Hostname: page-component-cd9895bd7-mkpzs Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-12-25T03:09:26.607Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false

Estimation of the intake of milk by lambs, from the turnover of deuterium- or tritium-labelled water

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  09 March 2007

H. Dove
Affiliation:
CSIRO, Division of Plant Industry, GPO Box 1600, Canberra, ACT 2601, Australia
Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

Core share and HTML view are not available for this content. However, as you have access to this content, a full PDF is available via the ‘Save PDF’ action button.

1. The total water turnovers of grazing ewes and their lambs were estimated on days 9, 23, 44, 69 and 86 of lactation from the dilution of tritiated water injected into the dam and deuterium oxide injected into the offspring. The contribution of milk to the total water turnover of the lambs was estimated at the same times from the accumulation of tritium in their body water.

2. Mean total water turnover in the ewes was 6.5 litres/d over the entire period. In lambs, total turnover rose from 1459 ml/d at 9 d to 2791 ml/d at 86 d, and was closely related to live weight (r2 0.760, P < 0.001). The corrections to total water turnover, which were required because of the increasing body water pool size of the lambs during each measurement period, fell from +10.6% at 9 d to +3.7% at 86 d. All corrections were significant (P < 0.001).

3. The intake of water as milk fell throughout the study, from 1501 ml/d at 9 d to 471 ml/d at 86 d. Pool-size corrections were significant (P < 0.001). Milk intakes calculated from these results were 1816, 1054, 862, 742 and 588 ml/d at 9, 23, 44, 69 and 86 d of lactation. The rapid decline in milk intake reflected undernutrition of the ewes in early lactation.

4. The level of live-weight gain in early lactation was closely related to, and at a level expected from, the estimated milk intakes. From comparisons of estimated milk intakes with published estimates, it is concluded that the combined use of deuterium oxide and tritiated water results in accurate estimates of milk intake by the lamb throughout the ewe's lactation.

Type
General Nutrition papers
Copyright
Copyright © The Nutrition Society 1988

References

Agricultural Research Council (1980). The Nutrient Requirements of Ruminant Livestock. Slough: Commonwealth Agricultural Bureaux.Google Scholar
Byers, F. M. (1979). Analytical Biochemistry 98, 208213.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Carl, G. R. & Robbins, C. T. (1988). Canadian Journal of Zoology 66, 239246.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Coombe, J. B., Wardrop, I. D. & Tribe, D. E. (1960). Journal of Agricultural Science, Cambridge 54, 353359.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Cork, S. J. & Dove, H. (1986). Proceedings of the Nutrition Society of Australia 11, 93.Google Scholar
Donnelly, J. R. & Freer, M. (1974). Australian Journal of Agricultural Research 25, 825834.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Dove, H. & Axelsen, A. (1979). Australian Journal of Experimental Agriculture and Animal Husbandry 19, 666672.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Dove, H., Cork, S. J. & Christian, K. R. (1987). Proceedings of the Second International Symposium on the Nutrition of Herbivores. Occasional Publication of the Australian Society of Animal Production, pp. 101102 [Rose, M., editor]. Brisbane, Australia: Australian Society of Animal Production.Google Scholar
Dove, H. & Freer, M. (1979). Australian Journal of Agricultural Research 30, 725739.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Foot, J. Z. & Greenhalgh, J. F. D. (1970). British Journal of Nutrition 24, 815825.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Geenty, K. G. (1979). New Zealand Journal of Agricultural Research 22, 241250.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
GENSTAT (1977). GENSTAT, a General Statistical Program. Oxford: Numerical Algorithms Group.Google Scholar
Gibb, M. J. & Treacher, T. T. (1982). Animal Production 34, 123129.Google Scholar
Graham, N. Mc, Black, J. L., Faichney, G. J. & Arnold, G. W. (1976). Agricultural Systems 1, 113138.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Hodge, R. W. (1974). British Journal of Nutrition 32, 113126.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Holleman, D. F., White, R. G. & Lambert, P. (1988). Journal of Dairy Science (In the Press).Google Scholar
Holleman, D. F., White, R. G. & Luick, J. R. (1975). Journal of Dairy Science 58, 18141821.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Langlands, J. P. (1972). Animal Production 14, 317322.Google Scholar
Langlands, J. P. (1973). Animal Production 16, 285291.Google Scholar
Macfarlane, W. V., Howard, B. & Siebert, B. D. (1969). Nature 221, 578579.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Maxwell, T. J., Doney, J. M., Milne, J. A., Peart, J. N., Russel, A. J. F., Sibbald, A. R. & MacDonald, D. (1979). Journal of Agricultural Science, Cambridge 92, 165174.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Pettigrew, J. E., Cornelius, S. G., Moser, R. L. & Sower, A. F. (1987). Livestock Production Science 16, 163174.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Robinson, J. J., Foster, W. H. & Forbes, T. J. (1968). Journal of Agricultural Science, Cambridge 70, 187194.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Rowell, J. G. & Walters, D. E. (1976). Journal of Agricultural Science, Cambridge 87, 423432.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Searle, T. W. (1970). Journal of Agricultural Science, Cambridge 74, 357362.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Treacher, T. T. (1983). In Sheep Production. Proceedings of the 35th Nottingham Easter School. pp. 133153 [Haresign, W, editor]. London: Butterworths.Google Scholar
Wright, D. E., Jones, B. A. & Geenty, K. G. (1974). Proceedings of the New Zealand Society of Animal Production 34, 145150.Google Scholar
Wright, D. E. & Wolff, J. E. (1976). Proceedings of the New Zealand Society of Animal Production 36, 99102.Google Scholar