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A controlled study evaluated the effect of condensed tannins (CT) from Gymnopodium floribundum leaf meal (GF), infection with Haemonchus contortus (I) and their interaction, on feed intake, diet digestibility and retention of N (NR) and energy (ER) in hair sheep lambs. Thirty-six, worm-free hair sheep lambs (14.9 ± 1.56 kg body weight) were housed in metabolic cages. Eighteen animals were infected with 6000 H. contortus L3, while other 18 lambs were kept non-infected. On day 28th post-infection (PI), infected lambs were assigned to three diet groups: a diet without GF (I-NONGF), a diet with GF (I + GF) and a diet with GF + polyethylene glycol (PEG) (I + GF + PEG). Non-infected (NI) lambs were assigned to similar diet groups: NI-NONGF, NI + GF and NI + GF + PEG. The packed cell volume (% PCV), ante-mortem faecal egg counts and post-mortem worm burdens were also evaluated. Infection did not affect digestibility, NR and ER. Meanwhile, CT intake from the GF diet reduced the digestibility of dry matter, organic matter and crude protein, as well as NR, compared to lambs consuming the NONGF and GF + PEG diets (P

The objective of this study was to evaluate nutrient digestibility, nitrogen balance, and purine derivative excretion from growing sheep fed on ryegrass silage (S) or ryegrass hay (H) cut at two maturity stages (21 and 35 d). In an in vivo trial, 32 Suffolk × Merino growing sheep (22 ± 2 kg) were used in a completely randomised design with eighth replications in a 2 × 2 factorial arrangement. Four diets were used containing 75% forage (S at 21 or 35 d and H at 21 or 35 d) and 25% concentrate. In an in vitro trial, a completely randomised design was used for gas production parameters. Contents of N and NDF were higher in H (30 and 674 g/kg DM) than in S (26 and 411 g/kg DM). Animals fed on S had higher digestibility (P

his experiment was conducted to study the effect of biological and chemical treatments of olive trees by-products on chemical composition, degradability, cell wall constituents, digestibility and nutritive value and its feeding effect on productive performance of growing sheep. Eighteen (½ Finnish Landrace × ½ Rahmani) lambs with average body weight 18.00±0.40 kg and 4 months old were used in this study for 120 days. Lambs were distributed into three similar groups (6 lambs each) and randomly assigned to three experimental rations. The three respective rations composed of concentrate feed mixture (CFM) + olive trees by-products, the control ration (R1) contained untreated olive tree by-products; (R2) treatedolive trees by-productswith EM1 and (R3)treated olive trees by-products with El-mofeed. The digestibility and nutritive values of experimental rations were determined using nine adult Ossimi rams. Rumen liquor and blood samples were collected at the end of collection period. The results showed that nutrient digestibility and feeding values (TDN and DCP) were higher (P 0.05) differences were found in blood constituents (total protein, albumin, globulin, GOT, GPT and urea) among the different experimental groups. Blood sereum constituents were generally normal in all experimental groups. Growth performance with respect to total body weight gain and average daily gain (ADG) were improved by biological and chemical treatments. The same trend was observed for feed conversion and economic efficiency and the best values were recoded with R2. It was concluded that inclusion of biologically treated olive trees by-products to rations of growing (½ Finnish Landrace × ½ Rahmani) lambs could improve their performance especially treatment of olive trees by-products.

Methionine was demonstrated to be the most limiting amino acid for growing sheep when microbial protein is the predominant source of absorbable AA, but its specific requirement was not well quantified. The indicator amino acid oxidation (IAAO) method is based on the concept that when the most limiting amino acid (LAA) is deficient for protein synthesis, then all other AAs will be oxidized. With increasing intakes of the LAA, IAAO will decrease until the requirement for the LAA is met, and there is no further change in the indicator oxidation afterwards. Therefore, the catabolism of 13C-Phe was used to indicate the effects of varying duodenal infusing levels of Met on the oxidation rate by 4-month-old Kazakh lambs (30.8 ± 0.4 kg BW). After a 6-d adaptation period, the IAAO test was conducted on d 7. Each lamb received a priming dose of 0.67 mg/kg BW of 13C-Phe injected via the jugular vein, together with 0.18 mg/kg BW of NaH13CO3 at time 0. Then, constant infusions [1.33 mg 13C-Phe/(kg h)−1] were started. Breath samples were collected prior to and half-hourly between 90 and 210 min after the start of the 13C-Phe infusions. An estimate of the mean Met requirement was determined by a breakpoint analysis of the rate of 13CO2 released by 13C-Phe oxidation, with a 2-phase linear regression model. The oxidation rate of 13C-Phe decreased (P 0.05). The mean Met requirement was estimated to be 1.28 ± 0.11 g/day of supplementation. The total postruminal minimum requirement of Met would be 2.02 g/day when the basal passage of Met (0.74 g/day) was summed.

Congenital heart valve disease has life-threatening consequences that warrant early valve replacement; however, the development of a growth-accommodating prosthetic valve has remained elusive. Thousands of children continue to face multiple high-risk open-heart operations to replace valves that they have outgrown. Here, we demonstrate a biomimetic prosthetic valve that is geometrically adaptable to accommodate somatic growth and structural asymmetries within the heart. Inspired by the human venous valve, whose geometry is optimized to preserve functionality across a wide range of constantly varying volume loads and diameters, our balloon-expandable synthetic bileaflet valve analog exhibits similar adaptability to dimensional and shape changes. Benchtop and acute in vivo experiments validated design functionality, and in vivo survival studies in growing sheep demonstrated that mechanical valve expansion accommodated growth. As illustrated in this work, dynamic size adaptability with preservation of unidirectional flow in prosthetic valves thus offers a paradigm shift in the treatment of heart valve disease.

Aim: A study was undertaken to evaluate the optimum roughage to concentrate ratio in maize stover (MS) based complete diets for efficient microbial biomass production (EMBP) using in vitro gas production technique. Materials and Methods: MS based complete diets with roughage to concentrate ratio of 100:0, 90:10, 80:20, 70:30, 60:40, 50:50, 40:60, and 30:70 were formulated, and 200 mg of oven-dried sample was incubated in water bath at 39°C along with media (rumen liquor [RL] - buffer) in in vitro gas syringes to evaluate the gas production. The gas produced was recorded at 8 and 24 h of inc ubation. In vitro organic matter digestibility (IVOMD), metabolizable energy (ME), truly digestible organic matter (TDOM), partitioning factor (PF), and EMBP were calculated using appropriate formulae. Ammonia nitrogen and total volatile fatty acids (TVFAs) production were analyzed in RL fluid-media mixture after 24 h of incubation. Results: In vitro gas production (ml) at 24 h incubation, IVOMD, ME, TDOM, TVFA concentration, and ammonia nitrogen production were increased (p

The objective of the present study was to evaluate two markers: chromium oxide (Cr2O3) and titanium dioxide (TiO2). We evaluate the interaction between Cr2O3 and TiO2, and the techniques used to determine it, using atomic absorption spectrophotometry (AAS) and photometry simple (PS). We used six growing sheep distributed in a replicated Latin square 3 × 3 design, with adjustment for the residual error effect. The TiO2 and Cr2O3–TiO2 produced values similar to those obtained by total faecal collection (TFC) or the use of Cr2O3 alone, determined by AAS and PS. Digestibility of the marker/TFC ratio was similar (p > .05) between markers and technique. The use of TiO2 alone or in combination with Cr2O3 seems to be a suitable alternative to TFC and Cr2O3 to calculate apparent digestibility of the total digestive tract determined in sheep by PS and AAS.

