Food preferences after weaning of artificially reared lambs

Summary

A food preference trial was carried out in which 21 artificially reared lambs were offered ad libitum a choice of eight foods for a period of 4 weeks commencing at 28 days of age.

Growth rate and total food intake were highly variable but the lambs agreed substantially on what they liked and disliked. Soya-bean meal was the most preferred food throughout the experimental period. Flaked maize was very unacceptable for the first 12 days (up to 40 days of age) but after that its popularity rose steadily and considerably. Fish meal was quite popular at first but after 12 days had become the least preferred food and remained so for the remainder of the time.

In the latter part of the experiment the foods could be classified into a more popular group comprising soya-bean meal, rolled barley and two proprietary pelleted diets, and a less popular group comprising fish meal, flaked maize, whole oats and sugar-beet pulp.

It is argued that in order to be acceptable diets should not be coarse and either should not contain fish meal or have the flavour disguised.