Supplementation with sodium butyrate improves growth and antioxidant function in dairy calves before weaning

Abstract Background: There is increasing research interest in using short-chain fatty acids (SCFAs) including butyrate as potential alternatives to antibiotic growth promoters in animal production. This study was conducted to evaluate the effects of supplementation of sodium butyrate (SB) in liquid feeds (milk, milk replacer, and the mixture of both) on the growth performance, rumen fermentation, and serum antioxidant capacity and immunoglobins in dairy calves before weaning. Forty healthy female Holstein calves (4-day-old; 40 ± 5 kg of body weight) were housed in individual hutches and randomly allocated to 1 of 4 treatment groups (n = 10 per group) using the RAND analysis method in Excel. The control group was fed no SB (SB0), while the other three groups were supplemented with 15 (SB15), 30 (SB30), or 45 (SB45) g per day of SB mixed into liquid feeds offered. The calves were initially fed milk only (days 2 to 20), a mixture of milk and milk replacer (days 21 to 23), and then milk replacer only (days 24 to 60). Results: The SB supplementation enhanced growth and improved feed conversion into body weight gain compared with the SB0 group，and the average body gain had a tendency to increase linearly with increasing SB supplementation with a quadratic dose effect. No significant effect on rumen pH; concentrations of NH3-N, individual and total VFAs; or acetate: propionate (A:P) ratio was found during the whole experimental period. Serum glutathione peroxidase activity increased linearly with the increased SB supplementation, and the serum concentration of maleic dialdehyde linearly decreased as the SB supplementation amount increased. Serum concentrations of immunoglobulin A, immunoglobulin G, or immunoglobulin M were not affected by the SB supplementation during the whole experimental period. Conclusions: Under the conditions of this study, SB supplementation improved growth performance and antioxidant ability in pre-weaned dairy calves. We recommended 45 g per day as the optimal level of SB supplementation mixed into liquid feeds (milk or milk replacer) to improve the growth and antioxidant function of dairy calves before weaning.

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Supplementation with sodium butyrate improves growth and antioxidant function in dairy calves before weaning

10.21203/rs.3.rs-25876/v4 ◽

2020 ◽

Author(s):

Wenhui Liu ◽

A La Teng Zhu La ◽

Alexander Evans ◽

Shengtao Gao ◽

Zhongtang Yu ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Body Weight ◽

Growth Performance ◽

Sodium Butyrate ◽

Average Daily Gain ◽

Experimental Period ◽

Immunoglobulin M ◽

Dairy Calves ◽

Milk Replacer ◽

Control Group ◽

Antioxidant Function

Abstract Background: There is increasing research interest in using short-chain fatty acids (SCFAs) including butyrate as potential alternatives to antibiotic growth promoters in animal production. This study was conducted to evaluate the effects of supplementation of sodium butyrate (SB) in liquid feeds (milk, milk replacer, and the mixture of both) on the growth performance, rumen fermentation, and serum antioxidant capacity and immunoglobins in dairy calves before weaning. Forty healthy female Holstein calves (4-day-old, 40 ± 5 kg of body weight) were housed in individual hutches and randomly allocated to 1 of 4 treatment groups (n = 10 per group) using the RAND function in Excel. The control group was fed no SB (SB0), while the other three groups were supplemented with 15 (SB15), 30 (SB30), or 45 (SB45) g per day of SB mixed into liquid feeds offered. The calves were initially fed milk only (days 2 to 20), then a mixture of milk and milk replacer (days 21 to 23), and finally milk replacer only (days 24 to 60).Results: The SB supplementation enhanced growth and improved feed conversion into body weight gain compared with the SB0 group，and the average daily gain increased quadratically with increasing SB supplementation. No significant effect on rumen pH; concentrations of NH3-N, individual and total VFAs; or acetate: propionate (A:P) ratio was found during the whole experimental period. Serum glutathione peroxidase activity increased linearly with the increased SB supplementation, while the serum concentration of maleic dialdehyde linearly decreased. Serum concentrations of immunoglobulin A, immunoglobulin G, or immunoglobulin M were not affected by the SB supplementation during the whole experimental period. Conclusions: Under the conditions of this study, SB supplementation improved growth performance and antioxidant function in pre-weaned dairy calves. We recommended 45 g per day as the optimal level of SB supplementation mixed into liquid feeds (milk or milk replacer) to improve the growth and antioxidant function of dairy calves before weaning.

