Hostname: page-component-586b7cd67f-rdxmf Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-11-24T22:29:45.490Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Studies on reproduction in prolific ewes. 4. Sequential changes in the maternal body during pregnancy

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  27 March 2009

J. J. Robinson ,
I. McDonald ,
I. McHattie  and
K. Pennie
J. J. Robinson
Affiliation:
The Rowett Research Institute, Bucksburn, Aberdeen AB2 9SB
I. McDonald
Affiliation:
The Rowett Research Institute, Bucksburn, Aberdeen AB2 9SB
I. McHattie
Affiliation:
The Rowett Research Institute, Bucksburn, Aberdeen AB2 9SB
K. Pennie
Affiliation:
The Rowett Research Institute, Bucksburn, Aberdeen AB2 9SB
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Summary

Seventy-eight Finnish Landrace × Dorset Horn ewes in lamb to Suffolk rams were slaughtered serially between 50 and 145 days of gestation. The mean litter size was 2·7. The daily feeding regime aimed to provide each ewe with 15 MJ of metabolizable energy (ME) in the first month of gestation and 9·4 MJ in the second and third. Thereafter the ewes were provided with a basal intake of either 9·6 MJ (low plane, LP) or 13·4 MJ (high plane, HP) plus 1·3 MJ for each foetus.

For ewes with 2, 3 and 4 foetuses the mean percentage changes in maternal body weight over pregnancy were respectively — 5, — 10 and — 14 (LP) or + 3, — 2 and — 6 (HP). Changes in weights of blood, liver and the empty gastro-intestinal tract through gestation varied with the plane of nutrition but not with number of foetuses. In contrast, udder weight at parturition was dependent on number of foetuses but not on plane of nutrition.

Increased hydration of the maternal tissues in late pregnancy tended to mask concurrent losses of body fat. For example, over the last 2 months, HP ewes carrying quadruplets lost on average 1·0 kg in body weight but 5·5 kg of (chemically determined) fat. The latter was lost at a rate which increased up to an average of 170 g/day over the last 2 weeks of pregnancy. Net changes in body protein were estimated to be relatively small, but there was some redistribution, including loss from muscle and gain by the udder. There was no evidence of any demineralization of the maternal skeleton.

The practical significance of the changes in body composition is discussed, in particular that of the increasing rates of loss of body fat with increasing litter size. It is suggested that the dangers implicit in these rates of fat loss must be taken into consideration when deciding on dietary regimes and the timing of breeding cycles for highly prolific ewes, or indeed when embarking on a programme of increased prolificacy.

Type
Research Article
Information
The Journal of Agricultural Science , Volume 91 , Issue 2 , October 1978 , pp. 291 - 304
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 1978

