Improving the use of available feed resources to overcome sheep feeding deficits in western China

2016 ◽  
Vol 56 (9) ◽  
pp. 1545 ◽  
Author(s):  
Joshua Philp ◽  
Adam M. Komarek ◽  
Sarah J. Pain ◽  
Xueling Li ◽  
William Bellotti

Socioeconomic and agro-ecological circumstances often compel smallholder livestock farmers in the developing world to maintain livestock over winter, and this can incur production penalties due to insufficient feed quality and availability. Recent policy efforts in western China have attempted to address this issue through the promotion of lucerne production to support growing livestock numbers with its high nitrogen content, however lucerne is underutilised by farmers and rarely maintained beyond harvest. The potential benefits to production of storing enough lucerne to meet the minimum nitrogen requirements of rumen function during the winter deficit were explored in an experiment in Qingyang Prefecture, Gansu Province, P.R. China. Tan weaner sheep (mean weight 15.4 kg) were fed corn straw, corn grain and lucerne hay in respective ratios of 80 : 20 : 0 [metabolisable energy (ME) = 7.4 MJ/kg DM, crude protein = 40 g/kg DM; ‘R1’] or 55 : 20 : 25 (ME = 8.2 MJ/kg DM, crude protein = 65 g/kg DM; ‘R2’). Rations were offered daily in a constant quantity that supplied ~80% maintenance energy requirements at the start of the experiment. Sheep fed R2 retained 0.7 kg more on average than those fed R1 (P < 0.01) after 20 days under experimental conditions with a mean weight change of –0.089 kg/day for R1 and –0.055 kg/day for R2 (P < 0.01). Sheep fed R1 experienced a sustained loss in digestive function over time, with ration DM digestibility decreasing by 0.56% per day (P < 0.01, R2 = 0.65), and MJ of ME per kg of ingested DM (M/D) decreasing by 0.06 MJ/kg DM per day (P < 0.001, R2 = 0.98). The mean M/D of R1 had fallen to 6.1 after 20 days (P < 0.01). The mean DM digestibility and M/D observed in R2-fed animals remained comparatively stable, with no statistically significant differences between starting and finishing values (P > 0.05). The results indicate that the capacity for underfed Tan weaner sheep to absorb energy from low protein rations typical of winter rapidly degrades and that the lucerne hay in the diet prevented this decline. Furthermore, these findings demonstrate that conserving lucerne for inclusion in winter rations is a potential strategy for smallholder farmers to maintain the digestive efficiency of Tan sheep during sustained underfeeding contributing to greater retention of liveweight on restricted diets.

1972 ◽  
Vol 78 (1) ◽  
pp. 119-125 ◽  
Author(s):  
A. R. Sykes ◽  
A. C. Field

SUMMARYThe effects of low protein and low Ca intakes during pregnancy on lamb composition and mineral contents have been investigated. Twenty-eight 6½-year-old Blackface ewes were used in a 2 × 2 experiment in which semi-purified diets containing 11·8 and 6·0% crude protein and 1·2 and 0·11 % Ca in the dry matter were offered to maintain constant levels of non-esterified fatty acids (NEFA) and ketone bodies in the plasma, comparable to those found in hill sheep in winter. A further group, control, were fed a conventional diet containing adequate crude protein and Ca to maintain NEFA and ketone body levels typical of well-nourished sheep. The lambs were killed at birth and whole body fat, moisture, nitrogen, Ca, P, Mg, Na and K contents determined. Further data was obtained on the brain, liver and semitendinosus muscle.Within the context of the experiment the most important factor in determining the mineral content of the lambs was the protein intake of the ewe, mainly due to its effect on lamb body weight. The mean Ca content of lambs from the control ewes was 47·8 g. By comparison that of lambs from the high and low protein groups was reduced by 4·9 and 12·9 g respectively.Calcium intakes as low as 27 mg/kg ewe body weight/day had no significant effect on lamb birth weight or mineral composition.The mean concentrations (g/kg) of minerals in the fat-free bodies of the lambs ranged from 12·1 to 14·6 for Ca, 6·6 to 7·4 for P, 0·49 to 006 for Mg and from 1·9 to 1·6 for K in the control and double deficiency groups respectively. It was concluded that these changes in lamb composition could be interpreted according to classical studies on the influence of undernutrition on the relative growth and development of animal tissues.The livers of the lambs, although significantly reduced in weight by the protein deficiency showed no evidence of being relatively more severely affected than muscle tissue.