Background There is considerable interest in implementing mobile scanning technology for on-farm body composition analysis on live animals. These experiments evaluated the use of dual energy X-ray absorptiometry (DXA) as an accurate method of total body fat measurement in live sheep. Results In Exp. 1, visceral and whole body fat analysis was undertaken in sheep with body condition scores (BCS) in the range 2 to 3.25 (scale 1: thin to 5: fat). The relationship of BCS was moderately correlated with visceral fat depot mass (r = 0.59, P 0.05, n = 9). There was a moderate correlation between DXA body fat and BCS (r = 0.70, P

Twenty-four lambs (Pelibuey x East Friesian), weighing 22.7 ± 3.2 kg, were fed a basal diet of corn silage, oat hay, alfalfa hay, and concentrate (60% forage and 40% concentrate). Treatments consisted of oral doses of rumen-protected methionine (RPM) (0 and 1.5 g/day) and herbal choline (biocholine) (0 and 4 g/day) in a completely random block design with factorial arrangement of treatments, where lambs were blocked by sex. The experiment was conducted for 60 days, and measurements of live weight and dry matter intake were obtained. No effects of the treatments were observed on performance variables (lamb growth, consumption and feed conversion). Non-esterified fatty acids (NEFA) were increased by biocholine and unaffected by methionine (Met). Biocholine increased glucose and cholesterol, whereas methionine increased triglycerides, albumin and plasma protein. The dietary supplementation with biocholine and RPM did not improve lambs’ growth; however, biocholine and Met showed a lipotropic effect by mobilizing NEFA and stimulating glucose and cholestrol synthesis. Keywords: feed additives, growing sheep, lipid metabolism

This study aimed to determine energy and protein requirement of Dorper × Hu crossbred lambs and further to evaluate the effect of gender upon nutrient requirement parameters. Forty-two female lambs (18.60 ± 1.57 kg) and 42 male lambs (18.30 ± 1.28 kg) were used. In comparative slaughter trial, 30 of animals from each gender group were randomly selected and assigned to ad libitum (AL), low restriction (LR) and high restriction (HR) group, and then were slaughtered when lambs under AL treatment reached target BW of 20, 28, and 35 kg, to determine body energy and nitrogen retained. In digestibility trial, remaining 12 female (18.01 ± 1.66 kg) and 12 male lambs (18.43 ± 1.17 kg) were randomly assigned to three feeding treatments in accordance with the design of comparative slaughter trial, to evaluate dietary energetic values at different feed intake levels. The combined data indicated that metabolizable energy (ME) requirement for maintenance (MEm; 400.61 ± 20.31 vs. 427.24 ± 18.70 kJ kg−1 of shrunk BW0.75; SBW0.75), partial efficiency of ME utilization for maintenance (k m; 0.64 ± 0.02 vs. 0.65 ± 0.03), partial efficiency of ME utilization for growth (k g ; 0.42 ± 0.03 vs. 0.44 ± 0.02), and net protein (NP) requirement for maintenance (NPm; 1.83 ± 0.17 vs. 1.99 ± 0.28 g kg−1 of SBW0.75) did not differ (P > 0.05) due to gender; although not statistically different, the mean value of Net energy (NE) requirement for maintenance (NEm) for male lambs (260.62 ± 13.21 kJ kg−1 of SBW0.75) were 5 % greater than that (274.16 ± 11.99 kJ kg−1 of SBW0.75) of female lambs. Additionally, rams have greater amounts of NP requirement for growth (NPg, 15.94 to 44.32 g d−1) than those of ewes (13.07 to 32.95 g d−1) at the similar condition of BW and ADG. In conclusion, we suggested that our results of energy and protein requirement for growth ranged between the NRC recommendation for early and later maturating growing sheep, and the effect of gender upon energy requirement parameters was similar in tendency but was less evidently than those frequently recommended previously.

Objectives: We aimed to establish the typical rate of skeletal mineralisation in the growing sheep. The sheep (size, ease of handling, cost and bone physiology) is establishing itself as an appropriate model for bone research. Materials and Methods: Body composition including bone density at 4 time points in the first two years was performed using DXA on a cohort of 14 developing lambs, as well as measurements in comparable adult sheep. Results: Adult levels of bone density are reached by 18 months and lean body mass by 2 years in sheep. Conclusions: Depending on the indications for studying bone and other metabolism in sheep, the rate of development should be considered in selecting the age group of experimental animals.

A survey work was undertaken with a total of 200 farm households of the coastal areas of Noakhali were categorized into landless, marginal, small, medium and large based on their landholding and sheep population. All categories of farmers had higher number of sheep compared to goat and cattle. In case of lamb (0-4months) farmers didn’t supplied concentrate. The average deficiency of DM (g/h/d), ME (MJ/h/d) and CP (g/h/d) of lamb were 70.24, 0.97 and 13.35, respectively. For growing sheep (4-15 month) small, medium and large farmers provided little but landless and marginal farmers provided very little amount of concentrate. The average deficiency of DM (g/h/d), ME (MJ/h/d) and CP (g/h/d) of growing sheep were 257.31, 2.62 and 34.75, respectively. In case of adult ewe (>15 month, milking) the average deficiency of DM (g/h/d), ME (MJ/h/d) and CP (g/h/d) were 441.87, 2.81 and 35.45, respectively. Livestock farming contributed about 17.2% of annual family income in which the contribution of sheep of the total household income was about 11% followed by goat (3.58%) and cattle (2.62%). The available feed resources were durba, asamilata, chaila, bothoua, gamma, alias grass, shon, bontil, khesari, pakisthani lata, bean leaf, ipil ipil, mayahagoni, kadam, boroi leaf, jackfruit, babla, mango leaf, kitchen wastes, rice straw, and rice bran, til oil cake. Surveyed information on existing available nutrient status of sheep and feed resources would help to develop a feeding system of sheep in coastal areas of Bangladesh.DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.3329/bjas.v43i3.21652 Bang. J. Anim. Sci. 2014. 43 (3): 213-217

