Abstract
Sixteen Zel ewes (BW = 37 ± 3.10 kg) were used in a completely randomized design to determine the effects of partial replacement of barley grain with beet pulp (BP), during late pregnancy and early lactation, on litter weight, lamb’s daily gain, milk yield and milk composition. Dietary treatments were initiated approximately three weeks prior to expected lambing dates, and continued for three weeks post-partum. Treatments consisted of 1) a basal diet + 330 g/kg of barley grain (BBG), and 2) a basal diet + 195 g/kg of barley + 135 g/kg BP (BBP). The basal diet contained 444, 117, 101 and 8 g/kg of wheat straw, wheat bran, canola meal and mineral-vitamin mix supplement, respectively. Both diets were offered as a total mixed ration twice daily. Partial replacement of BP increased feed intake. Diets did not affect milk compositions but feeding BBP increased milk yield (1084 vs. 737 g/d), litter weight (3453 vs. 2735 g) and lambs’ daily gain (218 vs. 156 g/d). The lambs’ live weight at 14 d (5992 vs. 4749 g) and 21 d (7553 vs. 5854 g) was affected by maternal nutrition and a higher BBP. The results of this study indicate that late gestation and early lactation ewes can be supplemented with BP without detrimental effects on milk production or milk composition, and feeding ewes with BP during this period resulted in increased litter weight and growth of lambs.
Highlights
Transition nutrition could have a tremendous impact on animal performance and viability of the neonatal animal
Milk yields were measured during the three weeks of lactation using the lamb-suckling method
beet pulp (BP) is often used to reduce the content of non-fibrous carbohydrate (NFC) in diets when it is replaced with grains or forages, but interactions between the feeding of BP and dietary forage fibre or grains are critical
Summary
Transition nutrition could have a tremendous impact on animal performance and viability of the neonatal animal. Maternal strategies for accommodating the substantial requirements of the conceptus include increased hepatic gluconeogenesis (Ingvartsen & Andersen, 2000), increased fatty acid mobilization from adipose tissue (Overton & Waldron, 2004; Smith et al, 2005; Nafikov et al, 2006), decreased peripheral tissue glucose utilization, and possibly, an increased amino acid mobilization from muscle (Bell, 1995; Ingvartsen & Andersen, 2000) During this period, reduced intake (Coffey et al, 1989) and inadequate glucose synthesis may predispose the animal to health disorders and limit milk production (Karcher et al, 2007).
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