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The effect of silage quality and frequency of feeding of supplementary concentrates on serum metabolite and insulin-like growth factor 1 (igf-1) concentrations in the late pregnant ewe

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  24 November 2017

A.R.G. Wylie
Affiliation:
Newforge Lane, Belfast BT9 5PX
D.M.B Chestnutt
Affiliation:
The Agricultural Research Institute of Northern Ireland Hillsborough, Co Down BT26 6DR, Northern Ireland
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Extract

Concentrates for pregnant ewes are often increased incrementally during the last 6-8 weeks to as much as 50% of dry matter intake. Commonly, they are given as a single daily feed. Increasing the number of meals in which a concentrate allowance is given to cattle minimises diurnal fluctuation in ruminal activity with beneficial effects on dry matter intake (DMI).

The current study was undertaken to determine if more frequent feeding of concentrates to ewes in late pregnancy affects levels of nutritionally-dependent serum IGF-1 and serum metabolites and to associate these with changes in ewe DMI and performance.

Type
Sheep Production
Copyright
Copyright © The British Society of Animal Production 1992

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References

Russel, A J F, Maxwell, T J, Sibbald, A R and McDonald, D (1977). Relationships between energy intake, nutritional state and lamb birthweight in greyface ewes. J Agric Sci, 89, 667673.Google Scholar