The objective of this study was to compare the dynamics of Toxoplasma gondii seroconversion in growing sheep kept on raised slatted floor cages (RFC) or floor pens (FP) in Yucatan, Mexico. A cohort study was performed in four sheep farms with a sample size of 104 newly weaned T. gondii seronegative lambs (60 days old). Blood samples were collected individually from all the lambs after weaning and every 15 days to determine the presence of IgG antibodies against T. gondii in the serum using an indirect ELISA test. The true incidence rate (TIR), cumulative incidence (CI) and relative risk (RR +/− 95% confidence interval [95%CI]) were calculated. Difference in the dynamic of seroconversion was determined by means of a survival analysis. On day 30 of the study (3rd sampling) 1.92% of the sheep seroconverted in the RFC system, while 7.69% of the lambs were positive on the fifth sampling point. In the FP 26.92% of the sheep seroconverted at the second sampling point (15 days of the study), 9.61% at the third sampling point (30 days of the study) and 5.76% at the fourth sampling point (105 days old). The TIR was 0.019 and 0.113 for every 2 weeks at risk (15 days) for the RFC and FP respectively. The RR indicates that lambs kept in FP were 5.7 times more likely to seroconvert against T. gondii than lambs kept in the RFC (95%CI = 2.45–13.62; P T . gondii , compared to lambs kept in the FP, despite of being in an environment with high circulation of the agent.

Submitted by Guilherme Lemeszenski (guilherme@nead.unesp.br) on 2013-08-22T18:56:43Z No. of bitstreams: 1 S0102-09352013000200027.pdf: 154582 bytes, checksum: e88df5d67b987bdd7d0eb0ca73decd3d (MD5) Made available in DSpace on 2013-08-22T18:56:43Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 S0102-09352013000200027.pdf: 154582 bytes, checksum: e88df5d67b987bdd7d0eb0ca73decd3d (MD5) Previous issue date: 2013-04-01 Made available in DSpace on 2013-09-30T19:50:59Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 2 S0102-09352013000200027.pdf: 154582 bytes, checksum: e88df5d67b987bdd7d0eb0ca73decd3d (MD5) S0102-09352013000200027.pdf.txt: 26725 bytes, checksum: 469e86c4be01f6df2b47df04af62cb7d (MD5) Previous issue date: 2013-04-01 Submitted by Vitor Silverio Rodrigues (vitorsrodrigues@reitoria.unesp.br) on 2014-05-20T15:13:13Z No. of bitstreams: 2 S0102-09352013000200027.pdf: 154582 bytes, checksum: e88df5d67b987bdd7d0eb0ca73decd3d (MD5) S0102-09352013000200027.pdf.txt: 26725 bytes, checksum: 469e86c4be01f6df2b47df04af62cb7d (MD5) Made available in DSpace on 2014-05-20T15:13:13Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 2 S0102-09352013000200027.pdf: 154582 bytes, checksum: e88df5d67b987bdd7d0eb0ca73decd3d (MD5) S0102-09352013000200027.pdf.txt: 26725 bytes, checksum: 469e86c4be01f6df2b47df04af62cb7d (MD5) Previous issue date: 2013-04-01 Avaliaram-se os efeitos de diferentes porcentagens (0, 10, 20 e 30%) de inclusão da torta de macaúba (TM) no comportamento ingestivo de 24 cordeiros Santa Inês, com média de cinco meses de idade e peso vivo de 23,9kg, distribuídos em delineamento em blocos ao acaso, com quatro tratamentos e seis repetições, durante 60 dias de confinamento. Foram avaliados os tempos médios despendidos com alimentação, ruminação (TR), ócio (TO), tempo de mastigação total (TMT), eficiência de alimentação (EA MS e EA FDN) e eficiência de ruminação, além do número de bolos ruminados (NBR) e número diário de mastigações merícicas (MMnd). A adição de TM à dieta aumentou linearmente o TR, TMT, NBR, MMnd e EA FDN e reduziu de forma linear o TO, em consequência do maior teor de fibra em detergente neutro das dietas com o coproduto. Mesmo com o aumento no TMT, não foi verificada diferença no consumo e na eficiência de ruminação e alimentação da matéria seca, possivelmente em razão da baixa efetividade de fibra da TM, demonstrando o potencial de utilização desse coproduto na dieta de ovinos em crescimento. The effects of different percentages (0, 10, 20 and 30%) of inclusion of macauba meal (MM) on the ingestive behavior of 24 Santa Inês male lambs, averaging five months of age and 23.9kg of initial body weight were studied. The animals were allotted to a completely randomized block design with four treatments and six replications during 60 days of confinement. The variables measured were time spent in rumination (TR), idle time (IT), total chewing (TC), power efficiency (PE DM and PE NDF) and efficiency of rumination, as well as the number of ruminated bolus (NRB) and daily number of chews (Cnd). The addition of MM to the diet increased TR, TC, NRB, Cnb and PE NDF linearly, and reduced IT linearly, as a result of higher content of neutral detergent fiber in the diet. Although there was an increase in TC, no difference was verified in the consumption and efficiency of rumination and feeding of DM, possibly due to the low efficiency of fiber, which demonstrates the potential use of this coproduct in the diet of growing sheep. Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais Instituto de Ciências Agrárias Universidade Federal de Viçosa (UFV) Universidade Estadual Paulista Universidade Estadual Paulista

20 male Corriedale sheep (3 months of age) were divided into 5 equal groups viz, T1, T2, T3, T4 and T5 and fed on measured quantity of concentrate mixture containing 0, 6, 12, 18 and 24% azolla replacing 0, 25, 50, 75 and 100% linseed cake respectively. Measured quantity of good quality oat hay was offered to all the groups as per their body weight to meet their requirement. Highest body weight was observed in T1 group and it had no significant difference with T2 group, but it had significant difference with T3, T4 and T5 groups. T2 group had significant difference with T5 group, but with other groups it had no significant difference in final body weight. Lowest body weight was observed in T5 group but it had no significant difference with T3 and T4 groups. Highest DM digestibility was observed in T2 group and lowest DM digestibility was observed in T5. But no significant difference was observed in DM digestibility among the groups. Lowest FCR was observed in T1 (control) followed by T2 group and they had significant difference with T3, T4 and T5 group, but no significant difference was observed between T1 and T2 group. Lowest cost of feeding per kg of gain was observed in T2 group and it had significant difference with T3, T4 and T5 group but not with T1 group (control). No significant difference was also observed among T3, T4 and T5 group but significantly higher cost of feeding per kg of gain than T1 (control) group was observed in T3, T4 and T5 group. It was concluded that azolla can be added in the diet of growing sheep at 6% level replacing linseed cake without any adverse effect on the performance of the animals.