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Supplementation with sodium butyrate improves growth and antioxidant function in dairy calves before weaning

Journal of Animal Science and Biotechnology ◽

10.1186/s40104-020-00521-7 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 12 (1) ◽

Author(s):

Wenhui Liu ◽

A. La Teng Zhu La ◽

Alexander Evans ◽

Shengtao Gao ◽

Zhongtang Yu ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Body Weight ◽

Growth Performance ◽

Sodium Butyrate ◽

Average Daily Gain ◽

Experimental Period ◽

Immunoglobulin M ◽

Dairy Calves ◽

Milk Replacer ◽

Control Group ◽

Antioxidant Function

Abstract Background There is increasing research interest in using short-chain fatty acids (SCFAs) including butyrate as potential alternatives to antibiotic growth promoters in animal production. This study was conducted to evaluate the effects of supplementation of sodium butyrate (SB) in liquid feeds (milk, milk replacer, and the mixture of both) on the growth performance, rumen fermentation, and serum antioxidant capacity and immunoglobins in dairy calves before weaning. Forty healthy female Holstein calves (4-day-old, 40 ± 5 kg of body weight) were housed in individual hutches and randomly allocated to 1 of 4 treatment groups (n = 10 per group) using the RAND function in Excel. The control group was fed no SB (SB0), while the other three groups were supplemented with 15 (SB15), 30 (SB30), or 45 (SB45) g/d of SB mixed into liquid feeds offered. The calves were initially fed milk only (days 2 to 20), then a mixture of milk and milk replacer (days 21 to 23), and finally milk replacer only (days 24 to 60). Results The SB supplementation enhanced growth and improved feed conversion into body weight gain compared with the SB0 group, and the average daily gain increased quadratically with increasing SB supplementation. No significant effect on rumen pH; concentrations of NH3-N, individual and total VFAs; or acetate: propionate (A:P) ratio was found during the whole experimental period. Serum glutathione peroxidase activity increased linearly with the increased SB supplementation, while the serum concentration of maleic dialdehyde linearly decreased. Serum concentrations of immunoglobulin A, immunoglobulin G, or immunoglobulin M were not affected by the SB supplementation during the whole experimental period. Conclusions Under the conditions of this study, SB supplementation improved growth performance and antioxidant function in pre-weaned dairy calves. We recommended 45 g/d as the optimal level of SB supplementation mixed into liquid feeds (milk or milk replacer) to improve the growth and antioxidant function of dairy calves before weaning.

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Supplementation with sodium butyrate improves growth and antioxidant function in dairy calves before weaning

10.21203/rs.3.rs-25876/v2 ◽

2020 ◽

Author(s):

Wenhui Liu ◽

A La Teng Zhu La ◽

Alexander Evans ◽

Shengtao Gao ◽

Zhongtang Yu ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Body Weight ◽

Growth Performance ◽

Sodium Butyrate ◽

Body Weight Gain ◽

Experimental Period ◽

Immunoglobulin M ◽

Dairy Calves ◽

Milk Replacer ◽

Control Group ◽

Antioxidant Function

Abstract Background: There is increasing research interest in using short-chain fatty acids (SCFAs) including butyrate as potential alternatives to antibiotic growth promoters in animal production. This study was conducted to evaluate the effects of supplementation of sodium butyrate (SB) in milk and/or milk replacer on the growth performance, rumen fermentation, and serum antioxidant capacity and immunoglobins in dairy calves before weaning. Forty healthy female Holstein calves (4-day-old; 40 ± 5 kg of body weight) were housed in individual hutches and randomly allocated to 1 of 4 treatment groups (n = 10 per group). The control group was fed no SB (SB0), while the other three groups were supplemented with 15 (SB15), 30 (SB30), or 45 (SB45) g per day of SB mixed into milk and/or milk replacer. Results: The SB supplementation enhanced growth and improved feed conversion into body weight gain compared with the SB0 group. No significant effect on rumen pH; concentrations of NH3-N, individual and total VFAs; or acetate: propionate (A:P) ratio was found during the whole experimental period. The serum glutathione peroxidase activity was higher in the SB30 and SB45 groups compared with the SB0 group, and the serum level of maleic dialdehyde linearly decreased as the SB supplementation amount increased during the whole experiment. Not inﬂuence of SB supplementation was observed on serum concentrations of immunoglobulin A, immunoglobulin G, or immunoglobulin M during the whole experimental period. Conclusions: Under the conditions of this study, SB supplementation improved growth performance and antioxidant ability in pre-weaned dairy calves. We recommended 45 g per day as the optimal level of SB supplementation (mixed into milk and/or milk replacer) to improve the growth and antioxidant function of dairy calves before weaning.

