Production by wethers fed oats, wheat, and lupins, with dry annual pasture in north-eastern Victoria

1981 ◽  
Vol 21 (112) ◽  
pp. 480 ◽  
Author(s):  
PA Kenney

An experiment was conducted at Rutherglen Research Institute in autumn 1979 to evaluate various grain supplements for the fattening of 18-month-old Merino wethers intended for the live export market. All sheep had mature, dry pasture, harvested during mid summer, freely on offer. This herbage contained 9% crude protein and was 47% digestible. Wheat, oats or lupins were fed as supplements at 0, 180, 360, 540 g/head.d and ad libitum. Mixed grain rations were also studied: lupins were fed at 0, 90, 180 and 270 g/head.d with either wheat or oats ad libitum. Wethers were fed these rations for nine weeks and fasted liveweight, wool growth, and body condition score were measured. Animals were then slaughtered and carcases weighed. Animal performance was positively related to the rate of grain intake. Ad libitum intakes of wheat and oats were low - 450 and 520 g/head.d respectively, and only maintained liveweights. in contrast, lupins fed ad libitum were consumed at 650 g/head.d, which resulted in significant increases in live and carcase weight - 4 kg and 3.8 kg respectively. Pasture intake was reduced by one third with all ad libitum grain rations. The addition of lupins at 180 g/head.d to wheat or oats increased the ad libitum intakes of the cereal grains to 550 and 650 g/head.d, respectively, with associated liveweight gains of 1.0 and 4.5 kg for the nine week period. Intake of cereal grains was generally low compared with that in other published reports; but all rations containing more than 10% lupins showed promise as supplements for fattening wethers.

Author(s):  
M. R. Cropper ◽  
N. Diaz

Taylor (1980) indicated the importance of mature size in the description of animals and its usefulness for standardising growth parameters. The mature size and body composition of the Gallego breed, a small meat-producing type first described by Mason (1967), have never been estimated under defined management conditions. Therefore, using the scaling rules and results of Thonney, Taylor, Murray and McClelland (1987) as a guide, a study was made to determine whether the reputation of Gallego lambs for producing lean carcases was borne out in the composition of mature animals.Twenty-one ewes (mean liveweight, LW, 32.7, sd 5.4 kg) and eight rams (LW 47.6, sd 8.6 kg) were selected as cast animals on the basis of age ( >4 years), body condition score (BCS, >1.75), health and teeth status and group-fed on concentrate (180 g crude protein/ kg dry-matter) and hay ad libitum. LW was measured fortnightly. When all animals had a LW and BCS which were stable for 2 months, 3 subgroups were slaughtered monthly. Weights of wool, body organs and hot carcase (HC) were recorded. Dissection of the cold carcase (CC) into commercial joints (Cabrero Poveda, 1984) and total lean, bone and fat.


2012 ◽  
Vol 52 (9) ◽  
pp. 853 ◽  
Author(s):  
G. Banchero ◽  
A. Vázquez ◽  
M. Vera ◽  
G. Quintans

The objective of the present study was to investigate whether adding condensed tannins (T) to the diet of sheep increases ovulation rate (OR). In all, 281 mature Polwarth ewes (49.9 ± 6.0 kg and body condition score (BCS) of 2.02 ± 0.24 units) were heat-synchronised (oestrus = Day 1) and sorted in the following four treatment diets: (1) native pasture alone (82.6 g of CP and 8.4 MJ metabolisable energy (ME)/kg DM) (NP; n = 70); (2) native pasture (NP) plus a supplement of 0.45 kg of soybean meal (S) from Day 10 to Day 14 (NP+S; n = 71); (3) NP plus a supplement of 0.45 kg S and 25 g of T, to get an estimated concentration of T in the diet of 1.5% (NP+S+1.5T; n = 69); and (4) NP plus a supplement of 0.45 kg S and 42 g of T, to get a concentration of T of 2.5% (NP+S+2.5T; n = 71). OR was measured 8 days after the second heat by rectal ultrasound (Day 25). The estimated consumption of crude protein (CP) during the supplementation period was 129, 261, 237 and 200 g/ewe.day for NP, NP+S, NP+S+1.5T and NP+S+2.5T ewes, respectively. NP+S+1.5T ewes had an OR of 1.90, which was higher (P < 0.05) than those for NP+S+2.5T and NP+S ewes (1.68 and 1.70, respectively). All supplemented ewes had a higher OR than did NP ewes (1.48, P < 0.05). Although NP+S+1.5T ewes ate less protein than did NP+S ewes, their OR was higher, as a result of a more effective use of the protein. The higher concentrations of 2.5% T in the diet might have not evoked a response in OR.


