gunner, and said the vet did everything she could to get Gunner healthy, but nothing was working. According to ( http://abc11.com/pets/woman-allegedly-selling-sick-puppies-facing-new-charges/1077899/)She had to put Gunner down, and now she has a message for Peele: "Just for her to stop doing this and for something to be done."

RABIES AND DOG IMPORTATION.

Dog breeders and pet lovers and owners have been warned continuously of dangers associated with dog importation.The breeders are supposed to ensure the dogs get the necessary vaccinations before they are sold and shipped off, but some mischievous breeders/puppy mill merchants dont vaccinate these pets thus exposing the pet lovers to a risk.The pets that are shipped branding certificates are often times discovered to be fake, thus strict documentation laws must be ensured and vaccination records verified to ensure safety. There has been cases of shipping off animals to other countries which were incubating various pathogens, a recent case is the rabid dog shipped to the US from Egypt (as reported by STAT http://www.statnews.com/2015/12/17/rabies-dog-cdc/) The rabid dog was transported into the country in May by an animal rescue organization. It was later discovered the dog’s rabies vaccination certificate was a fake, CDC officials said .It’s the fourth time — that officials know of — in the last 11 years that a rabid dog has been imported to the United States. Ten people who had substantial contact with the animal were advised to get post-exposure rabies treatment and eight more involved in its importation opted to get vaccinated as a precaution, CDC and state health department officials wrote in a report on the incident published in this week’s Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report, a journal operated by the CDC.‘There’s no shortage of adoptable dogs in the US’ Dr. Nicky Cohen said the CDC issued guidelines last year to spell out what is needed, from a rabies control standpoint, to import companion animals to the United States. Chief among them: an authentic rabies vaccination certificate. It also pointed out some red flags to look for on rabies vaccination certificates to spot fakes — things like multiple dogs in a shipment having identical certificates or evidence that a dog’s name has been whited out. “It’s pretty basic,” Cohen admitted. “There have been four incidences where rabid dogs have been imported. But we do know that more dogs than just these four have been imported with falsified records. This was issued in response to the recognition of imported dogs with falsified vaccination records.”The dog from Egypt was part of a shipment of eight dogs and 27 cats. It was the only animal in the shipment that was infected.

BUSINESS OPPORTUNITIES IN THE POULTRY VALUE CHAIN.

Poultry production has always been a source of income and the recent ban on importation of frozen poultry products,has opened up more avenues to make more money as demand for home grown birds have increased. The poultry value chain is a lucrative venture with specific points for investments such as ; producers, transporters,processors, retailers, and innovative products.There is a gap to be filled and numerous products can be introduced to the market;

FINANCIAL ANALYSIS ; RAISING BROILERS FOR PROFIT.

REARING COST FOR 5OO BROILERS; EXPENDITURE AMOUNT. 1) Land...............................................1,500,000 2)Housing...........................................900,000. 3) D.O.C @ 200#.....................................100,000. 4) Brooding cost @ 25#/chick........................12,500. 5)vaccination/medication @ 40#....................20,000. 6)Farm supplies,tools,wheel barrow................15,000. 7)Drinker/feeder.....................................25,000. 8) Feed @ 100g/chick/day @ 0-3 weeks cost of feed(2800).....11,760. 9)Feed @ 180g/chick/day for 4-7 weeks and cost of feed..3000....226,800. 10) Labor...................................20,000. TOTAL.............................2,831,060. Analysis. sale of birds @ 2000/bird. 2000x 490(2% mortality}......980,000. Profit=sale proceeds-recurrent expenditure = 980,000- 391,060 588,940 Naira. An investor will have a profit of 588,940; and subsequent production cost will reduce because the capital expenditure is paid for at onset of production An investor can have this turn over every 42 days,thats a good turn-over.

POULTRY VALUE CHAIN: LESSONS FROM INDIA.

Broiler production in India is projected to increase by approximately 8% to 4.2 million tonnes in 2016 on rising demand from the growing middle class.Local estimates believe that demand for processed chicken meat is growing between 15-20% per year, according to a recent USDA GAINS report.The organised sector produces an estimated 80% of total chicken meat production, and is mainly concentrated in Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh, Maharashtra, Karnataka, and West Bengal. The live poultry market constitutes 90 to 95% of total sales since most consumers prefer freshly culled chicken meat. Within the last ten years, many broiler enterprises have vertically integrated their operations, especially in southern and western India. Approximately 60-70% of all operations use the integrator model, while the remaining are smaller backyard operations. Integrator' s own all the hatcheries, feed mills, and slaughter facilities, and contract with multiple smaller farmers who raise the chicks to slaughter weight primarily in open air sheds. One integrator may have as many as 20,000 contracted farms, however, in a few cases integrator's may sell chicks or feed without requiring a contract. Some integrator's also provide credit, extension services, and veterinary medicine. At the end of the production cycle, the live birds either are purchased by the integrator's for slaughter and further processing, or by a middle man/wholesaler, eventually arriving at a live bird wet market for local sale. For 2016, egg production is forecast at 80 billion eggs, up 5% from last year. In order to mitigate rising transportation costs and better maintain quality control, poultry companies are reportedly establishing more layer farms near highly urbanised areas. The processed chicken meat sector is growing at a rate between 15-20% per year due to the growing middle class, which reportedly has positively affected sales not only in retail, but quick service restaurants and the hotel, restaurant, and institutional sector. A few major poultry companies have started expanding their slaughtering and processing facilities, and are beginning to offer a wider range of processed chicken meat products for the retail sector like frozen chicken burgers, salamis, nuggets, sausages, and tikkas. India's per capital consumption of poultry meat is estimated at around 3.1 kg per year, which is low compared to the world average of around 17 kg per year. India's per capital consumption of eggs is estimated at about 62 eggs per year. More and more people are shifting to poultry and poultry by-products,as a means of livelihood, employment opportunities and providing more protein for the nation.The sector provide various points of investment opportunities,which are very profitable. portions of story from world poultry.