Browsing by Author "Larrain, Rafael"

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    Chilean public attitudes towards beef production systems
    (2023) de la Fuente, Valentina Mansky; Enriquez-Hidalgo, Daniel; Teixeira, Dayane Lemos; Larrain, Rafael; Hotzel, Maria Jose
    Much is discussed about the characteristics, efficiency, and externalities of indoor housing and pasture-based beef production systems, but little is known about how these features influence public attitudes towards beef production. This study aimed to explore Chilean citizens' attitudes towards beef production systems and their underlying reasons. Citizens (n = 1,084) were recruited to participate in a survey and given information about one beef production system: indoor housing, continuous grazing or regenerative grazing. Participants had more favourable attitudes (from 1 = most negative attitudes to 5 = most positive attitudes) towards pasture-based systems (regenerative grazing = 2.94; continuous grazing = 2.83) than towards indoor housing (1.94), mainly due to concerns with animal welfare and environmental impacts. Productivity was not as important as the other sustainability aspects for participants as they were not willing to do that trade-off. Support for beef production may benefit if production systems adopt characteristics that are perceived by the public as positive for the environment and animal welfare.
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    Effectiveness of a New Recombinant antiGnRH Vaccine for Immunocastration in Bulls
    (MDPI, 2021) R. Huenchullan, Paula; Vidal, Sonia; Larrain, Rafael; Saenz, Leonardo
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    Physiological and behavioural response of two dairy cows' genotypes during summertime in the central region of Chile
    (2018) Arias, Rodrigo A.; Herrera, Camila; Larrain, Rafael; Gonzalez, Fernando; Mader, Terry L.; Velasquez, Alejandro
    Heat stress has been recognised as a serious problem in dairy farms. The study goal was to assess the effects of climatic conditions on physiological and behavioural responses of dairy cows in Central Chile. Data of tympanic temperature (TT), panting score, respiration rate (RR), and shade utilization of cows from two genotypes, Holstein (H) and Holstein x Montbeliarde (HM), were collected twice per day (AM/PM) during three periods of the summer season in Central Chile. Moreover, three thermal comfort indices: Comprehensive climate index (CCI), temperature humidity-index (THI), and adjusted THI were estimated using meteorological data. The hour of each day was classified as "Normal" or "Stressful" based on CCI threshold of 25 degrees C. Statistical analysis included ANOVA, repeated measures analysis and Chi square test (alpha=0.05). There was an interaction of genotype x CCI condition x period (P=0.0026) with the highest TT of both genotypes under a stressful condition within each period. In addition, interactions of genotype x hour (P<0.0001) and genotype x CCI condition (P<0.0002) were also observed. The HM cows showed greater TT than H cows in both CCI conditions. The RR was higher during the afternoon and a greater proportion of cows used shade at "Mild" and "Moderate" CCI categories (P<0.001). Both genotypes showed some degree of heat stress, but cool nights and shade seem to be enough to allow to cows' cope with the challenging diurnal conditions observed in the summer season. A study of these effects on milk production is necessary to confirm or discard the previous.