Sheep fattening farms have been recently growing rapidly to produce better quality of sheep meat and fullfill consumer’s demand. Sheep fattening and breeding farms should be developed proportionally to obtain sustainable sheep flock in the market. Twelve male lambs (less than one year old) were selected based on their average daily gain (ADG), consisting into two groups: 6 fast growing (FG) and 6 slow growing (SG) sheep. Some morphometric parameters in body and head parts of sheep and their carcass production and composition were measured and compared between the groups. The results show that chest circumference, body height, body length, head length and muzzle, top and bottom neck circumferences of FG sheep were significantly higher than in SG sheep (P0.05). It is concluded that selection of fast growing sheep can be recommended by using some morphometric parameters. The selection would not also negatively affect the weight and percentage of carcass composition.

Four 4-month old Charolais×Dorset male sheep (initial liveweight 25.0±1.1 kg), fitted with rumen and abomasal fistulas and nourished by total intragastric infusions, were used to study the relationships between methionine (Met) supply, nitrogen (N) retention and plasma insulin-like growth factor-I (IGF-I). Four graded levels of Met, i.e. 0 g/16 g N, 1.76 g/16 g N, 3.52 g/16 g N and 7.04 g/16 g N, were infused into abomasums as experimental treatments. The sheep and treatments were allocated in a 4×3 incomplete Latin square design (Yudon square design). The experiment lasted 3 periods and each period was 10 days. Quadratic correlations were found between Met level (x, g/16 g N) and N retention (y, g/d): y = -0.03x 2 +0.41x+2.62, r 2 = 0.66, n = 12, p = 0.008, and between methionine level (x, g/16 g N) and plasma IGF-I concentration (y, ng/ml): y = 0.80x 2 -4.53x+190.24, r 2 = 0.51, n = 12, p = 0.009. No significant correlation was found between plasma IGF-I (x, ng/ml) and N retention (y, g/d) (p>0.05). It was concluded that Met level had a significant influence on N retention and plasma IGF-I concentration whereas IGF-I might not be an important mediator in the

Twelve four-month old Suffolk × Small-tail-Han male sheep (live weight 21–26 kg), fitted with rumen and abomasum fistulas and nourished by total intragastric infusions, were used to study the relationship between the volatile fatty acids (VFA) supply and the nitrogen (N) retention in sheep. The animals were randomly divided into four groups and four levels of mixed VFA energy (the molar proportion of acetic acid, propionic acid and butyric acid was 65:25:10), i.e. 333, 378, 423 and 468 kJ kg−1 W0.75 d−1, were infused into the rumen, as treatments I, II, III and IV, respectively. The results showed that the N retention was significantly increased (P

The aim of this research was to assess and compare two compartmental models by studying effects of different Ca sources on Ca and P metabolism of sheep. Brazilian male sheep (20) were fed a basal diet supplemented with different sources of Ca, being: limestone (L), alfalfa hay (AH), shell meal (OSM) and citrus pulp (CTP). After 21 days, each sheep was given, as a single dose via the right jugular vein, 7.4 MBq of radio-calcium (45Ca) and 7.4 MBq of radio-phosphorus (32P). Calcium and P metabolism were evaluated by comparing the Vitti–Dias (VD) and Fernandez–Lopes (FL) models [Dias, R.S., Kebreab, E., Vitti, D.M.S.S., Roque, A.P., Bueno, I.C.S., France, J., 2006. A revised model for studying phosphorus and calcium kinetics in growing sheep. J. Anim. Sci. 84, 2787–2794; Lopes, J.B., Vitti, D.M.S.S., Abdalla, A.L., Haddad, M.L., Figueredo, A.V., Moraes, R.C.B., 2001. Modelo do fluxo biologico do fosforo de fontes de fosfato em suinos, usando o 32P como marcador. Rev. Bras. Zoot. 30, 165–173], by contrasting flows between gut and plasma, plasma and bone, and plasma and tissue. There were no differences in Ca and P intakes for the treatments. Ca flows from tissue and bone to plasma and vice versa were similar among treatments, though net bone and net tissue Ca retentions were higher for treatments L and OSM and lower, as well as negative, for AH and CTP (P

Our objective was to determine whether breed differences existed in response to exposure and treatment of virulent foot rot. Dorset (DS), 1/2 Dorper (DX), 3/4 or greater Dorper (DO), Gulf Coast Native (GC), Katahdin (KA), and St. Croix (SC) mature sheep and lambs were exposed to virulent foot rot in spring 2003. Treatment for foot rot was initiated in 132 lambs and 262 mature sheep in late July. There were eight pasture groups treated, two of which were minimally exposed to foot rot. Treatment included hoof paring, foot bathing with 10% zinc sulfate with surfactant, allowing the zinc sulfate to dry on the foot and moving to a small paddock that had not been exposed to small ruminants for more than 14 d. Foot bathing was repeated every 7 d for a maximum of five treatments. Animals that had not responded (odor or any indication of persistent infection) by then were culled from the flock. As an indication of severity of foot rot for each animal, the number of areas on the foot (interdigital and two digits for each foot), a foot score (0 = no infection found; 1 = infection of digits only; 2 = infection of interdigital area and could include digits), and presence of characteristic odor was recorded. Least squares means for number of areas infected were greater for mature than growing sheep (2.07 ± 0.16 versus 0.88 ± 0.31; P P P P P P P P

SUMMARYThe purpose of the current work was to study phosphorus (P) metabolism in growing sheep supplemented with different levels of dicalcium phosphate using an extant mathematical model. Twelve male non-castrated Santa Inês sheep, weighing 23 (±2·2) kg, received a basal diet unsupplemented or supplemented with dicalcium phosphate to provide 1·5, 3·0, 4·5 g of P/animal per day (treatments T1 to T4, respectively). After 3 weeks adaptation, 7·4 MBq of32P was injected into the jugular vein of each animal. Samples of blood, faeces and urine were collected every day during a 7-day period and thereafter the animals were sacrificed and samples from liver, kidney, heart, muscle and bone were collected for specific activity and inorganic P determinations. The flows between gut and plasma were similar for each treatment except for T1, which showed the lowest values for both flows (PF42) was different among treatments, however net tissue retention was similar for all treatments. Total P retained was highest for T4 and lowest as well as negative for T1 and T2. Phosphorus accreted to bone (F32) was different among treatments and contributed to the different net bone retentions. The highest value ofF32was reached by animals on T4, whilst the lowest values were found for animals on T1. Despite having the highest value ofF32, it should be noted that animals on T4 excreted the most P in faeces. Considering concerns about environmental P pollution, it is important to be aware that the treatment which provided the highest value for net bone P retention and forF42also led to the highest value of P excreted in faeces. Therefore, the current study suggests that T3 provided the best P level for this category of animal since P accreted to bone and tissue indicated that P absorption was adequate to attend to P requirements.

