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OBJECTIVE: This work was carried out to evaluate the effects of zilpaterol hydrochloride (ZH) and ractopamine hydrochloride (RH) combined with immunocastration on the welfare traits of feedlot Nellore cattle. METHODS: Ninety-six Nellore males (average body weight [BW] = 409±50 kg; average 20 mo of age) were divided into two groups according to BW; half of the animals in each group received two doses of an immunocastration (ImC) vaccine in a 30 day interval, and the other half did not receive the vaccine (NoC). Afterward, the animals were housed and fed a common diet for 70 days. Then, they were split into three groups and fed one of the following diets for 30 additional days: control (CO) diet, with no ß-AA; ZH diet, containing 80 mg/d ZH; and RH diet, containing 300 mg/d RH. Welfare traits were assessed by monitoring body surface temperature using infrared thermography (IRT) and plasma cortisol and temperament measurements. RESULTS: There was no interaction between sexual condition and diet for any trait. The ImC and NoC groups did not differ in rectal and ocular temperatures. The ImC animals had higher flight speeds (p = 0.022) and tended to have higher cortisol levels (p = 0.059) than the NoC animals. Animals fed ZH and RH did not differ in cortisol levels, respiratory rate, rectal temperature, temperature measured by IRT, or temperament behaviour. CONCLUSION: The ImC animals showed a less stable temperament during handling practices than NoC, whereas ZH and RH supplementation had no adverse effects on animal welfare.

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Ractopamine hydrochloride (RAC) is a ß-adrenergic agonist approved for feeding during the last 28 to 42 d prior to cattle slaughter to improve feedlot performance and carcass characteristics. Three thousand crossbred yearling steers (527 ± 2.4 kg; AVG ± SD) were used in two periods to evaluate the effects of various RAC withdrawal times on feedlot performance, health, and carcass characteristics. In Period 1, 6 blocks of 30 pens totaling 1,500 steers were utilized, which was repeated for Period 2. In a randomized complete block design, cattle were assigned to 1 of 5 treatments consisting of 1) No RAC fed (CON), 2) 12-h RAC withdrawal (12-hRAC), 3) 2-d RAC withdrawal (2-dRAC), 4) 4-d RAC withdrawal (4-dRAC), and 5) 7-d RAC withdrawal (7-dRAC). Cattle were fed for a total of 62 d, and applicable treatments were supplemented with 30.0 ppm (dry matter basis) of RAC (average dose = 322 mg per steer per day) for 33 d at the end of the feeding period, corresponding to their respective withdrawal times. Initial body weight (BW) displayed a quadratic curve, with 2-dRAC and 4-dRAC withdrawal periods having the greatest BW. Accordingly, dry matter intake (DMI) responded quadratically (P = 0.034), with 2-dRAC and 4-dRAC treatments demonstrating the greatest DMI. No significant treatment differences (P ≥ 0.641) were observed in final live BW, average daily gain (ADG), or feed efficiency. Alternatively, when using a common dressing percentage to calculate live BW, cattle on RAC treatments exhibited 7.6 kg additional live BW (P < 0.001) compared to CON cattle. Furthermore, carcass-adjusted ADG and feed efficiency did not differ (P > 0.10) between RAC treatments but were improved compared to the CON treatment (P ≤ 0.002). Hot carcass weight (HCW) was on average 4.9 kg greater (P < 0.001) for RAC treatments vs. CON, and no differences were detected (P > 0.10) among RAC treatments. Within RAC treatments, carcass cutability responded quadratically (P ≤ 0.005) to withdrawal period, with the 2-dRAC and 4-dRAC treatments containing more Yield Grade 4 and 5 and fewer Yield Grade 1 and 2 carcasses than the other RAC treatments. On the basis of the results of this experiment, feeding RAC improves dressing percentage, HCW, and carcass-adjusted BW, ADG, and feed efficiency. Furthermore, extending the RAC withdrawal period to 7 d does not have a significant impact on cattle performance or health and has minimal effects on carcass characteristics.

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Different veterinary drugs have been widely found in surface and groundwater, affecting non-target organisms. Ractopamine (RAC) is one of these drugs found in water bodies. It is a ß-adrenergic agonist used as a feed additive to modulate the metabolism, redirect nutrients from the adipose tissue towards muscles, and increase protein synthesis in swine, cattle, and turkeys. RAC shows toxicological potential, but there is no data about its impacts on the development of non-target organisms, such as zebrafish (Danio rerio). In this study, we evaluated the effect of the exposure to this feed additive on critical parameters (hatching, survival, spontaneous movement, heart rate, and exploratory and locomotor behavior) in zebrafish embryos and larvae. The animals were exposed to RAC hydrochloride at 0.1, 0.2, 0.85, 8.5, and 85 µg/L. Zebrafish exposed to the drug showed increased heart rate at all tested concentrations and alterations on locomotion and exploratory behavior at 85 µg/L. No changes were observed in the survival, hatching rate and spontaneous movement. Our results suggest that RAC present in the environment can induce disabling effects on non-target organisms and elicit an ecological imbalance by increasing the animals' vulnerability to predation due to greater visibility.