2011 ◽  
Vol 51 (6) ◽  
pp. 557 ◽  
Author(s):  
P. R. Kenyon ◽  
S. T. Morris ◽  
K. J. Stafford ◽  
D. M. West

The aim of the present study was to determine the production response of triplet-bearing ewes and their lambs to two differing feeding treatments in mid to late pregnancy and to determine the effect of ewe body condition. Ninety-two days after the start of their breeding period (P92) triplet-bearing ewes, were allocated to either a Medium (n = 72) or ad libitum (‘Adlib’, n = 72) feeding treatment until P113, followed by both groups being merged and offered ad libitum feeding conditions until lambing. The Medium feeding treatment was designed to ensure pre- and postgrazing herbage masses were below 1200 and 1000 kg DM/ha, respectively. Each feeding treatment included ewes from the following body condition score groups: 2.0 or less (CS ≤2.0), 2.5 (CS2.5) or 3.0 or greater (CS ≥3.0). At P113, Medium ewes were lighter (P < 0.05) and had lower (P < 0.05) body condition scores than Adlib ewes (72.4 ± 0.80 vs 75.2 ± 0.85 kg and 2.8 ± 0.06 vs 3.3 ± 0.06, respectively). However, at P141 liveweight no longer differed (P > 0.05, 86.2 ± 0.94 vs 86.6 ± 0.99 kg, respectively), although a small difference in condition score remained (P < 0.05, 3.0 ± 0.07 vs 3.3 ± 0.08, respectively). Ewe feeding treatment had no effect (P > 0.05) on lamb liveweight or survival or ewe liveweight and body condition during lactation. Ewe body condition score group had no effect (P > 0.05) on lamb birthweight. Lambs born to CS2.5 group ewes were heavier 70 days after the midpoint of lambing (L70) than those born to CS ≤2.0 group ewes (20.9 ± 0.41 vs 19.6 ± 0.36 kg, respectively), although they displayed lower survival to L70 (56.0 vs 69.5%). Liveweight at L70 and survival of lambs born to CS ≥3.0 group ewes (20.0 ± 0.39 kg and 61.7%) did not differ (P > 0.05) from those born to either CS ≤2.0 or CS2.5 group ewes. In conclusion, these results suggest triplet-bearing ewes can be maintained under restricted feeding conditions until at least Day 113 of pregnancy without negatively affecting ewe or lamb performance when they are subsequently offered unrestricted feeding for the remainder of pregnancy and during lactation. Under these grazing conditions the body condition of triplet-bearing ewes had little to no effect on their subsequent performance or that of their lambs.


2012 ◽  
Vol 52 (7) ◽  
pp. 483 ◽  
Author(s):  
P. R. Kenyon ◽  
R. E. Hickson ◽  
P. G. Hutton ◽  
S. T. Morris ◽  
K. J. Stafford ◽  
...  

This study aimed to investigate the effects of ewe body condition score and nutrition on twin-bearing ewes and their offspring. At maximum Day 112 of pregnancy (range 96–112 days), 185 twin-bearing ewes were allocated to either a ‘Medium’ or ‘ad libitum’ (Adlib) feeding treatment for the following 25 days (P112–P136). Each feeding treatment included ewes of body condition score: 2.0 (CS2.0, Medium n = 32, Adlib n = 28), CS2.5 (Medium n = 31, Adlib n = 33) or CS3.0 (Medium n = 30, Adlib n = 31). After P136 ewes were offered Adlib feeding conditions. Medium treatment ewes were lighter (P < 0.05) than Adlib ewes at P136 and P142 and displayed lower (P < 0.05) body condition score at P136 and back-fat depths at P142. CS2.0 ewes had lower (P < 0.05) liveweights and body condition score at P112, P136 and P142 than CS2.5 ewes, which in turn had lower (P < 0.05) liveweight and body condition scores than CS3.0 ewes. Ewe feeding treatment had no effect (P > 0.05) on lamb liveweight or apparent colostrum intake. Ewe body condition score had no effect (P > 0.05) on lamb birthweight or apparent colostrum intake. Lambs born to CS2.0 ewes had greater (P < 0.05) survival than lambs born to CS2.5 ewes. At the end of the study lambs born to CS2.0 ewes were lighter (P < 0.05) than those born to CS2.5 and CS3.0 ewes although, there was (P > 0.05) no effect of condition score on total litter liveweight. In conclusion, these results suggest twin-bearing ewes of body condition 2.0–3.0 can be offered restricted feeding levels to at least Day 136 of pregnancy with few implications for their lambs.