A growth trial of 120 days was conducted on 15 growing sheep to evaluate cowpea grains as an alternate protein source of groundnut cake (GNC). Animals were divided in three groups of five animals in each, and offered dry mixed grasses ( Cenchrus ciliaris , Sehima nervosum with small proportion of Chryosopogon fulvus and Dicanthium annulatum ) and concentrate mixtures to meet their nutrient requirement. In the concentrate mixture of G1 (control group), GNC was the sole source of protein, while in the G2 and G3 groups, 50 and 100% of GNC was replaced by cowpea grains on N basis. After 75 days of feeding, a metabolism trial (7 days) was conducted to determine the dry matter intake (DMI), nutrients utilization and N-balance. Rumen liquor and blood samples were collected to estimate the rumen and blood metabolites, respectively. For eating pattern, observations were recorded for three consecutive days. Change in body weight of animals was recorded at 15 days interval. CP and cell wall polysaccharide contents were higher in GNC than in cowpea grain. DMI (g kg −1 W 0.75 ) was higher ( P P P −1 ) was ( P > 0.05) higher in G3 (17.4 ± 1.21) than G2 (15.7 ± 0.80) and G1 (14.0 ± 0.60). Absorbed nitrogen (g day −1 ) was ( P −1 ) of diets in G3 (2.8 ± 0.77) was higher than G1 (2.2 ± 0.05) and G2 (2.5 ± 0.09) groups. TVFA and NH 3 –N concentrations were 143.2 ± 17.94, 137.5 ± 14.38 and 140.7 ± 9.97 meq/l and 18.2 ± 0.59, 19.6 ± 2.21 and 20.65 ± 1.52 mg/100 ml in G1, G2 and G3 groups, respectively. Total-N concentrations was significantly ( P P −1 and g kg −1 W 0.75 h −1 ) during first 4 h of eating was comparable between the dietary groups. Average body weight gain (g day −1 ) was ( P

A study was conducted to develop an in vitro culture system for growing sheep oocytes from isolated primordial follicles. Enzymatically isolated neonatal sheep primordial follicles were cultured in Waymouth MB752/1 medium containing BSA (3 mg/ml) + ITS (1%, v/v) over 28 days. In Experiment 1, primordial follicles (average diameter 40.2+/-0.60 microm) were cultured at densities of 20, 50 and 100 follicles per well. Less than 20% of the oocytes survived to day 28 but there was a significant (P < 0.05) increase in median oocyte diameter from day 2 to day 28 for oocytes cultured at the higher densities of 50 and 100 follicles. In Experiment 2, two methods to improve oocyte:granulosa cell associations were tested. Altering the fibronectin coating regime did not improve oocyte survival and growth. In contrast lectin-aggregated primordial follicles cultured on non-coated wells showed significantly (P < 0.05) improved oocyte survival to 50% and increased median oocyte diameter compared to non-aggregated follicles. In Experiment 3, the effect of KIT ligand (KL) at 0 ng/ml, 10 ng/ml and 100 ng/ml, on lectin-aggregated primordial follicles cultured on non-coated wells was tested. KL at 100 ng/ml significantly (P < 0.05) increased median oocyte diameter compared to non-treated controls but had no effect on oocyte survival. In addition, follicles cultured with 100 ng/ml KL expressed mRNA for AMH, a gene expressed only in granulosa cells of growing follicles. In conclusion, culture of lectin-aggregated primordial follicles supported the long-term survival and growth of oocytes from isolated sheep primordial follicles. Culture of lectin-aggregates with 100 ng/ml KL further increased oocyte growth and induced granulosa cell differentiation.

A feeding trial with growing sheep was conducted on mixed roughage-supplement diets, to test whether roughage intake could be estimated from a known intake of a supplement and an alkane-based estimate of the supplement and roughage proportions in the diet (diet composition) without the need for separate dosing with external marker alkanes. Diets consisted of chaffed Trifolium subterraneum hay (SC), or a mix of SC and beeswax-labelled cottonseed meal (CSM) in the proportions of 7: 1, 6: 2, 5: 3 and 4: 4 (air-dry matter basis). Six sheep were given the pure SC diet and three sheep were given each of the mixed diets. Additionally, the CSM was also labelled with octatriacontane (C38) to investigate its use for labelling supplements. Due to unexpectedly low recoveries, C38 was not included in any estimation of diet composition or digestibility.The inclusion of beeswax-labelled CSM in a SC diet resulted in lower faecal alkane recoveries (as proportions of alkane ingested; P ≤ 0·05). Within mixed diets, recoveries decreased significantly with increasing proportion of CSM, but this effect was significant (P < 0·05) only for alkanes consisting of 25, 26, 27 and 29 carbon-atoms. Estimates of diet composition were close to measured values. Daily SC intake and organic matter digestibility (OMD) differed by −3·7 to 7·2% and −2·0 to 5·7% from measured values if a mean faecal recovery, across diets, was applied for each alkane. Accuracy increased greatly if estimates were based upon faecal alkane recoveries for individual diets, instead of mean recoveries across diets (−0·3 to 0·9% and −0·2 to 0·0% for SC intake and OMD, respectively).The results indicate that roughage intake can be estimated from a combination of known supplement intake and an estimate of diet composition, which obviates the need for separate alkane dosing to estimate intake. The method should be applicable in situations in which animals either normally receive supplements (e.g., dairy cows) or could readily be given supplements.

Data from 19 feeding trials conducted on growing sheep from different institutes across India were subjected to regression analysis to derive requirements of TDN, CP and DCP for maintenance and body weight gain. Maintenance requirements for TDN, CP and DCP were 37.0, 6.68 and 4.43 g/kg W 0.75 , respectively for the BW range of 7–15 kg, and the corresponding maintenance requirements for the BW range of 15.1–30 kg were 35.3, 6.98 and 4.49 g. The corresponding requirements for 1 g gain in BW were 0.91, 0.47, and 0.31 g, for 7–15 kg BW and 1.21, 0.43 and 0.30 g, respectively for 15–30 kg BW range. Regression equations had high R 2 values (0.59–0.84) and the equations ( F value) as well as coefficients were highly significant ( P

The aim of this work was to establish the response of growing sheep, goats and cattle to different nutritional environments. Data from 590 publications representing 2225 treatments were analysed. The results showed that each 10% increase in NDF was accompanied by 0.11 g/kg live weight (LW) and 0.32 g/kg metabolic live weight (LW0.75) decreases in DMI. Otherwise, the response of DMI to CP (CP% DM) content was curvilinear (P< 0.01), without any significant difference in the slope between species. The percentage of concentrate (% CC) affected DMI curvilinearly, without any significant difference between species. This meta- analysis demonstrated the negative linear effect of NDF and the quadratic effect of CP concentration on organic matter digestibility (OMd). For growth performance, the three species responded curvilinearly to variations in metabolisable energy intake (MEI MJ/kg LW0.75) and digestible CP (DCPI g/kg LW0.75) intake (P< 0.01). At the same level of MEI, average daily gain (ADG) varied with CP contents of the diet, and only the intercept differences were significant between the three levels (P = 0.07). At the same level of DCPI, ADG varied with energy level (below maintenance (LE--), 1 to 1.2 x maintenance (LE-), 1.2 to 1.4 x maintenance (ME +-), and > 1.4, corresponding to maximum growth (HE +)). No significant difference was observed between LE-- and LE-, and no significant difference was observed between ME + - and HE +. For nitrogen balance, no difference was observed between species for a given level of nitrogen intake.

