Creole goats have adapted to the harsh Andean environment, yet the physiological impacts of high-altitude production systems remain underexplored. This study assessed seasonal and dietary influences on the hematological and biochemical profiles of 45 Creole goats in the Peruvian Andes. The animals were assigned to three diets: D1 (grazing), D2 (grazing + 2000 g hay), and D3 (grazing + 400 g concentrate), across rainy and dry seasons. Biweekly blood sampling measured urea, cholesterol, total protein, albumin, ALP, ALT, WBCL, NeuP, LymP, HGB, and MCV. Season exerted the strongest influence (p < 0.001), with modest dietary effects and a consistent effect of sampling time. Urea, total protein, and albumin increased during the rainy season, though only urea responded significantly to diet. Leukocytosis rose in the dry season and with higher-protein diets, suggesting heightened immune activati...

The study aimed to characterize goat production systems in the tropical dry forest of Peru through multivariate analysis of 25 socioeconomic and productive variables in 60 producers from Bagua Grande, El Milagro, Cajaruro, and Cumba. Descriptive analysis, multidimensional scaling (stress = 0.03272), categorical principal component analysis (CATPCA), and hierarchical clustering analysis (HCA) were applied. A predominance of extensive management (98.3%), with low technical assistance (81.7%), absence of irrigation (90%), and visual selection of animals (100%) was identified. Marketing responds to immediate economic needs (36.7%), while vaccination coverage is poor (88.3% not vaccinated). CATPCA explained 54.5% of the variance (Cronbach's alpha = 0.965), highlighting producer education, infrastructure, and access to water and energy as key factors for improving production efficiency and mit...

The aim of this study was to describe the system for rearing llama populations in communal cooperatives (CC) and by individual farmers (IF) in the Pasco region, Peru. Field surveys were applied to four CC administrators and 145 IF. The main breeding objective for CCs and IFs was meat production. The K'ara type llama predominated in CC and the Intermediate type in IF. The average herd size in CC was 200 and in IF 48 llamas. Mating in CC was controlled and in IF generally uncontrolled. The age at first service of males and females in CC and IF was 34.5 and 23.5, and 26.3 and 23.1 months, respectively, with a male: female ratio of 1.13 in CC and 1.18 in IF. The average permanence of males and females in the herd was 2.54 and 8.0 in CC and 4.14 and 9.6 years in IF, respectively. Male and female replacements came from the same herd in 70 and 75% in CC and in 83.6 and 98.3% in IF, respectively...

Universidad Nacional Agraria La Molina. Escuela de Posgrado. Doctorado en Ciencia Animal

The aim of this study was to evaluate the dynamics of growth and nutritional value of Pennisetum spp (cv. Maralfalfa) at three cutting ages (45, 60 and 75 days) and at two times of the year (high and low rainfall) in the district of Oxapampa, Pasco, Peru. Plant height to flag leaf (AH), number of tillers (NT), green biomass (BV), dry matter (DM), in vitro digestibility of dry matter (DIVMS), crude protein (CP), crude fibre (CF), calcium (Ca) and phosphorus (P) were evaluated in a completely randomized design with a 3x2 factorial arrangement (cut-off age and time of year). The AH did not present significant differences for age at cutting (34.27±4.00, 210.08±4.00 and 251.14±4.00 cm for 45, 60 and 75 days, respectively), nor between seasons (191.91±3.26 and 205.09±3.26 cm in low and high precipitation, respectively). The NT did not show significant differences for age at cutting (54.56...

The study aimed to evaluate the effect of four levels of coconut cake inclusion (0, 10, 20, 30%) in the diet of guinea pigs on productive parameters during the growth and fattening phases. Four hundred male guinea pigs from the Peru genetic line were used, with an average age of 14 ± 3 days and an initial weight of 294.8 ± 4.0 g. The animals were randomly distributed into four experimental groups, each with five replicates of 20 guinea pigs, for 56 days. Key indicators such as daily weight gain (DWG), final weight (FW), feed consumption (FC), feed conversion ratio (FCR), carcass yield (CY), and economic return were recorded. No significant differences were found in the production parameters analysed (p>0.05), with average values for DWG, FW, FC, FCR, and CY between 12.6 and 13.0 g/day, 995.1 and 1020.8 g, 2161.4 and 2471.2 g/guinea pig, 3.02 and 3.49, and 73.06 and 73.64%, respectiv...

Introduction: Tithonia diversifolia, also known as Mexican sunflower, is a tropical shrub with high forage potential, but limited information exists on the optimal harvest stage to balance yield and nutritional value. Methods: A 3 × 3 factorial design was implemented under tropical dry forest conditions in northern Peru, combining three regrowth stages (30, 45, and 60 days) with three plant fractions (leaf, stem, and leaf–stem mixture), with four replicates per treatment. Agronomic traits, dry matter yield, proximate composition, and in vitro dry matter digestibility (IVDMD) were evaluated. Results: Biomass yield increased significantly with harvest age, reaching 11.93 kg fresh weight and 3.45 kg dry matter per plant at 60 days, although with reduced nutritional quality due to a higher stem proportion. Leaves harvested at 30 days had the highest crude protein (16.5%) and soluble carbo...