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Effects of Dietary Supplementation of Humic Acid Sodium and Zinc Oxide on Growth Performance, Immune Status and Antioxidant Capacity of Weaned Piglets

Animals ◽

10.3390/ani10112104 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 10 (11) ◽

pp. 2104

Author(s):

Qi Wang ◽

Jiafu Ying ◽

Peng Zou ◽

Yuanhao Zhou ◽

Baikui Wang ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Zinc Oxide ◽

Body Weight ◽

Antioxidant Capacity ◽

Growth Performance ◽

Immune Status ◽

Immunoglobulin M ◽

Control Group ◽

High Dose ◽

Weaned Piglets ◽

Basic Diet

At present, the widespread use of high-dose zinc oxide and antibiotics to prevent post-weaning diarrhea (PWD) in piglets has caused serious environmental problems. To solve this problem, we studied the effect of HNa as a substitute for zinc oxide (ZnO) and antibiotics on the growth performance, immune status, and antioxidant capacity of piglets. Seventy-two weaned piglets (body weight = 7.42 ± 0.85 kg, 26-d-old) were distributed in a randomized 2 × 3 factorial design (two sexes and three treatments) with six replicates of four piglets each. The three treatments were the control diet (basic diet), HNa diet (basic diet + 2000 mg/kg sodium humate), and ZoA group (basic diet + 1600 mg/kg zinc oxide + 1000 mg/kg oxytetracycline calcium). ANOVA and Chi-square tests were applied to compare the means (p < 0.05) between treatments. The results showed that body weight at 16 and 30 d and the average daily gain of piglets fed with HNa or ZoA were significantly higher (p < 0.05) than the control group. Supplementing HNa or ZoA significantly increased (p < 0.05) the level of immunoglobulin M and G, and reduced (p < 0.05) the concentration of inflammatory factors such as tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-α), interleukins IL-6 and IL-1β, myeloperoxidase (MPO), and diamine oxidase (DAO). Furthermore, dietary HNa or ZnO significantly reduced (p < 0.05) the level of total antioxidant capacity (T-AOC) and malondialdehyde (MDA) compared with the control group. ZoA treatment showed an upward trend of IgA level and a downward trend of the concentration of lipopolysaccharide (LPS) and catalase (CAT). Overall, the study demonstrated that the addition of HNa in the diet partially replaced antibiotics and ZnO to improve the growth performance, immune function, and antioxidant capacity of weaned piglets, and maintained a good preventive effect on piglet diarrhea.

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Effect of chedu and mattha on growth performance of Murrah buffalo calves

Indian Journal of Animal Research ◽

10.18805/ijar.10273 ◽

2016 ◽

Author(s):

Ramesh Kumar ◽

Sanjay Kumar ◽

Jyoti Palod ◽

Himani Tewari ◽

Balwan Singh

Keyword(s):

Body Weight ◽

Health Status ◽

Growth Performance ◽

Research Work ◽

Experimental Period ◽

Control Group ◽

Buffalo Calves ◽

Early Puberty ◽

Murrah Buffalo ◽

Treatment Groups

The aim of the present study was to determine the effect of chedu and mattha on growth performance of Murrah buffalo calves. To assess the effect of chedu and mattha on growth rate, 20 growing buffalo calves of around 1 year of age and approximately of same weights were selected and were divided into 4 treatment groups having 5 animals in each group. The animals had access to ad libitum berseem hay as the basal roughage T0 (Control), T1 (Administration of mattha @ 2% of body weight with salt @ 0.5% of mattha), T2 (Application of chedu on their body @ 150 g per animal), T3 (Administration of mattha and application of chedu). Body weight of all buffalo calves was recorded at 15 days interval during the experimental period. From 75th day of experiment, significant effect (P<0.05) was observed in body weight, heart girth and height at withers of treatment groups as compared to control group whereas, body length and paunch girth showed significant effect (P<0.05) on 90th day of experiment. The results further indicated that use of chedu and mattha improved the health status of the calves and helped to attain a comparatively higher body weight and an early puberty. It can be concluded on the basis of findings of present research work that the use of chedu and mattha may be recommended for supplementation of calves’ diet, as it improves the health status of the calves and helps in the attainment of higher body weight and an early onset of puberty in the calves.