2007 ◽  
Vol 58 (9) ◽  
pp. 913 ◽  
Author(s):  
N. R. Adams ◽  
J. R. Briegel ◽  
J. C. Greeff

This study examined whether the low body-fat reserves in sheep with high estimated breeding values (EBVs) for clean fleece weight (CFW) reported previously are affected by nutritional history, and second whether the effect may be related to differences in the variation in fibre diameter (CVfd). Groups of 11 20-month-old Merino ewes with high and low EBVs for CFW and for CVfd were compared in a 2 × 2 design at low bodyweight, then fed ad libitum for 100 days and re-measured. The response of wool growth rate to feed supply (WRF) was estimated as the slope of the regression against time of clean wool mass collected from mid-side patches at intervals of 30–40 days throughout the experiment. High CFW sheep had greater feed intake relative to liveweight and liveweight gain (P = 0.02), but did not differ significantly in other characteristics from low CFW sheep. High CVfd sheep had lower plasma concentrations of insulin (P = 0.02), IGF-1 (P = 0.03), and albumin (P = 0.02) throughout the study, and had less fat when in poor body condition (P = 0.02). The WRF was greater in both the high CFW (P = 0.003) and the high CVfd (P = 0.004) genotypes. When studied in poor body condition, sheep with a high WRF had lower liveweight (P < 0.001), lower body condition score (P < 0.001), lower plasma albumin (P < 0.001), and higher plasma growth hormone (P = 0.02), but these relationships weakened or disappeared after ad libitum feeding. Sheep with high WRF also had lower plasma concentrations of insulin (P = 0.002) and IGF-1 (P = 0.008) throughout the study, which may have brought about the increased responsiveness of protein and energy metabolism to nutrition. The results indicate that genetic selection for wool characteristics can affect the responsiveness of wool growth rate to nutrient supply. Sheep that are highly responsive grow more wool when offered abundant feed, but may have lower body nutrient reserves when on limited feed.


1987 ◽  
Vol 27 (2) ◽  
pp. 211 ◽  
Author(s):  
PJ Holst

Border Leicester x Merino ewes (body condition score 2.6-3.0) grazing short pastures were given feed supplements during lambing, to examine effects on lamb survival. Supplementary feeding of poor quality lucerne hay, good quality lucerne hay or oaten grain, each given ad libitum, began 3 days prior to the start of the 4-week lambing period and continued to the end of lambing. One third of the ewes had twins. Lamb marking percentage for the unsupplemented treatment was 108.5% compared with 109.9, 118.1 and 111.7% for the poor quality lucerne hay, good quality lucerne hay and oaten grain treatments respectively. Of twin-bearing ewes given good quality hay, 60% reared both lambs, compared with 48-49% of those given poor quality hap or grain (n.s.) and 36% of those not supplemented (P < 0.05). Supplements did not improve the survival rate of single lambs. Overall survival (combining birth types) of lambs was also significantly improved by a supplement of good quality hay. The observed differences in twin survival were associated with differences in ewe grazing behaviour. These results support recommendations that supplementary feeding of twin-bearing ewes approaching lambing with a body condition score of 2.6-3.0 will improve lamb survival and weaning weights.


