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A note on the pattern of concentrate feeding to ewes in late pregnancy

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  02 September 2010

W. Rutter ,
P. J. Broadbent  and
T. R. Laird
W. Rutter
Affiliation:
North of Scotland College of Agriculture, 581 King Street, Aberdeen AB9 1UD
P. J. Broadbent
Affiliation:
North of Scotland College of Agriculture, 581 King Street, Aberdeen AB9 1UD
T. R. Laird
Affiliation:
North of Scotland College of Agriculture, 581 King Street, Aberdeen AB9 1UD
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Summary

Eighty pregnant ewes were housed in December in each of 2 yr approximately 14 weeks before lambing and offered grass silage. Four nutritional regimes were imposed during the final 7 weeks of pregnancy. They were (a) no concentrates given, and three other treatments each aiming to provide 25 kg concentrates on (b) a weekly ascending scale, (c) a level scale, or (d) a weekly descending scale. Concentrate feeding caused the anticipated improvement in performance particularly with respect to ewe live-weight loss and the live weight of multiple litters, but pattern of concentrate feeding appeared to have no significant effect on any performance parameter. It is concluded that a level pattern of concentrate feeding would be simpler and provide a more even distribution of feed among housed pregnant ewes, which vary in expected date of lambing, than the currently recommended ascending pattern of concentrate feeding.

Type
Research Article
Information
Animal Production , Volume 23 , Issue 3 , December 1976 , pp. 421 - 424
Copyright
Copyright © British Society of Animal Science 1976

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References

REFERENCES

Hendy, C. R. C. and Bowman, J. C. 1974. The association between variation in the seasonal onset of oestrus and litter size in the ewe. J. Reprod. Fert. 40: 105–112.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Meat and Livestock Commission. 1973. Feeding the Ewe. Sheep Improvement Service— Tech. Rep. No. 2, p. 13. Meat and Livestock Commission, Bletchley, Bucks.Google Scholar
Rutter, W., Laird, T. R. and Broadbent, P. J. 1972. A note on the effects of clipping pregnant ewes at housing. Anim. Prod. 14: 127–130.Google Scholar