1967 ◽  
Vol 7 (26) ◽  
pp. 206 ◽  
Author(s):  
MC Franklin ◽  
P McInnes ◽  
PK Briggs

Merino wethers of 30 months of age were hand-fed in pens on low-(chaffed wheaten straw), medium-(84 per cent chaffed wheaten straw; 16 per cent chopped lucerne hay), and high-protein roughage (chopped wheaten hay, or 67.5 per cent chaffed wheaten straw : 32.5 per cent chopped lucerne hay) alone, or supplemented with wheat grain at daily or twice-weekly intervals. The experimental period was 26 weeks and emphasis was placed on the number of survivors, changes in body weight, and mean daily roughage intake. Data were also collected on wool production. No sheep survived on the low-protein roughage (LPR-2.7 per cent crude protein (CP) ). Seven out of 16 sheep in the medium-protein roughage group (MPR-5.2 per cent CP) survived for 26 weeks ; six of these, however, died in the following four weeks. All sheep survived on the two high-protein roughage diets (HPR(1) and HPR(2)-7.6 per cent CP). The wheat supplement increased the number of survivors in the LPR and MPR groups. There was no difference between results from the daily and twice-weekly supplemented groups. Mean daily roughage intake of the unsupplemented sheep increased at each level of protein in the roughage. Mean intake of chaffed wheat straw when fed alone was 220 g per sheep per day. The intake of the same straw when fed with chopped lucerne hay increased by 120 g per sheep per day in the group fed MPR, and by 344 g in the group fed HPR(1). The wheat supplement did not increase intake within any roughage group. Roughage intake was significantly decreased on the HPR(2) diet when a wheat supplement was given. Sheep fed HPR(2) grew more clean wool than sheep in the other unsupplemented groups. Differences between mean clean wool weights of daily and twice-weekly supplemented groups within each roughage group were not significant, but differences between the mean pooled wool weights of each supplemented roughage group were significant.


1972 ◽  
Vol 15 (2) ◽  
pp. 183-187 ◽  
Author(s):  
E. R. Ørskov ◽  
P. J. Davies ◽  
I. A. Dickson ◽  
A. B. Humphries ◽  
W. Rutter ◽  
...  

SUMMARY1. Groups of 12 male and 12 female lambs, early weaned and individually fed, were used at six centres in Great Britain to determine the effect of dietary protein concentration on growth rate and feed utilization from weaning to 37 kg live weight. Three diets varying in the proportion of rolled barley to white-fish meal were used to give 13·5, 16·0 or 18·5% crude protein in the dry matter. The diets were pelleted and offered ad libitum.2. The male lambs showed significantly poorer growth rates and feed conversions on the low-protein than on the other diets. Results for the females were more variable so that although the mean values showed similar trends these were not statistically significant.3. Female lambs had about 19% lower growth rates than male lambs. The mean food conversion (kg dry matter/kg gain) with the diet containing 16% crude protein was 2·67 for the males and 3·30 for the female lambs. Food utilization differed significantly between centres, the centres using lambs of Finn Dorset breeding having lower growth rates and poorer food utilization than Suffolk crosses.