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Supplementation with sodium butyrate improves rumen fermentation, antioxidant capability, and immune function in dairy calves before weaning

10.21203/rs.3.rs-25876/v1 ◽

2020 ◽

Author(s):

Wenhui Liu ◽

A La Teng Zhu La ◽

Alexander Evans ◽

Shengtao Gao ◽

Zhongtang Yu ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Fatty Acids ◽

Body Weight ◽

Immune Function ◽

Growth Performance ◽

Sodium Butyrate ◽

Rumen Fluid ◽

Rumen Fermentation ◽

Control Group ◽

Quadratic Effect ◽

Treatment Groups

Abstract Background Short-chain fatty acids including butyrate have received increasing research interest as potential alternatives to antibiotic growth promoters (AGP) in animal production. This study was conducted to evaluate the effects of supplementation of sodium butyrate (SB) on the growth performance, rumen fermentation, antioxidant capacity, and immune response of calves before weaning. Healthy Holstein female calves (4-day-old; 40 ± 5 kg of body weight) were randomly allocated to 1 of 4 treatment groups (n = 10 per group). The control group was fed no SB (SB0), while the other groups were supplemented with 2% (SB2), 4% (SB4), or 6% (SB6) of SB/kg of dry matter. All calves were housed in individual hutches. Results The SB supplementation enhanced growth rate and improved feed conversion into body weight gain compared with the SB0 group. At 60 days of age, the rumen fluid pH increases quadratically with increased SB supplementation, and the ammonia nitrogen (NH3-N) concentration of rumen fluid in the treatment groups were significantly lower than that of the SB0 group. There was a quadratic effect that indicated that the SB4 treatment was most effective in reducing the NH3-N concentration. The concentration of volatile fatty acids and Acetic: Propionic in rumen fluid were not affected by SB in any groups. At 28 days of age, the serum level of maleic dialdehyde of the SB groups was significantly lower than that of the control group, and the glutathione peroxidase activity in the serum of group SB4 was significantly increased compared with the that of the control group. At 28 days of age, SB had a quadratic effect on serum immunoglobulin A concentration, with the greatest increase being observed in group SB4. At 60 days of age, the serum immunoglobulin G concentration increased linearly as SB levels increased. Conclusions Under the conditions of this study, there were positive effects of SB supplementation on growth performance, rumen fermentation, antioxidant ability, and immune function in calves before weaning. We recommended 4% as the optimal SB supplementation level to improve growth, antioxidant and immune function of calves before weaning.

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Influence of Sodium Humate on the Growth Performance, Diarrhea Incidence, Blood Parameters, and Fecal Microflora of Pre-Weaned Dairy Calves

Animals ◽

10.3390/ani12010123 ◽

2022 ◽

Vol 12 (1) ◽

pp. 123

Author(s):

Dong Wang ◽

Zhendong You ◽

Yuanyi Du ◽

Duo Zheng ◽

Haotian Jia ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Growth Performance ◽

