Hostname: page-component-78c5997874-fbnjt Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-11-04T18:22:03.584Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false

The effects of quantity and distribution of milk substitute on the performance and carcass measurements of artificially reared lambs

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  02 September 2010

P. D. Penning
Affiliation:
The Grassland Research Institute, Hurley, Maidenhead, Berkshire SL6 5LR
T. T. Treacher
Affiliation:
The Grassland Research Institute, Hurley, Maidenhead, Berkshire SL6 5LR
Get access

Summary

Twenty-seven groups of Finnish Landrace × Dorset Horn lambs each of 2 castrated males and 2 females were offered daily quantities of 180, 248 or 343 g of milk substitute dry matter (DM) for 21, 29 or 40 days. Concentrate pellets were available ad libitum and from 22 days of age 150 g of hay per week was offered. When the mean live weight of a group reached 35 kg two castrates and one female from each group were slaughtered and the carcasses appraised.

The growth rate and daily concentrate intake of lambs from 48 days of age until slaughter (reported -in this paper) were not affected by previous treatment, but lambs weaned at 40 days had a higher food conversion efficiency in this period (0·266 kg gain/kg feed DM) than those weaned at 21 days (0·244) or 29 days (0·232).

Delaying weaning from 21 to 29 and 40 days reduced overall concentrate DM intake from birth to slaughter (from 88·15 to 81·09 and 73·39 kg) but increased growth rate (261, 276 and 288 g/day) and the conversion of total DM consumed to live weight (0·300, 0·311 and 0·350 kg/kg). Increasing the daily allowance of milk substitute from 180 to 248 and 343 g/day also reduced total concentrate intake (84·18, 80·74 and 77·71 kg). Growth rate and food conversion efficiency tended to increase and concentrate DM intake to decrease when the same total quantity of milk substitute was given over a longer period. Castrated males grew faster than females (290 v. 260 g/day).

Weaning age generally had a greater effect than daily allowance of milk substitute on carcass measurements. Fat in the carcass tended to increase with increasing weaning age and significant interactions between daily allowance of milk substitute and weaning age were found for some carcass measurements.

Type
Research Article
Copyright
Copyright © British Society of Animal Science 1975

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

Black, J. L. 1974. Manipulation of body composition through nutrition. Proc. Aust. Soc. Anim. Prod. 10: 211218.Google Scholar
Frederiksen, K. R., Price, D. A. and Bell, T. D. 1971. Some factors affecting rate of gain in artificially reared lambs. J. Anim. Sci. 33: 283 (Abstr.).Google Scholar
Hunter, G. L., Vosloo, L. P., Grobbelaar, J. and Van niekerk, C. H. 1972. Pre- and post-weaning performance of artificially reared lambs. S. Afr. J. Anim. Sci. 2: 7578.Google Scholar
Morgan, J. A. and Owen, J. B. 1972a. The nutrition of artificially reared lambs. 1. The effect of different feeding methods applied at three stages of growth. Anim. Prod. 15: 285292.Google Scholar
Morgan, J. A. and Owen, J. B. 1972b. The nutrition of artificially reared lambs. 2. The effect of feed restriction at three stages of growth on growth and carcass composition. Anim. Prod. 15: 293300.Google Scholar
Morgan, J. A. and Owen, J. B. 1973. The nutrition of artificially reared lambs. 3. The effect of sex on the performance and carcass composition of lambs subjected to different nutritional treatments. Anim. Prod. 16: 4957.Google Scholar
Ørskov, E. R., Fraser, C. and Gill, J. C. 1973. A note on the effect of time of weaning and weight at slaughter on feed utilization of intensively fed lambs. Anim. Prod. 16: 311314.Google Scholar
Owen, J. B., Davies, D. A. R., Miller, E. L. and Ridgman, W. J. 1967. The intensive rearing of lambs. 2. Voluntary food intake and performance on diets of varying oat husk and beef tallow content. Anim. Prod. 9: 509520.Google Scholar
Owen, J. B., Davies, D. A. R. and Ridgman, W. J. 1969. The effects of varying the quantity and distribution of liquid feed in lambs reared artificially. Anim Prod. 11: 19.Google Scholar
Penning, P. D., Cottrell, K. M. and Treacher, T. T. 1973. The effects of quantity and distribution of milk substitute on the performance of artificially reared lambs to forty-eight days of age. Anim. Prod. 17: 179186.Google Scholar
Penning, Ines M., Treacher, T. T. and Penning, P. D. 1972. The effect of feeding regimes and milk substitute temperature on the performance of artificially reared lambs. Proc. Br. Soc. Anim. Prod, (new series) 1: 144145.Google Scholar
Searle, T. W. and Graham, N. Mc.C. 1972. Growth in sheep. I. The chemical composition of the body. J. agric. Sci., Camb. 79: 371382.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Treacher, T. T. and Penning, P. D. 1971. The development of an automated system for rearing lambs artificially. Outl. Agric. 6: 227231.CrossRefGoogle Scholar