1974 ◽  
Vol 41 (3) ◽  
pp. 289-297 ◽  
Author(s):  
J. J. Parkins ◽  
R. G. Hemingway ◽  
N. S. Ritchie

SummaryA cubed molassed sugar-beet product with added urea, dicalcium phosphate, trace elements and vitamins was prepared containing 17% crude protein and up to 0·53% P. The product was evaluated in 3 changeover trials with lactating cows and the treatments involved comparisons with a low protein (10%) concentrate and one supplemented with groundnut plus cottonseed meals. When the product was included at 35–62% in milk production diets the mean daily yield of about 15 kg was about 0·5kg less than when full supplementation was as vegetable protein. This was considered more likely to be associated with inefficient utilization of urea rather than because of an energy difference between molassed sugar-beet pulp and barley.


1981 ◽  
Vol 32 (1) ◽  
pp. 79 ◽  
Author(s):  
IC Fletcher

Five rations formulated from varying amounts of pasture hay and oat, lupin and pea grains were fed to South Australian Merino ewes at different controlled levels of digestible energy and crude protein intakes. Ovulation was recorded by laparoscopy or laparotomy 17 days and 34 days after the commencement of the experiment, An increase in protein intake supplied by lupin grain increased the ovulation rate through an increased incidence of multiple ovulation only when the initial level of feeding supplied low protein and energy intakes, and not when the initial level of feeding provided moderate intakes of protein and energy. The response in ovulation rate was evident within the first 17 days after protein intake was increased, and did not change further during the second 17-day period. Particularly in November/ December, when a proportion of ewes failed to ovulate, the mean ovulation rate of ewes fed at low protein and energy intakes was increased more by additional protein and energy together than by additional protein alone. It is suggested that increased protein intake per se stimulates the ovulation rate only when the initial intake is close to the maintenance requirement, and that energy, either by itself or together with protein, subsequently becomes the limiting factor.


1980 ◽  
Vol 23 (3) ◽  
pp. 630-645 ◽  
Author(s):  
Gerald Zimmermann ◽  
J.A. Scott Kelso ◽  
Larry Lander

High speed cinefluorography was used to track articulatory movements preceding and following full-mouth tooth extraction and alveoloplasty in two subjects. Films also were made of a control subject on two separate days. The purpose of the study was to determine the effects of dramatically altering the structural dimensions of the oral cavity on the kinematic parameters of speech. The results showed that the experimental subjects performed differently pre and postoperatively though the changes were in different directions for the two subjects. Differences in both means and variabilities of kinematic parameters were larger between days for the experimental (operated) subjects than for the control subject. The results for the Control subject also showed significant differences in the mean values of kinematic variables between days though these day-to-day differences could not account for the effects found pre- and postoperatively. The results of the kinematic analysis, particularly the finding that transition time was most stable over the experimental conditions for the operated subjects, are used to speculate about the coordination of normal speech.


2017 ◽  
Vol 13 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Izabel Aparecida Soares ◽  
Mauro Sérgio Téo ◽  
Carlise DEBASTIANI ◽  
Suzymeire BARONI ◽  
Vanessa Silva RETUCI

