Our study aimed to investigate responses to supplementation of calcium (Ca), magnesium (Mg) and sodium (Na) to lactating ewes and lambs grazing barley forage from lamb marking to weaning. A 10-ha paddock sown to barley was subdivided into eight plots as four replicates of two treatments. Merino ewes (n = 104) with lambs at foot were stratified to the eight plots (13 ewes and 21 lambs/plot) based on number of lambs (twin or single) and ewes' weight. Supplemented groups had access to mineral supplements (30 g/ewe/day) supplying 12 g/ewe/day ground limestone, 12 g/ewe/day Causmag® and 6 g/ewe/day coarse salt in a ratio of 2: 2: 1 by weight (as fed) from day 0 (a day before lamb marking) after sample collection. Control groups were not supplemented with minerals. Blood, milk and urine samples from ewes and blood from lambs were collected at different time points, namely, a day prior to lamb marking (day 0), 14 days after the commencement of study (day 14), and 28 days after the commencement of study (day 28). Weight of the lambs was also recorded at each time point. We found that the concentration of the forage minerals (Ca, Mg and potassium (K)) was lower on day 28 than on day 0 (P < 0.025). Liveweight gain was greater in the first 14 days compared with the second weight gain period (P < 0.001). The interaction of time and treatment was significant for liveweight (P < 0.001). Due to the improvement in weight gain of supplemented lambs, we recommend that mineral supplementation during late lactation is beneficial considering the low cost of minerals, even though the mineral content of the forage was not deficient.
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http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/avj.13274 | DOI Listing |
EBioMedicine
December 2024
Translational & Clinical Research Institute, Faculty of Medical Sciences, Newcastle University, Newcastle upon Tyne, United Kingdom; Department of Gastroenterology, The Newcastle upon Tyne Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, Newcastle upon Tyne, United Kingdom. Electronic address:
Sci Rep
December 2024
United States Fish and Wildlife Service, Tulsa, OK, USA.
Abundance estimates inform ungulate management and recovery efforts. Yet effective and affordable estimation techniques remain absent for most ungulates lacking identifiable marks and inhabiting rugged or highly vegetated terrain. Methods using N-mixture models with camera trap imagery form an appealing solution but remain unvalidated.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFVet Anaesth Analg
September 2024
CSIRO, Agriculture and Food, Armidale, Australia. Electronic address:
Objective: To compare the behavioural responses of lambs to ring castration with or without local anaesthetic administration by single midline injection at the scrotal neck.
Study Design: Blinded, randomized block design pen study.
Animals: A group of 60 male Merino lambs; 6-8 weeks of age; average body weight of 18.
Waste Manag
December 2024
Centro de Investigación e Innovación Agroalimentaria y Agroambiental (CIAGRO-UMH), Universidad Miguel Hernández, Carretera de Beniel Km 3,2, Orihuela, Alicante 03312, Spain.
Olive mill wastes (OMW) management by composting allows to obtain valuable fertilizing products, but also implies significant fluxes of greenhouse gases (GHG). For a proper OMW composting, high C- and N co-substrates are necessary, but little is known concerning their effect on GHG emissions in OMW-industrial scale composting. In this study, different co-composting agents (cattle manure (CM), poultry manure (PM), sheep manure (SM) and pig slurry solid fraction (PSSF) as N sources and olive leaves (OLW) and urban pruning residues (UPR) as bulking agents and C sources) were used for OMW composting at industrial scale.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFScott Geogr J
July 2024
Centre for Rural Economy, School of Natural and Environmental Sciences, Newcastle University, Newcastle-Upon-Tyne, UK.
Farmed animals are expected to move through farmed spaces in certain ways to maximise their productivity. These spaces are also designed to limit the movement of disease-causing organisms. However, both types of lifeforms do not always move in expected ways.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFEnter search terms and have AI summaries delivered each week - change queries or unsubscribe any time!