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Digesta flow and mineral absorption in lambs before and after weaning

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  27 March 2009

Jane Dillon  and
D. Scott
Jane Dillon
Affiliation:
Physiology Department, The Rowett Research Institute, Bucksburn, Aberdeen, AB2 9SB
D. Scott
Affiliation:
Physiology Department, The Rowett Research Institute, Bucksburn, Aberdeen, AB2 9SB
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Summary

Four young lambs fitted with cannulas at the pylorus and at the ileo-caecal junction were used to study the effects of weaning on digesta flow and mineral absorption. Prior to weaning when milk alone was fed the small intestine was the major site for dry matter disappearance and for the absorption of Ca, P, Na and K. Both the small and the large intestine were, however, important sites for Mg absorption at this time.

After weaning, when the lambs were fed a concentrate diet, at least two-thirds of the digested dry matter disappeared within the reticulo-rumen. The small intestine, however, still remained the major site for the absorption of Ca, P, Na and K. Most Mg absorption, in contrast, now occurred anterior to the pylorus and it would appear that the move from hindgut to foregut as a site for Mg absorption was directly associated with the introduction of dry feed and the development of fermentative digestion within the reticulo-rumen.

Both before and after weaning the faeces was the major route for the excretion of Ca surplus to requirement and the faeces also became increasingly important as a pathway for P and Mg excretion once dry feed was given. The urine, in contrast, was consistently the major pathway for the excretion of Na and K.

Type
Research Article
Information
The Journal of Agricultural Science , Volume 92 , Issue 2 , April 1979 , pp. 289 - 297
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 1979

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