The effect of pregnancy and lactation in the ewe on the digestibility of the ration with a note on the partition of nitrogen in the foetus at full term

Abstract

1. Pregnancy and lactation had no effect on the digestibility of the dry matter and nitrogen-containing constituents of the ration of Cheviot ewes fed at a constant level.2. The water consumption of the pregnant ewe was almost doubled during gestation.3. The digestibility coefficients of dry matter and nitrogen in both pregnant and barren ewes fell considerably from November until the beginning of the following April.4. The average nitrogen content of a normal fullterm Cheviot foetus was approximately 99 g.