CHANGES IN HAEMATOLOGICAL AND PHYSIOLOGICAL PROFILE OF BARKI LAMBS AND THEIR DAMS FED SALT TOLERANT PLANTS SILAGE DURING THE POST-PARTUM PERIOD

Abstract

To investigate the changes which might occur due to feeding silage of salt tolerant plants in physiological and haematological profile of Barki ewes and their newly born lambs during neonatal period (1st month post-partum), a total of forty-eight adult Barki ewes (2.5- 3 years old and 38.39 kg average body weight) and their lambs (with a mean birth weight of 3.35 kg) were used. These ewes were randomly divided into two equal groups. The first group was fed a control roughage diet of Berseen hay while the second one was fed silage made from four salt tolerant plants (Atriplex halimus (50%), Beta vulgaris (25%), Pearl millet (15%) and Carthamus tinctorius hay (10%). Commercial concentrate mixture was used as the concentrate portion of the ration to ewes of the two groups. All ewes of both groups were naturally mated. The two groups fed these diets for an adaptation period of 21 days before mating season and continued all over the pregnancy period and then after parturition till weaning their lambs. Throughout the first month after parturition, live body weight changes, thermo-respiratory responses and haematological profile were recorded at intervals of five days for all ewes and their lambs. In addition, milk yield was estimated from all ewes in both groups immediately after birth and every week during the first month after birth. In general, statistical analysis showed a significant (P<0.01) effect of measurement intervals on all the studied hematological parameters in both Barki ewes and their lambs except for mean corpuscular hemoglobin concentration of dams. However, all of these parameters didn’t affected by type of maternal nutrition especially in lambs. There were no significant effects of type of feeding on rectal, skin, and coat temperatures at all times of measurement in lambs or their dams. However, Regardless of feeding type both ewes and lambs had higher (P<0.01) respiration rate at the first day of birth than at 7, 14, 21, 28 days post-partum. In conclusion, results of the present study indicated that feeding Barki ewes on silage from the experimental salt tolerant plants can not affect their productivity with no health challenges to them or to their lambs.