Published online by Cambridge University Press: 20 November 2017
There is an increasing body of evidence to support the view that the periparturient breakdown of immunity to parasites has a nutritional basis; an increased supply of metabolizable protein (MP), at times of MP scarcity, would reduce gastrointestinal nematode egg excretion and worm burdens in periparturient ewes (Houdijk et al., 2001). However, the rate at which MP supply can improve expression of immunity to gastrointestinal nematodes is not known. The objective of this experiment is to assess this rate, which will be studied through reducing the degree of MP scarcity.