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The voluntary hay intake by ewes during the first weeks of lactation

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  02 September 2010

F. Bocouier ,
M. Thériez  and
A. Brelurut
F. Bocouier
Affiliation:
Institut National de la Recherche Agronomique, Centre de Recherches Zootechniques et Vétérinaires, Theix, 63122 Ceyrat, France
M. Thériez
Affiliation:
Institut National de la Recherche Agronomique, Centre de Recherches Zootechniques et Vétérinaires, Theix, 63122 Ceyrat, France
A. Brelurut
Affiliation:
Institut National de la Recherche Agronomique, Centre de Recherches Zootechniques et Vétérinaires, Theix, 63122 Ceyrat, France
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Abstract

In eight experiments, ewes nursing one or two lambs were offered restricted amounts of concentrate in the range 285 to 605 g dry matter (DM) per day and hay ad libitum, from lambing until day 42 of lactation.

Hay intake increased sharply during the first 2 weeks and reached its maximum during the 5th or the 6th week. Ewes' body weight at lambing, ewes' body-weight change, and milk production (estimated by litter growth rate) were significantly related to hay intake which depended also on breed (Romanov × Limousine ewes eating more than pure Limousine, P < 0·001) and age (mature ewes eating more than old ewes, P < 0·001) but not on number of suckled lambs.

Replacement rate of concentrates for forage increased as lactation progressed (0·53 to 0·86 from first to third fortnight) and varied with hay neutral detergent fibre (NDF) concentration (0·42 or 0·89 for hays with 700 or 500 g NDF per kg DM). Daily hay DM intake decreased by 1·28 g for each gram of hay NDF content increment. The NDF effect was increasingly more important as lactation progressed.

Utilization of present results in formulating diets for lactating ewes is discussed.

Type
Research Article
Information
Animal Production , Volume 44 , Issue 3 , June 1987 , pp. 387 - 394
Copyright
Copyright © British Society of Animal Science 1987

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