Basal Diet ◽

Blood Parameters ◽

Dairy Calves ◽

Milk Replacer ◽

Control Group ◽

Sodium Humate ◽

Fecal Microflora ◽

Diarrhea Incidence ◽

And Control

This study aimed to evaluate the effects of the administration of sodium humate (NaH) on the growth performance, diarrhea incidence, and fecal microflora of pre-weaned Holstein calves. In a 53-day experiment, forty healthy newborn female calves were randomly allocated to the following four treatment groups: (1) control (basal diet); (2) 1-gram NaH (basal diet extra orally supplemented with 1 g of NaH dissolved in 100 mL of milk or milk replacer daily); (3) 3-gram NaH (basal diet extra orally supplemented with 3 g of NaH dissolved in 100 mL of milk or milk replacer daily); and (4) 5-gram NaH (basal diet extra orally supplemented with 5 g of NaH dissolved in 100 mL of milk or milk replacer daily). NaH was mixed with milk (d 2–20) or milk replacer (d 21–53). Calves in the 5-gram NaH group had a higher ADG during d 1 to 21 and d 21 to 53 than the other groups did (p < 0.05). Fecal scores and diarrheal incidence were significantly lower in the 3-gram and 5-gram NaH groups than the 1-gram NaH and control groups during d 1 to 20 (p < 0.05). The serum IgA, IgG and IL-4 concentrations, and T-SOD and T-AOC activities were higher, and the serum IL-6, TNF-α, D-lactic acid, and MDA concentrations were lower in the 5-gram NaH group than the control group (p < 0.05). Furthermore, NaH supplementation increased the abundances of Bifidobacterium and Lactobacillus but decreased the abundance of Escherichia coli in feces (p < 0.05). These encouraging findings indicated that supplementation with 5 g of NaH effectively improved the immune status, antioxidant capacity, and intestinal beneficial bacteria, and further improved the growth performance and reduced the diarrhea incidence of the pre-weaned dairy calves.

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Effects of Defatted Rice Bran Inclusion Level on Nutrient Digestibility and Growth Performance of Different Body Weight Pigs

Animals ◽

10.3390/ani11051374 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 11 (5) ◽

pp. 1374

Author(s):

Bingbing Huang ◽

Huangwei Shi ◽

Li Wang ◽

Lu Wang ◽

Zhiqian Lyu ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Body Weight ◽

Growth Performance ◽

Rice Bran ◽

Nutrient Digestibility ◽

Growing Pigs ◽

Neutral Detergent Fiber ◽

Control Group ◽

Defatted Rice Bran ◽

Gross Energy ◽

Stage 1

This study was conducted to determine the effects of low-protein diet prepared with different levels of defatted rice bran (DFRB) and weight stages on growth performance and nutrient digestibility of growing–finishing pigs. The animal experiment included three stages. A total of 240 growing pigs with an initial body weight of 28.06 ± 8.56 kg for stage 1 were allocated to five diets including one control group and four DFRB diets supplemented with 2.5%, 5%, 7.5% and 10% DFRB, respectively. The 192 crossbred pigs with initial body weights of 55.03 ± 7.31 kg and 74.55 ± 9.10 kg were selected for stage 2 and stage 3, respectively. Pigs were allocated to four diets including one control group and three DFRB diets supplemented with 10%, 15% and 20% DFRB, respectively. The results showed that with the increase in DFEB intake, the gain: feed was linearly increased (p < 0.05), and the average daily feed intake tended to linearly decrease (p = 0.06) in stage 1. Except for the apparent total tract digestibility (ATTD) of acid detergent fiber (ADF) in stage 3, levels of DFRB had significant effects on the ATTD of gross energy (GE), dry matter (DM), ash, neutral detergent fiber (NDF) and ADF in three weight stages. In stage 1, with the increase in levels of DFRB, the ATTD of NDF and hemicellulose were firstly increased and then decreased (p < 0.01). In stage 2, with the increasing levels of DFRB, the ATTD of DM, ash and cellulose were firstly increased and then decreased (p < 0.01). In stage 3, the ATTD of GE, DM, ash, NDF and hemicellulose decreased linearly with the increase in levels of DFRB (p < 0.01). Collectively, DFRB could be used as a replacement for corns and soybean meal, and weight stage is important to consider when adjusting the additive proportion.

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Growth performance, correlation and regression estimates of seven-chicken strains in South-Western Nigeria

Nigerian Journal of Animal Production ◽

10.51791/njap.v45i2.522 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 45 (2) ◽

pp. 40-48

Author(s):

A. J. Atansuyi ◽

U. C. Ihendu ◽

C. A. Chineke

Keyword(s):