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Immunocastration (ImC) has been proposed as an animal welfare-friendly alternative to reduce sexual and aggressive behavior and to increase carcass fat deposition with positive effects on meat quality. The ß-adrenergic agonists (ß-AA) are known as repartitioning agents that acts increasing lean tissue deposition. The combined use of these technologies can positively affect meat quality and increase retail cuts yield. Thus, this research was conducted to evaluate the combined effects of ImC and ß-AA (zilpaterol hydrochloride (ZH) and ractopamine hydrochloride (RH)) on retail cuts, bones, and fat trim of feedlot finished Bos indicus (Nellore) cattle. No interaction was observed between sexual condition and diet for any trait. The ImC decreased cold carcass, hindquarter (HQ), forequarter (FQ) and combined brisket, short ribs and flank (BSF) weights. The ImC also showed smaller weights of retail cuts and bones on the HQ and on the FQ than non-castrated (NoC). Fat trim weights did not differ from ImC and NoC. The most of subprimal cuts were heavier in NoC than in ImC. Feeding ß-AA did not affect cold carcass weight; however, animals fed ZH had higher weights of HQ and retail cuts in HQ when compared with RH and control (CO) group, with no differences between RH and CO for both traits. The weights of FQ, BSF, retail cuts in FQ, as well as bones and fat trimmings were not affected by ß-AA. In summary, ImC decreases carcass and retail cut weights, whereas ZH supplementation leads to an improvement in carcass lean tissue and retail cuts.

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The effect of ractopamine hydrochloride (0, 5 or 10 ppm) and protein (22% and 24%) in the diet on the productive performance and carcass yield of growing turkeys was evaluated. Seventy two male turkeys from the Nicholas-700 line of 14 weeks old were used. The turkeys were fed ad libitum with the experimental diets during 28 days. The turkeys assigned to the treatments with ractopamine (RAC) had higher daily gains of weight (0.139, 0.154 and 0.156 kg/day for 0, 5 and 10 ppm, respectively) and were 400 and 500 g heavier at the end of the experiment (12.9 and 13.0 kg for 5 and 10 ppm respectively) than the turkeys of treatment 0 ppm of RAC (12.5 kg). RAC increased significantly (P < 0.05) the weight of the thigh (0.748, 0.793 and 0.809 kg for 0, 5 and 10 ppm) and wing (P < 0.06; 0.593, 0.589 y 0.626 for 0, 5 and 10 ppm). There was no effect of protein treatment and RAC on breast yield (P > 0.05). The results obtained in this work indicated that the RAC increased the daily weight gain and the yield of the thigh and wing from a concentration of 5 ppm in the diet.

Se evaluó el efecto del nivel de clorhidrato de ractopamina (0, 5 o 10 ppm) y proteína (22% y 24%) en la dieta sobre el desempeño productivo y rendimiento en canal de pavos comerciales. Se utilizaron 72 pavos machos de la línea Nicholas-700 de 14 semanas de edad. Los pavos se alimentaron ad libitum con dietas experimentales durante 28 días. Se encontró que los pavos asignados a los tratamientos con clorhidrato de ractopamina (CLRP) tuvieron mayores ganancias diarias de peso (0.139, 0.154 y 0.156 kg/ día, para 0, 5 y 10 ppm, respectivamente) y ganaron entre 400 y 500 g más peso al final del experimento (12.9 y 13.0, para 5 y 10 ppm respectivamente) que los pavos del tratamiento 0 ppm de CLRP (12.5 kg). Se encontró que el CLRP incrementó significativamente, (P < 0.05) el peso del muslo (0.748, 0.793 y 0.809 para 0, 5 y 10 ppm) y del ala (P < 0.06; 0.593, 0.589 y 0.626 para 0, 5 y 10 ppm). No se observó ningún efecto del nivel de proteína y de CLRP sobre el rendimiento de pechuga (P > 0.05). Los resultados obtenidos en este trabajo indican que el CLRP puede incrementar la ganancia diaria de peso y el rendimiento del muslo y el ala, desde 5 ppm.