Author(s):  
Supriadi , ◽  
Erna Winarti ◽  
Agus Sancaya

<p>Effect of Feeding Ratio with Various Quality on Milk Production of Friesian Holstein Crossbred Cattle in Sleman District of Yogyakarta. The research was conducted from July to October 2013 at the District Integrated Services Unit – Development Unit for Seeds and Feed of Livestocks and Animals Diagnostic under the Sleman Agricultural Agency of Yogyakarta Province. Total of 16 cows on the 2nd or 3rd lactating periods were divided into 3 groups of dietary treatments including a group as the control treatment. Dietary treatments were various feed supplements in the protein contains of (A) 15%, (B) 13% and (C) 12% with energies of (A) 255 cal/100gr, (B) 261 cal /100gr and (C) 274 cal/100gr respectively. The control treatment was local feed product with 12% of crude protein. The mixture of young corn forage and king grass was provided ad libitum as well as water. The result showed that the milk production of treatments group had no differences (p&gt;0.05) from the control group’s. However the average production of milk of group C was higher than group A and B, while the lowest production was from the control group. The milk production of cows of treated groups increased up to 18%. The financial efficiency of feed were IDR3.000 (group A), IDR4.000 (group B) and IDR5.000 (group C). As a result, even the feed treatments have not increase the milk production yet, on the other hand the feed supplements could considerably maintain body condition score (BCS). </p><p>Keywords: Feed supplement, milk production, financial efficiency</p><p>ABSTRAK</p><p>Penelitian dilaksanakan bulan Juli sampai Oktober 2013 di Unit Pelayanan Terpadu Daerah – Balai Pengembangan Bibit Pakan Ternak dan Diagnostik Kehewanan (UPTD BPBPTDK) Dinas Pertanian Daerah Istimewa Yogyakarta. Sebanyak 16 ekor sapi perah yang sedang laktasi ke 2 dan 3 dibagi ke dalam 3 kelompok perlakuan pakan dengan masing-masing kelompok terdiri dari 4 ekor ulangan. Kandungan protein kasar masing-masing perlakuan berkisar 15% (A); 13% (B); dan 12% (C) dengan kandungan energy 255 kal/100gr (A), 261 kal/100gr (B) dan 274 kal/100gr (C). Kontrol perlakuan berupa pakan konsentrat yang dibeli di pasar sekitar wilayah penelitian yang mengandung 12% protein kasar. Hijauan yang diberikan berupa tanaman jagung muda (tebon) dan rumput raja diberikan ad libitum begitu pula air minum. Hasil penelitian menunjukan rata–rata produksi air susu sapi penelitian berdasarkan analisis sidik ragam tidak ada perbedaan (P&gt;0,05) antara perlakuan dan kontrol. Perbandingan produksi air susu antara sebelum dan sesudah diperlakukan berdasarkan uji t menunjukkan perbedaan nyata. Produksi setelah perlakuan menunjukan kenaikan 18% lebih tinggi dibandingkan dengan produksi sebelum perlakuan. Perhitungan<br />efisiensi harga pakan dalam satu kali pemberian per ekor per hari antara harga pakan kontrol dengan harga pakan 48 Jurnal Pengkajian dan Pengembangan Teknologi Pertanian, Vol. 20, No.1, Maret 2017: 47-58 perlakuan, lebih murah harga pakan perlakuan dengan selisih harga untuk masing-masing perlakuan adalah: perlakuan A (Rp3.000), perlakuan B (Rp4.000) dan perlakuan C (Rp5.000). Perlakuan pakan A, B dan C secara umum dapat<br />mempertahankan BCS (body condition score). Dengan demikian, formula pakan perlakuan dapat mempertahankan BCS, tetapi belum bisa meningkatkan jumlah produksi air susu selama laktasi.</p><p>Kata kunci: Konsentrat, produksi air susu, efisiensi</p>


1980 ◽  
Vol 20 (105) ◽  
pp. 389 ◽  
Author(s):  
KR King ◽  
CR Stockdale ◽  
IF Patterson

The effect of restricting the intake of pasture on the performance of dairy cows was studied in two 28-day phases in the eighth and ninth months of lactation. Intakes ranged from 12.4 to 4.9 kg of dry matter/cow day-1. After the 28-day restriction phases, all cows were grazed ad libitum at pasture. Production of milk, butterfat, protein and solids-not-fat all declined linearly with reduction in intake (0.569, 0.0286, 0.0206 and 0.0525 kg per kg of dry matter intake, respectively). Butterfat concentration increased curvilinearly with reduction in intake, but there was no effect on protein and solids-not-fat concentrations. In addition to the decreased production, there was a decrease in body condition score of 0.160 units for each kg reduction in dry matter intake. During the post-experimental period, with ad libitum grazing, cows that had previously been restricted recovered most of their daily milk yield and some of their body condition. The cows in this experiment required an extra 35 kg of dry matter to produce an extra kg of butterfat, but this efficiency ignores potential extra production in the following lactation from improved body condition.