Body Weight ◽

Growth Performance ◽

Correlation Coefficients ◽

Tail Length ◽

Experimental Period ◽

The Body ◽

Coefficient Of Determination ◽

Indigenous Chicken ◽

Randomized Design ◽

Study Results

This study was conducted to determine the growth performance, correlation and regression estimates of seven-chicken strains in South-western Nigeria using a total of 300 day-old chicks. The birds were divided into seven groups based on their strain. The seven strains are Normal feather (NF), Fulani ecotype (FE), Frizzle feather (FF), naked neck (NN) and Transylvania indigenous strains while Hubbard and Marshal were meat-type exotic chickens. There were forty- five (45) unsexed day-old chicks in each strain except the Frizzle feather that were 30 in number. Completely randomized design (CRD) was used for the trial that lasted for 8 weeks. The birds were fed experimental diets ad libitum throughout the period of the study. Results showed that there were significant differences (p<0.05) in the initial and final weights of the birds. It was observed that exotic strains weighed heavier (3569.73gHB) than their indigenous counterparts (1391.11gNF). However, the Fulani ecotype weighed heaviest (1840.99g) among Nigeria indigenous strains during the experimental period. This showed that FE strains are generally heavy breed chicken and could be incorporated into a meat producing indigenous chicken if improved upon. The result of the correlation coefficients showed that a very strong, positive and highly significant (P<0.001) relationship existed between body weights and linear body measurements as most of the values are (>0.40). All the body parameter examined had significant (p<0.01) and direct relationship with the body weight. Shoulder-to-tail length (STL) had the highest coefficient of 0.98.The high correlation estimates obtained in this study could be as a result of pleiotropy, heterozygosity or linkage of genes in the birds. The three functions were highly significant (p<0.05) for all the parameters studied. This shows that the functions well described the parameters. On the basis of coefficient of determination (R ), the body weight of poultry birds at any age can be predicted most accurately with BRG using cubic function.

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Health, body condition and blood metabolites in reindeer after submaintenance feed intake and subsequent feeding

Rangifer ◽

10.7557/2.20.4.1481 ◽

2000 ◽

Vol 20 (4) ◽

pp. 187 ◽

Cited By ~ 5

Author(s):

A. Nilsson ◽

Ö. Danell ◽

M. Murphy ◽

K. Olsson ◽

B. Åhman

Keyword(s):

Body Weight ◽

Plasma Protein ◽

Rangifer Tarandus ◽

Plasma Concentrations ◽

Experimental Period ◽

Diet Group ◽

The Body ◽

Plasma Metabolites ◽

Control Group ◽

Feeding Period

The transition from experimentally induced poor nutritional conditions to feeding was studied with 69 eight-month-old female reindeer (Rangifer tarandus tarandus). During a pre-experimental period, all reindeer were fed a simulated winter diet with 80% lichens Cladina spp. and 20% Vaccinum myrtillus shrubs and Salix spp. leaves (lichen diet) ad lib. The reindeer were divided into five groups. A control group (group C) was fed the lichen diet ad lib. throughout the experiment. Four groups were fed half of that ration for eight days and were then totally deprived of feed for one day (restriction period). During the following 34 days (feeding period) the groups were re-fed the lichen diet (group L), fed pelleted reindeer feed combined with either lichen (group PL) or grass silage (group PS), or fed silage with a gradually increasing addition of pellets (group SP). Weekly measurements of blood samples and body weighr showed that the control group remained clinically healthy and had stable blood plasma concentrations of protein, urea, glucose and insulin throughout the experiment, but they lost weight. At slaughter, before and after the restriction period, all animals had lost rumen-free body weight, but the reindeer fed a restricted amount of feed lost more than the control group. Also the plasma metabolites were affected by the restricted feeding, with increased concentrations of urea and decreased concentrations of glucose. Group L responded immediately to the ad lib. feeding with blood metabolite levels rapidly approaching those of group C. The body weight developments were similar in groups L and C. Although the feed rations were increased gradually, diarrhoea occurred in some animals belonging to groups PL and PS within the first week of the feeding period. All reindeer recovered, after antibiotic treatment of the worst affected animals. The PL and PS groups, which had high contents of metabolisable energy and crude protein in their diets, showed increased con-centtations of plasma protein, urea and insulin. At the end of the feeding period, these groups had increased their body and carcass weights and gained fat, whereas reindeer fed the lichen diet had lost weight. Severe health problems (malnutrition and so-called wet belly) occurred in group SP during the first weeks of feeding and led to loss of animals, and consequently the SP group was excluded from the remainder of rhe experiment. The general conclusion is that the lichen diet did not cause any digestive problems, but resulted in a continuous decline in body weight and small or deficient fat reserves. After the initial diarrhoea, feeding with diets comprising pellets from the start resulted in improved condition, expressed as increased body weight, fat gain and higher concentrations of plasma protein, urea and insulin in relation to the control group. The diet initially based on grass in the form of silage of the given quality seemed insufficient as feed to reindeer calves in a poor nutritional state.

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