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

REFERENCES

Anderson, D. M., Elsley, F. W. H. & McDonald, I. (1970). Blood volume changes during pregnancy and lactation of sows. Quarterly Journal of Experimental Physiology 55, 293–300.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Andrews, R. P. & Orskov, E. R. (1970). The nutrition of the early weaned lamb. 2. The effect of dietary protein concentrations, feeding level and sex on body composition at two live weights. Journal of Agricultural Science, Cambridge 75 19–26.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Atkinson, T., Fowler, V. R., Garton, G. A. & Lough, A. K. (1972). A rapid method for the accurate determination of lipid in animal tissue. Analyst 97, 562–568.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Baldwin, R. L. & Plucinski, T. (1977). Mammary gland development and lactation. In Reproduction in Domestic Animals, 3rd ed. (ed. Cole, H. H. and Cupps, P. T.), pp. 369–400. New York, San Francisco, London: Academic Press.Google Scholar
Campbell, R. M., Fell, B. F. & Mackie, W. S. (1974). Ornithine de-carboxylase activity, nucleic acids and cell turnover in the livers of pregnant rats. Journal of Physiology 241, 699–713.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Davidson, J., Mathieson, J. & Boyne, A. W. (1970). The use of automation in determining nitrogen by the Kjeldahl method, with final calculations by computer. Analyst 95, 181–193.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Fell, B. F., Campbell, R. M., Mackie, W. S. & Weekes, T. E. C. (1972). Changes associated with pregnancy and lactation in some extra-reproductive organs of the ewe. Journal of Agricultural Science, Cambridge 79, 397–407.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Field, A. C., Suttle, N. F. & Gtjnn, R. G. (1968). Seasonal changes in the composition and mineral content of the body of hill ewes. Journal of Agricultural Science, Cambridge 71, 303–310.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Foot, J. Z. (1969). Body water in ovine pregnancy. Journal of Reproduction and Fertility, Supplement 9, 9–16.Google ScholarPubMed
Heaney, D. P. & Lodge, G. A. (1975). Body composition and energy metabolism during late pregnancy in the ad libitum-fed ewe. Canadian Journal of Animal Science 55, 545–555.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Houseman, R. A., Robinson, J. J. & Fraser, C. (1978). The estimation of body water and fat in pregnant ewes using deuterium oxide. Proceedings of the Nutrition Society 37, 48A.Google ScholarPubMed
Hytten, F. E. & Leitch, I. (1971). Changes in the Maternal Body. In The Physiology of Human Pregnancy, 2nd ed., pp. 333–369. Oxford, London, Edinburgh: Blackwell Scientific Publications.Google Scholar
Hytten, F. E. & Paintin, D. B. (1963). Increase in plasma volume during normal pregnancy. Journal of Obstetrics and Gynaecology 70, 402–407.Google ScholarPubMed
Lodge, G. A. & Heaney, D. P. (1973). Composition of weight change in the pregnant ewe. Canadian Journal of Animal Science 53, 95–105.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Lodge, G. A. & Heaney, D. P. (1975). Influence of feed allowance during pregnancy on reproductive performance of ewes and growth of suckled and artificially reared lambs. Canadian Journal of Animal Science 55, 533–544.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Mackie, W. S. (1977). Changes in the concentration of plasma proteins in intensively bred ewes. Journal of Agricultural Science, Cambridge 88, 283–288.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Meat and Livestock Commission (1973). Feeling the Ewe. Technical Report, no. 2.Google Scholar
Ørskov, E. R., McDonald, I., Grubb, D. A. & Pennie, K. (1976). The nutrition of the early weaned lamb. 4. Effects on growth rate, food utilization and body composition of changing from a low to a high protein diet. Journal of Agricultural Science, Cambridge 86, 411–423.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Rattray, P. V., Garrett, W. N., East, N. E., & Hinman, N. (1974 a). Efficiency of utilization of metabolizable energy during pregnancy and the energy requirements for pregnancy in sheep. Journal of Animal Science 38, 383–393.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Rattray, P. V., Garrett, W. N., East, N. E. & Hinman, N. (1974b). Growth, development and composition of the ovine coneeptus and mammary gland during pregnancy. Journal of Animal Science 38, 613–626.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Reid, J. T., Bensadoun, A., Paladines, O. L. & Van Niekerk, B. D. H. (1963). Body water estimations in relation to body composition and indirect calorimetry in ruminants. Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences 110, 327–342.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Robinson, J. J. & Forbes, T. J. (1968). The effect of protein intake during gestation on ewe and lamb performance. Animal Production 10, 297–309.Google Scholar
Robinson, J. J., Fraser, C., Gill, J. C. & McHattie, I. (1974). The effect of dietary crude protein concentration and time of weaning on milk production and body-weight change in the ewe. Animal Production 19, 331–339.Google Scholar
Robinson, J. J., McDonald, I., Fraser, C. & Crofts, R. M. J. (1977). Studies on reproduction in prolific ewes. 1. Growth of the products of conception. Journal of Agricultural Science, Cambridge 88, 539—552.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Robinson, J. J. & Ørskov, E. R. (1975). An integrated approach to improving the biological efficiency of sheep meat production. World Review of Animal Production 11, 63–76.Google Scholar
Robinson, P. (1948). The effect of supermaintenance and submaintenance diets on mature Border Leicester-Cheviot ewes. Journal of Agricultural Science, Cambridge 38, 345–351.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Russel, A. J. F., Gunn, R. G. & Doney, J. M. (1968). Components of weight loss in pregnant hill ewes during winter. Animal Production 10, 43–51.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Rutter, W., Broadbent, P. J. & Latrd, T. R. (1976). A note on the pattern of concentrate feeding to ewes in late pregnancy. Animal Production 23, 421–424.Google Scholar
Sykes, A. R. & Field, A. C. (1972). Effects of dietary deficiencies of energy, protein and calcium on the pregnant ewe. 1. Body composition and mineral content of the ewes. Journal of Agricultural Science, Cambridge 78, 109–117.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Twardock, A. R., Symonds, H. W., Sansom, B. F. & Rowlands, G. J. (1973). The effect of litter size upon foetal growth rate and the placental transfer of calcium and phosphorus in super-ovulated Scottish half-bred ewes. British Journal of Nutrition 29, 437–446.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Wallace, L. R. (1948). The growth of lambs before and after birth in relation to the level of nutrition. Journal of Agricultural Science, Cambridge 38, 243–302, 367–401.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Wilson, A. B., Duncan, L., Wrottesley, M. G. & Fell, B. F. (1978). Hypertrophy of the internal oblique abdominal muscle of ewes bred intensively. Journal of Comparative Pathology 88, (in the press).CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed