Hostname: page-component-586b7cd67f-t7fkt Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-11-23T09:04:12.776Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Seasonal variation of voluntary food intake and metabolic rate in three contrasting breeds of sheep

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  02 September 2010

G. R. Iason ,
D. A. Sim ,
E. Foreman ,
P. Fenn  and
D. A. Elston
G. R. Iason
Affiliation:
Macaulay Land Use Research Institute, Craigiebuckler, Aberdeen AB9 2QJ
D. A. Sim
Affiliation:
Scottish Agricultural Statistics Service, Craigiebuckler, Aberdeen AB9 2QJ
E. Foreman
Affiliation:
Macaulay Land Use Research Institute, Craigiebuckler, Aberdeen AB9 2QJ
P. Fenn
Affiliation:
Macaulay Land Use Research Institute, Craigiebuckler, Aberdeen AB9 2QJ
D. A. Elston
Affiliation:
Scottish Agricultural Statistics Service, Craigiebuckler, Aberdeen AB9 2QJ
Get access

Abstract

Voluntary food intake (VFI) of chopped timothy hay and metabolic rate were each measured in each month of the year in six non-breeding ewes of each of three breeds. Metabolic rate was measured using indirect calorimetry over a range of food intakes and adjusted for intake to an estimated maintenance metabolic rate (MMR). The breeds compared were the Dorset Horn (DT), Scottish Blackface (BF) and Shetland (SH), the first being less seasonal in reproductive and other characteristics than the other two which are hill or northern latitude breeds. There was significant overall variation between months in VFI which was higher in the summer (July to September) than in the winter (December to February) months (P < 0·001). There was a significant breed × month interaction (P < 0·01), the seasonal effect being most strongly observed in the BF and SH ewes, whose VFI in summer was proportionately 0-1 greater than the year-round mean but was 0-1 lower in the winter. The DT ewes showed much less seasonal variation in VFI. There was no overall difference in VFI between breeeds (DT: 43-7; BF: 49-5; SH: 48-1 g dry matter per M075 live weight per day, P > 0·1). Although MMR varied significantly between months (P < 0·001), there was no systematic variation between summer and winter. There was no significant breed × month interaction, but the MMR differed significantly (P < 0·001) between breeds giving a high overall MMR in BF (DT: 322-7; BF: 356-6; SH: 324-5 kf/kg M0·75 per day). No significant correlation existed (P > 0·05) between the monthly mean MMR and VFI in any of the breeds. The causal relationship between seasonal cycles of basal metabolic rate and VFI is questioned.

Keywords

food intakemetabolismseasonalitysheep
Type
Research Article
Information
Animal Production , Volume 58 , Issue 3 , June 1994 , pp. 381 - 387
Copyright
Copyright © British Society of Animal Science 1994