O trabalho teve por objetivo verificar diferenças entre rendimento do concentrado proteico e proteína bruta da folha da mandioca (Manihot esculenta Crantz), obtidos a partir de três variedades comerciais: branca, cascuda e vermelha. As manivas foram plantadas seguindo o delineamento experimental inteiramente casualizado com três repetições. Nas comparações entre as variedades, considerou coletas escalonadas pós-plantio, realizadas aos 12, 14 e 16 meses. O concentrado proteico foi obtido a partir da farinha das folhas inteiras e submetido ao método de termo - coagulação ácido e a proteína bruta pelo método padrão AOAC. Os dados foram submetidos a análise de variância e comparados pelo teste de Tukey - 5% de probabilidade. Os resultados não indicaram diferença significativa entre as médias obtidas para rendimento de concentrado proteico. Para a variável porcentagem de proteína bruta a variedade Branca foi a que apresentou maior valor, com média de 46,25%, seguida pela Cascuda e Vermelha, 44,52% e 37,30%, sucessivamente. Conclui-se que outros estudos devem avaliar condições que possam influenciar no teor de proteína foliar, como clima e solo, e, avaliar os níveis de ácido cianídrico de cada variedade, indicando qual das três é a melhor para a extração do concentrado proteico das folhas. Palavras chaves: Manihot esculenta Crantz, variedades comerciais, concentrado proteico, proteína bruta. ABSTRACT: The study aimed to assess the differences between income protein concentrate, crude protein of cassava leaf (Manihot esculenta Crantz), obtained from three commercial varieties: white, red and cascuda. The cuttings were planted following the completely randomized design with three replications. Comparisons between the varieties considered after planting staggered collections, held on 12, 14 and 16 months. The protein concentrate was obtained from flour of whole sheets and subjected to the term method - acid coagulation and crude protein by AOAC standard method. The data were submitted to ANOVA and Tukey test - 5% probability. The results indicated no significant difference between the mean values obtained for protein concentrate income. For the variable percentage of crude protein White variety showed the highest, with an average of 46.25%, followed by cascuda and Red, 44.52% and 37.30%, successively. We conclude that further studies should evaluate conditions that may affect the leaf protein content, such as climate and soil, and evaluate the hydrocyanic acid levels of each variety, indicating which of the three is the best for the extraction of protein concentrate from leaves Key words: Manihot esculenta Crantz, commercial varieties, protein concentrate, crude protein.


2011 ◽  
Vol 162 (1) ◽  
pp. 201-219 ◽  
Author(s):  
SHU-AN JI ◽  
JESSIE ATTERHOLT ◽  
JINGMAI K. O'CONNOR ◽  
MATTHEW C. LAMANNA ◽  
JERALD D. HARRIS ◽  
...  

2016 ◽  
Vol 3 (2) ◽  
pp. 1 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lighton Dube

<p>This study analyzes the degree of crop diversification and factors associated with crop diversification among 479 smallholder farmers in Manicaland and Masvingo provinces of Zimbabwe. The Herfindahl index used to estimate diversification, while the Tobit model evaluated factors associated with crop diversification.  The mean crop diversity index is 0.54. On average households in Nyanga and Bikita are the most diversified with indices of 0.48 and 0.49 respectively. The most specialized households are in Mutasa and Chiredzi with indices of 0.62. An analysis by gender shows that male headed households are slightly more diversified than female headed households. The Tobit model indicates that gender of head of household, education, number of livestock units, access to irrigation, membership to a farmers group, access to markets, farming experience, farms on flat terrain, farmer to farm extension, routine extension, agro-ecological zone and household income are significant contributors to increasing crop diversification. In turn, crop specialization is significantly associated with off-farm employment, soil fertility, farmers who are happy with extension contacts per year, farmers trained using the farmer field school approach and farmers who receive NGO extension support.</p>


2019 ◽  
Vol 1 (1) ◽  
pp. 7-10
Author(s):  
Gaurav Singh ◽  
Madan Mishra ◽  
Amit Gaur ◽  
Dhritiman Pathak

Background: Fractures of the mandible can be studied and described in anatomic terms, functional considerations, treatment strategies, and outcome measures. The performance of any fixation system depends on multiple factors including plate adaptation, screw placement, bone quality, drilling conditions, and postoperative patient compliance. Bite force assesses masticatory muscle function under clinical and experimental conditions. Method: 30 patients with isolated, noncomminuted mandibular fractures were randomly divided into two equal groups. Group 1 patients were treated using 3-dimensional locking miniplates and group 2 patients were treated with standard miniplates. The bite forces were recorded at definite time intervals: preoperatively, and second week, sixth week, third month, and sixth month postoperatively. Result: At 6 weeks postoperative, 3 month postoperative, and 6 month postoperative, the mean bite force was found to be significantly higher among group 1 patients as compared to those in group 2 in all the sites. While at 2 week postoperative, the mean bite force was found to be significantly higher in Group 2 as compared to Group 1 at incisor region. Conclusion: The overall results of the present study show better performance in bite force for the 3-dimensional locking miniplate when compared with standard miniplates.


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