Hostname: page-component-586b7cd67f-t8hqh Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-11-28T21:37:41.528Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

An assessment of the energy requirements of the pregnant ewe using plasma free fatty acid concentrations

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  27 March 2009

J. J. Robinson ,
C. Fraser  and
C. Bennett
J. J. Robinson
Affiliation:
Rowett Research Institute, Bucksburn, Aberdeen, AB2 9SB
C. Fraser
Affiliation:
Rowett Research Institute, Bucksburn, Aberdeen, AB2 9SB
C. Bennett
Affiliation:
Rowett Research Institute, Bucksburn, Aberdeen, AB2 9SB
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Summary

An experiment was conducted in which 57 North Country Cheviot ewes, bearing variable foetal loads, were offered different amounts of feed intake during the latter half of gestation. Plasma free fatty acid (FFA) concentrations were estimated at 10-day intervals during the last 55 days of gestation. From the relationship between FFA concentration, energy intake, lamb birth weight and ewe body weight, estimates of the energy requirements of the pregnant ewe were predicted.

The additional metabolizable energy (ME) intake above maternal maintenance required to prevent elevation of plasma FFA concentrations above a predetermined basal level 5 days pre-partum was calculated as 335 kcal/kg lamb birth weight.

The results obtained from the use of plasma FFA concentrations in assessing the energy requirements of the pregnant ewe are discussed in relation to those obtained by other methods.

Type
Research Article
Information
The Journal of Agricultural Science , Volume 77 , Issue 1 , August 1971 , pp. 141 - 145
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 1971

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 (1965). The Nutrient Requirements of Farm Livestock, No. 2, Ruminants. London: Agricultural Research Council.Google Scholar
Blaxter, K. L. & Wainman, F. W. (1964). The utilization of the energy of different rations by sheep and cattle for maintenance and for fattening. J. agric. Sci., Camb. 63, 113–28.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Cloete, J. H. L. (1939). Prenatal growth in the Merino sheep. Onderstepoort J. vet. Sci. 13, 417–558.Google Scholar
Itaya, K. & Ur, M. (1965). Colorimetric determination of free fatty acids in biological fluids. J. Lipid Res. 6, 16–20.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Langlands, J. P. & Sutherland, H. A. M. (1968). An estimate of the nutrients utilized for pregnancy by Merino sheep. Br. J. Nutr. 22, 217–27.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Reid, R. L. (1958). The nutritional physiology of the ewe in late pregnancy. J. Aust. Inst. agric. Sci. 24, 291–95.Google Scholar
Reid, R. L. (1963). The nutritional physiology of the pregnant ewe. J. Aust. Inst. agric. Sci. 29, 215–23.Google Scholar
Robinson, J. J. & Forbes, T. J. (1967). A study of the protein requirements of the mature breeding ewe. 2. Protein utilization in the pregnant ewe. Br. J. Nutr. 21, 879–91.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Robinson, J. J. & Forbes, T. J. (1968). The effect of protein intake during gestation on ewe and lamb performance. Anim. Prod. 10, 297–309.Google Scholar
Robinson, J. J., Fraser, C., Corse, E. L. & Gill, J. C. (1970). The effect of pattern of protein intake and level of energy intake on the performance and nitrogen utilization of the ewe. J. agric. Sci., Camb. 75, 403–11.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Russel, A. J. F., Doney, J. M. & Reid, R. L. (1967a). The use of biochemical parameters in controlling nutritional state in pregnant ewes, and the effect of undernourishment during pregnancy on lamb birthweight. J. agric. Sci., Camb. 68, 351–58.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Russel, A. J. F., Doney, J. M. & Reid, R. L. (1967b). Energy requirements of the pregnant ewe. J. agric. Sci., Camb. 68, 359–63.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Russel, A. J. F. & Doney, J. M. (1969). Observations on the use of plasma free fatty acid concentrations in the determination of maintenance requirements of sheep. J. agric. Sci., Camb. 72, 59–63.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Wallace, L. R. (1948). The growth of lambs before and after birth in relation to the level of nutrition, J. agric. Sci., Camb. 38, 93–153.CrossRefGoogle Scholar