This research aimed to define the energy requirement of Dorper and Hu Hybrid F1 ewes 20 to 50 kg of body weight, furthermore to study energy requirement changes with age and evaluate the effect of age on energy requirement parameters. In comparative slaughter trial, thirty animals were divided into three dry matter intake treatments (ad libitum, n = 18; low restricted, n = 6; high restricted, n = 6), and were all slaughtered as baseline, intermediate, and final slaughter groups, to calculate body chemical components and energy retained. In digestibility trial, twelve ewes were housed in individual metabolic cages and randomly assigned to three feeding treatments in accordance with the design of a comparative slaughter trial, to evaluate dietary energetic values at different feed intake levels. The combined data indicated that, with increasing age, the net energy requirement for maintenance (NEm) decreased from 260.62±13.21 to 250.61±11.79 kJ/kg(0.75) of shrunk body weight (SBW)/d, and metabolizable energy requirement for maintenance (MEm) decreased from 401.99±20.31 to 371.23±17.47 kJ/kg(0.75) of SBW/d. Partial efficiency of ME utilization for maintenance (km, 0.65 vs 0.68) and growth (kg, 0.42 vs 0.41) did not differ (p>0.05) due to age; At the similar condition of average daily gain, net energy requirements for growth (NEg) and metabolizable energy requirements for growth (MEg) for ewes during late fattening period were 23% and 25% greater than corresponding values of ewes during early fattening period. In conclusion, the effect of age upon energy requirement parameters in the present study were similar in tendency with previous recommendations, values of energy requirement for growth (NEg and MEg) for Dorper and Hu crossbred female lambs ranged between the NRC (2007) recommendation for early and later maturating growing sheep.

Two experiments were conducted in which growing sheep were given choices between foods differing in their contents of urea. The crude protein (CP) contents of both of the foods of the pair were also varied. The hypothesis tested was that the diets selected would be those that met the effective rumen degradable protein (eRDP) requirements of the animals and would avoid excess consumption of eRDP. Three basal foods, differing in CP were formulated. D was designed to be deficient in CP with 80 g CP and 58 g eRDP per kg DM; H was calculated to be adequate with 159 g CP and 114 g eRDP per kg DM; P had excess with 210 g CP and 148 g eRDP per kg DM. Other foods were made by adding 12·5 or 25 g urea per kg fresh matter to each of the three basal foods to make a further six foods. In both experiments Texel✕Greyface female sheep were used. In experiment 1, 34 sheep weighing 37·2 (s.d. 1·85) kg were randomly allocated to one of six groups and each group was offered a choice between a pair of foods. Groups 1 to 3 were offered pairs in the D series (Dv. D + 12·5 g urea per kg (no. = 6), Dv. D + 25 g urea per kg (no. = 6) and D + 12·5 g urea per kg v. D + 25 g urea per kg (no. = 5)). Groups 4 to 6 were offered the same pairs of foods but with H instead of D. In experiment 2, 96 sheep weighing 29·8 (s.d. 3·37) kg were randomly allocated to one of 12 groups. Groups 1 to 6 (no. = 6) were allocated a single food (D, D + 25 g, H, H + 25 g, P or P + 25 g urea per kg) throughout the experiment. Groups 7 to 12 were given a choice (no. = 10) between two foods. One food of the pair was the basal D, H or P. The other food was the same basal food supplemented with either 12·5 or 25 g urea per kg. On the single foods adding urea to D resulted in an increase in food intake and live-weight gain suggesting that D was deficient in eRDP. Adding urea to either H or P had no beneficial effects on intake or live-weight gain. This suggests that both contained sufficient eRDP in relation to energy. Across all choice treatments in both experiments there was a highly significant preference (P< 0·01) for the food with the higher urea content. In experiment 1 0·62 (s.e. 0·04) of the diet selected was the food with the higher urea content. In experiment 2 the figure was 0·64 (s.e.0·03). The general preference for the food with the higher urea content was unaffected by the CP contents of the foods used. The results do not support the hypothesis that sheep will avoid excess eRDP when given a choice and suggest that eRDP may not be a relevant dimension in diet selection in the conditions of these experiments.

To evaluate the prophylactic and therapeutic effects of an ivermectin controlled-release capsule (IVM-CRC) on the productivity of growing sheep infested with Psoroptes ovis 24 male and 24 female Merino landrace lambs, 5–6 months old and weighing 21.2–35.0 kg, were used. Sixteen replicates of three animals were formed based on sex and Day 0 body weight. Within each replicate animals were randomly allocated to one of three groups: untreated control; IVM-CRC on Day 0; IVM-CRC on Day 84. For treatment an IVM-CRC for sheep weighing 20–45 kg was used which is designed to deliver ivermectin at a minimum dose of 20 μg/kg/day for 100 days. The lambs were infested with 50–60 P. ovis mites each on days 14 and 21. The animals were shorn on Day 126. After slaughter on Day 127 the quality of the leather produced from their skins was evaluated. The IVM-CRC treatment on Day 0 prevented the establishment of P. ovis. All untreated lambs became infested. The lambs treated with an IVM-CRC on Day 84 became mite-free from Day 112 onwards. The lambs which were treated on Day 0 had significantly (p

To evaluate the prophylactic and therapeutic effects of an ivermectin controlled-release capsule (IVM-CRC) on the productivity of growing sheep infested with Psoroptes ovis 24 male and 24 female Merino landrace lambs, 5–6 months old and weighing 21.2–35.0 kg, were used. Sixteen replicates of three animals were formed based on sex and Day 0 body weight. Within each replicate animals were randomly allocated to one of three groups: untreated control; IVM-CRC on Day 0; IVM-CRC on Day 84. For treatment an IVM-CRC for sheep weighing 20–45 kg was used which is designed to deliver ivermectin at a minimum dose of 20 μg/kg per day for 100 days. The lambs were infested with 50–60 P. ovis mites each on Days 14 and 21. Mites in skin scrapings were counted on Days 70, 84, 98, 112 and 126. Body weight and feed consumption were measured every 2 weeks from Day 0 to 126. The animals were slaughtered on Day 127 and their carcasses evaluated. The IVM-CRC treatment on Day 0 prevented the establishment of P. ovis. All untreated lambs became infested. The lambs treated with an IVM-CRC on Day 84 became mite-free from Day 112 onwards. The lambs treated on Day 0 had significantly (p 0.1) difference between warm and cold carcass weights, carcass yield and rib eye area between sheep treated on Day 84 and untreated controls.