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Agricultural Research Council. 1980. The nutrient requirements of ruminant livestock. Commonwealth Agricultural Bureaux, Slough.Google Scholar
Argo, C. M. and Smith, J. S. 1983. Relationships of energy requirements an d seasonal cycles of food intake in Soay rams, journal of Physiology 343:23–24P (abstr.).Google Scholar
Barry, T. N., Suttie, J. M., Milne, J. A. and Kay, R. N. B. 1991. Control of food intake in domesticated deer. In Physiological aspects of digestion and metabolism in ruminants. Proceedings of the seventh international symposium on ruminant physiology, pp. 385–401. Academic Press.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Bermudez, F. F., Forbes, J. M. and Jones, R. 1989. Feed intakes and meal patterns of sheep during pregnancy and lactation and after weaning. Appetite 13:211–222.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Blaxter, K. L. 1962. The energy metabolism of ruminants. Thomas, Springfield, Illinois.Google Scholar
Blaxter, K. L. and Boyne, A. W. 1982. Fasting and maintenance metabolism of sheep. Journal of Agricultural Science, Cambridge 99:611–620.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Blaxter, K. L., Clapperton, J. L. and Wainman, F. W. 1966a. The extent of differences between six British breeds of sheep in their metabolism: food intake and utilization and resistance to climatic stress. British journal of Nutrition 20:283–294.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Blaxter, K. L., Wainman, F. W. and Davidson, J. L. 1966b. The voluntary intake of food by sheep and cattle in relation to their energy requirements for maintenance. Animal Production 8:75–83.Google Scholar
Bronson, F. H. 1985. Mammalian reproduction: an ecological perspective. Biology of Reproduction 32:1–26.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Foot, J. Z. and Russel, A. J. F. 1978. Pattern of intake of three roughage diets by non-pregnant, non-lactating Scottish Blackface ewes over a long period and the effects of previous nutritional history on current intake. Animal Production 26:203–215.Google Scholar
Forbes, J. M. 1986. The voluntary food intake of farm animals. Butterworths, London.Google Scholar
Genstat, 5 1987. Genstat 5 Reference Manual. Clarendon Press, Oxford.Google Scholar
Gordon, J. G. 1964. The effect of time of year on the roughage intake of housed sheep. Nature, London 204:798–799.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Hafez, E. S. E. 1952. Studies on the breeding season and reproduction of the ewe. Journal of Agricultural Science, Cambridge 42:189–265.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Iason, G. R. and Mantecon, A. R. 1991. Seasonal variation in voluntary food intake and post-weanin g growth in lambs: a comparison of genotypes. Animal Production 52:279–285.Google Scholar
Jewell, P. A. 1989. Factors that affect fertility in a feral population of sheep. Zoological journal of the Linnean Society 95:163–174.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Kay, R. N. B. 1979. Seasonal changes of appetite in deer and sheep. Agricultural Research Council Research Reviews 5:13–15.Google Scholar
Kay, R. N. B. 1985. Seasonal variation of appetite in ruminants. In Recent advances in animal nutrition-1985 (ed. Haresign, W.), pp. 199–210. Butterworths, London.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
McLean, J. A. 1972. On the calculation of heat production from open circuit calorimetric measurements. British Journal of Nutrition 27:597–600.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Milne, J. A., MacRae, J. C., Spence, A. M. and Wilson, S. 1978. A comparison of the voluntary intake and digestion of a range of forages at different times of the year by the shee p and the red deer (Cervus elaphus). British Journal of Nutrition 40:347–357.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Pekins, P. J., Mautz, W. W. and Kanter, J. J. 1992. Reevaluation of th e basal metabolic cycle in white-tailed -deer. In The biology of deer (ed. Brown, R. D.), pp. 418–428. Springer Verlag, New York.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Russel, A. J. F., Doney, J. M. and Gunn, R. G. 1969. Subjective assessment of body fat in live sheep. Journal of Agricultural Science, Cambridge 72:451–454.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Ryder, M. L. 1964. The history of sheep breeds in Britain. Agricultural History Review 12:1–12.Google Scholar
Schanbacher, B. D. and Crouse, J. D. 1981. Photoperiodic regulation of growth: a photosensitive phase during light-dark cycle. American Journal of Physiology 241:E1–E5.Google ScholarPubMed
Sibbald, A. M., Fenn, P. D., Kerr, W. G. and Loudon, A. S. I. 1993. The influence of birth date on the development of seasonal cycles in red deer hinds (Cervus elaphus). journal of Zoology, London 230:593–607.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Silver, H., Colovos, N. F., Holter, J. B. and Hayes, H. H. 1969. Fasting metabolism of white-tailed deer. Journal of Wildlife Management 33:490–498.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Van Adrichem, P. W. M. and Vogt, J. E. 1993. The effect of isolation and separation on the metabolism of sheep. Livestock Production Science 33:151–159.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Van Soest, P. J. and Wine, R. H. 1967. Use of detergents in the analysis of fibrous feeds. Determination of plan t cell wall constituents, journal of the Association of Agricultural Chemistry 50:50–55.Google Scholar
Webster, A. J. F. 1980. The energetic efficiency of growth. Livestock Production Science 7:243–252.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Zucker, I., Johnston, P. G. and Frost, D. 1980. Comparative, physiological and biochronometric analyses of rodent seasonal reproductive cycles. Progress in Reproductive Biology 5:102–133.Google Scholar