2009 ◽  
Vol 33 (2) ◽  
pp. 138-145
Author(s):  
A. D. Salman

This study was conducted to evaluate the effect of body condition score (BCS) and supplementary feedingon the reproductive performance of Awassi ewes.One hundred sixty Awassi ewes aged 3-5 years (Average live weight 47.41±0.76) were used in acompletely randomized design. Six weeks before mating ewes were screened for their body conditionscore (BCS) and divided into two groups, low BCS (<2.0) and high BCS (>2.0) and ewes in each groupwere subdivided according to BCS and to non-supplemented and supplemented groups (n=40 ewes).Therefore, the four groups were:1. Group (LBCN) = Low Body Condition Non-supplemented.2. Group (LBCS) = Low Body Condition Supplemented.3. Group (HBCN) = High Body Condition Non-supplemented.4. Group (HBCS) = High Body Condition Supplemented.All ewes received ad libitum barley straw, and (350g DM/ewe/day) whole barley grains. The supplementedgroups (groups 2 and 4) were fed Mating Feed Blocks (MFB) ad libitum. Mature fertile Awassi rams(Three rams / group) were run with each group.The results showed that the pre-mating, mating, andpost-mating condition scores and body weights of the non-supplemented Ewes (Groups 1 and 3) aremaintained throughout the trial. Ewes offered supplementary feed the supplemented ewes (Groups 2and 4) gained in body condition score and weights, the differences were not significant. The BCS andweights at mating for supplemented groups are 2.12, 2.64 and 46.11, 53.38 kg for groups 2 and 4respectively. The results showed that the reproductive performance of Awassi ewes improved considerablydue initial BCS and MFB supplementation. The percent of ewes lambed after mating during the first andsecond estrus cycles were significantly (P<0.05) affected by ewes' initial BCS and MFB supplementation.The percent of ewes lambed in first cycle were 50%, 77%, 72.3% and 87% for groups LBCN, LBCS,HBCN and HBCS respectively. Supplementation of low BCS ewes resulted a significant (P<0.05)improvement in conception rate (17.5%) and lambing rate (12%). The results have not shown anysignificant of initial BCS and supplementation on twinning percentage. The percent of barren ewes at endof the trial was higher (20%, P<0.05) in LBCN compared 


1985 ◽  
Vol 41 (1) ◽  
pp. 43-51 ◽  
Author(s):  
P. Rees ◽  
P. Rowlinson

ABSTRACTIn two experiments the effect of giving concentrates to dairy cows from a fully-controlled out-of-parlour dispenser was compared with giving concentrates twice daily in the milking parlour. In experiment 1, 22 cows were used in a cross-over design during the first 19 weeks of lactation. In experiment 2, 34 cows were used in a continuous trial during the first 18 weeks of lactation. Weeks 1 to 3 of each experiment were used as a standardization period during which all cows were given equal amounts of concentrates twice a day during milking. At the end of this period cows were paired and assigned to receive concentrates either in the milking parlour (group P) or to receive 1·0 kg concentrates per day in the milking parlour and the remainder from an out-of-parlour dispenser (group O). Within pairs, between treatments, cows were offered the same amount of concentrates and allowed access to ad libitum silage. Means for milk yield, fat and solids-not-fat concentrations during experiment 1 were 25·1 v. 23·9 kg/day (P < 0·01), 36·5 v. 38·1 g/kg, 89·9 v. 89·1 g/kg (P < 0·001), and for experiment 2 were 27·1 v. 25·4 kg/day (P < 0·01), 39·8 v. 42·6 g/kg, and 90·9 v. 90·9 g/kg, for groups O and P respectively. Mean concentrate intakes during experiment 1 were 8·3 v. 8·4 kg/day (P < 0·01) and during experiment 2 were 8·9 v. 8·6 kg/day (P < 0·01) for groups O and P respectively. In both experiments, group O had more positive changes in weight and body condition score (P < 0·05). It is concluded that the use of the dispenser improved milk yield, weight and condition-score changes, though milk fat concentration was decreased compared to that of parlour-fed cows.


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