A total of 1137 observations from sheep of different age fed with rations of different composition were collected from the literature. This study used measures of methane emissions from sheep under different feeding conditions to compute regression equations to predict methane emissions from ration descriptive variables. It was also tested whether the material validated other common prediction equations. Methane emissions from all sheep averaged 22.15 g day−1. For growing sheep and adult sheep they equalled 23.16 g day−1 and 20.48 g day−1, respectively, with significant differences (P ≤ 0.05). The percentage loss of methane (% of gross energy intake) averaged 7.22, 7.23 and 7.22%, respectively. Methane emissions increased (P ≤ 0.05) with increasing live weight, feeding level measured as multiples of maintenance and digestibility of dry matter and decreased for rations with wider ratios of crude fibre intake and intake of N-free extracts. Crude fibre content in the ration and energy density of the ration showed no clearly identifiable effect on methane emissions.

Fifty six crossbred Swifter (Texel ♂×Flemish ♀) male lambs, born in March 1993 and weaned at age ≈2 months, were used to quantify effects of feed quality restriction with respect to growth rates of weight and dimensions of the body. The ration was gradually changed to the experimental control diet of grass straw (51 g crude protein kg−1 dry matter (DM)) ad libitum and 35 g kg−0.75 d−1 mixed concentrates (173 g crude protein kg−1 DM). At the age of approximately 3 months, the animals were randomly divided into a restricted (R) and a control (C) group. Group R was subjected to feed quality restriction by withholding concentrates from 3 to 6 months of age. In the remaining 6 months, the R group received the same feed as the C group. A modified model for allometric growth was developed to quantify effects of feed quality restriction and consequent compensation after realimentation on growth. Estimates of parameters clearly indicated retardation in growth after restriction and compensatory growth after realimentation. In general, skeletal measures such as ulna length, body height and length, and chest depth were less affected than measures related to muscle and fat deposition, such as width and girth measurements, and body weight.

The effects of feed quality restriction and the consequent compensatory growth on body organ development was measured in 56 crossbred Swifter (Texel ♂×Flemish ♀) male lambs born in March 1993 and weaned at ≈2 months of age. The ration was gradually changed to an experimental diet of grass straw (51 g crude protein (CP) per kg dry matter (DM)) ad libitum and 35 g kg−0.75 d−1 of mixed concentrate (173 g CP per kg DM). At 3 months of age, animals were randomly assigned to a restricted (R) or a control (C) group. Group R was subjected to feed quality restriction by withholding concentrates from 3–6 months of age. A serial slaughtering procedure was used to determine changes in body organ weights. At the beginning of the experiment eight lambs, thereafter every 3 weeks four lambs (two per group), and finally eight lambs (four per group) were slaughtered. Growth was modelled using a linear function. Estimated parameters clearly indicated reduced growth during feed quality restriction and compensation during realimentation. The carcass showed an earlier effect of restriction and realimentation compared to body weight (BW). Non-carcass components showed a delay in growth after restriction but had a similar trend to BW after realimentation. At the end of the experiment, the weight of the small intestine was higher in R group (P 0.05) were observed for other organs between groups. In general, early maturing parts (head, feet and visceral organs) have high priority for use of the available nutrients in the blood stream and are affected less than the late maturing parts by feed quality restriction. After realimentation, the responses are mainly related to their reactions during restriction, i.e., the organs which are most affected and have the greatest reduction, respond quicker than those which are less affected.

A study was conducted to determine serum copper (Cu) concentrations and hematological values of 174 sheep from four medium sized farms, pertaining to physiological stage, in the late dry and late wet seasons of Central Trinidad. Serum Cu was significantly lower in the dry than in the wet season (P<0.001) with a corresponding high percentage of samples with low Cu levels in the former. 31% of dry nonpregnant sheep exhibited a nonregenerative anaemia. Also, hemoglobin and packed cell volume values varied (P<0.001) including lymphocyte (P<0.01) counts, among growing animals compared with other physiological stages. Significant variations also occurred among neutrophil (P<0.05) and eosinophil (P<0.05) values in sheep. Highest haemoglobin and packed cell volume, white blood cell counts, and lymphocyte values in growing sheep compared with other stages were probably age related.

The objective of the study was to update energy and protein requirements of growing sheep, goats and cattle in warm areas through a meta-analysis study of 590 publications. Requirements were expressed on metabolic live weight (MLW=LW0.75) and LW1 basis. The maintenance requirements for energy were 542.64 and 631.26 kJ ME/kg LW0.75 for small ruminants and cattle, respectively, and the difference was significant (P

In order to ascertain the effect of additional calcium carbonate into concentrate diet, on the performance of sheep fed ensiled king grass as a basal diet, a trial was conducted using 28 growing sheep ( average body weight 17 _+ 1 .4 kg). Based on body weight, the animals were grouped and randomized into four dietary treatments in block randomized design . Dietary treatments were (i) chopped king grass + 400 g of concentrate, (ii) ensiled king grass + 400 g concentrate + 0 % of calcium carbonate, (iii) ensiled king grass + 400 g concentrate + 5 % calcium carbonate and (iv) ensiled king grass + 400 g concentrate + 10 % calcium carbonate . Results showed that offering 5 % of calcium carbonate into concentrate diet increased (P < 0 .05) dry matter and nutrient intake of silage, but digestibility coefficients were similar (P > 0 .05) for all groups . No differences in the apparent digestibility of the nutrient components were observed, but crude protein decreased significantly (P < 0 .05) . A significant relationship ( P < 0 .01) was found between nitrogen intake (NI) and nitrogen retention (NR), and the equation was NR = - 0.1848 + 0.3788 NI ( r = 0.9 ) . Based on data found that feeding only ensiled king grass as a single diet could not meet the maintenance requirement of energy and protein, therefore, additional energy and crude protein sources is needed .

Circannual patterns in feed intake, metabolism and growth for sheep appear to be endogenous rhythms that are entrained to a seasonal photoperiodic pattern. It was considered that body composition, a resulting outcome of the input and utilisation of feed (metabolism), would also demonstrate a seasonal pattern. This study was aimed at establishing the presence of seasonal oscillations in body components of growing sheep, using total body fat, muscle and empty body weight data from a long term serial slaughter experiment in growing Merino sheep from weaning through to maturity. Changes in total fat and muscle weight relative to empty body weight were analysed using the additive allometric model in the non-linear form, to which a sine function was added to account for any seasonal oscillations in the residuals. For total body fat weight, the addition of a sine oscillation to the allometric model was significant for both rams (P < 0.05) and ewes (P < 0.10) with mean amplitudes of 1.01 and 0.58 kg, respectively. For muscle weight, the addition of the sine function was significant only for the rams (P < 0.05), with a mean amplitude of 0.664 kg. In rams, the peak in the oscillation for total fat occurred in mid summer, whilst in ewes the peak occurred 111 days later in autumn. In rams, the oscillation for total muscle was approximately six months out of phase with that for total body fat. Therefore in rams, after adjustment for empty body weight, fat weight increased during summer, whilst muscle weight increased during winter. These oscillations indicate that there is a seasonal effect on the priorities for muscle and fat accretion in growing sheep. Oscillations in body components will have implications for assessing the energy requirements of growth and effect the ability to finish animals to fatness/weight specifications. Oscillations in body components will effect the maintenance energy costs of the mature breeding unit.

An experiment was conducted to study the effect of doubling the amount of mature Cenchrus ciliaris hay offered at supplementing with Acacia tortilis fruits or Sesbania sesban dried leaves on intake and apparent digestibility of the diets by sheep. Six treatments were formulated to constitute two levels of the basal diet, 750 g or 1500 g hay per day. Each of the two levels of the basal ration were supplemented with either A. tortilis fruits or S. sesban leaves. Eight growing sheep were used in a change-over design to measure dry matter (DM) and organic matter (OM) digestibilities and voluntary intake. The results indicate that doubling the level of feeding increased intake of DM and OM, DM digestibility and OM digestibility. This increase is probably due to the opportunity of selecting better components of the basal ration. Although there was an increase in dietary crude protein (CP) content in diet consumed, negative values for apparent CP digestibility were observed. Supplementation of mature C. ciliaris hay with the two legumes depressed intake of the basal diet with Acacia but not with Sesbania, and resulted in increased intake of the total DM, OM and CP. The differences in performance observed between the two browse species is probably partly due to levels of anti-nutritional factors, A. tortilis fruits containing more soluble phenolics than S. sesban leaves.

The effect of the energy density (ED) of feeds offered as a choice on the diet selection of sheep, and the relationship between the rumen environment and the diet selected from feeds of different ED were investigated in two experiments. In the first experiment two feeds, L and H, and their mixture M (3:1 w/w) were formulated. All feeds had similar calculated metabolizable protein: metabolizable energy (ME) ratios, but differed in ED (7·4, 8·1 and 10·1 MJ ME$sol;kg fresh feed for L, M and H respectively). The feeds were offered ad lib. either singly or in paired choices (L/M, L/H and M/H; n6 per treatment) to growing sheep. Although the rate of live-weight (Lwt) gain on feed H was higher than on feeds L or M, and the daily rate of feed intake lower, the sheep on feed choices did not consume only feed H. Instead they selected a mixture of both feeds offered, such that the total amount of H consumed per kg fresh feed was similar on choices L/H and M/H. The rate of Lwt gain of sheep on choices L/H and M/H was not different from that achieved on feed H alone. In the second experiment the choice L/H was offered to fistulated sheep (10 months of age, mean Lwt 57·5 kg) in an 8×8 Latin square, with 7 d periods. Treatments were infusions into the rumen (total volume 1 litre) over 4 h on days 1–4 of each period of acid (HC1; Acid 1, 400; Acid 2, 300 and Acid 3, 200 mmol/l), alkali (NaOH; Alk 1, 316; Alk 2, 212 and Alk 3, 109 mmol/l) and control (NaCl; Con 1, 315 and Con 2, 209 mmol/l). Infusate osmolalities (mOs/kg) were 795 (Acid 1), 585 (Acid 2, Alk 1 and Con 1), 390 (Acid 3, Alk 2 and Con 2) and 200 (Alk 3). Infusion treatment significantly affected the diet selection of the sheep (P < 0·05) according to the osmolality of infusate, but not according to rumen pH. During infusions intake of feed H tended to decline with increasing treatment osmolality, whereas intake of L remained constant. The effects on diet selection and feed intake were of a short duration with no carry-over effects. These results show that sheep given a choice between two feeds of different ED select a substantial quantity of the low-ED feed; this diet selection is affected by short-term manipulations of their rumen environment, in a manner that is consistent with the maintenance of effective rumen conditions.

This trial was conducted to assess the efficacy of acai seeds in the diet of sheep, specifically, to evaluate the intake, digestibility, and weight gain in sheep that are fed with diets containing four different mixtures of acai seeds and coastcross hay. Sixteen noncastrated male sheep with an average initial body weight of 22 kg were randomly assigned to one of four diet treatments using initial body weight as a covariate. The diets used coastcross hay as the basal roughage in a 60:40 roughage/concentrate ratio. The concentrate was the same in all the treatments. The acai seed was added to the diet as a partial substitute for the coastcross hay to make up four diet treatments: 0 (control), 5, 10, and 15 % acai added to the diet on a dry matter basis. The daily weight gain, final body weight, and feed intake were found to linearly increase with the increase in added dietary acai seed meal (P < 0.05). Moreover, increasing the proportions of acai seed meal did not significantly alter the nutrient tract digestibility, except that the crude protein level declined in a linear manner. The inclusion of acai seed as a substitute for coastcross hay increases the intake and the daily weight gain in sheep that are fed with diets using coastcross hay as the basal roughage in a 60:40 roughage/concentrate ratio.

Thirty-six male growing Rahmani lambs aged 6 months with an average weight 19.07 ± 0.21 kg were used to determine the effects of inclusion biologically treated corn stalks (BTCS) treated with Trichoderma ressi ( T. ressi ) on growth performance. Animals were divided into four equal groups and assigned for control ration contained 30% clover hay (CH) and another three experimental rations replaced CH in control ration (TMR 1 ) with BTCT at 33%, 66% and complete replacement 100% of CH for (TMR 2 , TMR 3 and TMR 4 ), respectively. The results showed that treatment of BTCS decreased DM, OM, CF, EE contents, while CP and ash contents were increased in comparison with untreated corn stalks (UTCS). Also, it reduced all cell wall constituents (NDF, ADF, ADL, cellulose and hemicelluloses) compared to UTCS. biologically treated corn stalks containing diets significantly improved (P 0.05) improved. Ruminal pH, ammonia nitrogen (NH 3 -N) and total volatile fatty acids (TVFA's) concentrations were increased. Sampling time had no significant effect on ruminal pH while, it significantly (P 0.05) decreased. Final weight, total body weight gain, average daily gain (ADG) and relative gain were significantly (P