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The effect of forage type, concentrate feed level and soyabean supplementation on the periparturient rise in nematode egg output in ewes
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 23 November 2017
Extract
A recent study at this Centre has shown that maize silage, regardless of maturity at harvest has the same feed value as grass silage when offered to ewes in late pregnancy (Keady and Hanrahan 2008). The control of gastrointestinal nematodes of sheep is largely dependent on the use of anthelmintics. The increasing evidence for resistance to nematode parasites of sheep to the broad-spectrum anthelmintics (Good, 2005; Good et al., 2007) has led to the search for alternative sustainable solutions to parasite control. The temporary loss of acquired immunity to gastrointestinal nematodes that is indicated by an increased faecal egg output in late pregnancy and early lactation is a well established phenomenon and is important in the epidemiology of nematodes parasites of sheep. There is substantial evidence for nutritional effects on the expression of immunity to gastrointestinal nematodes. In particular, there is evidence that faecal egg output of parasitised periparturient ewes is reduced in response to increased dietary metabolizable protein (Coop & Kyriazakis 1999; Donaldson et al., 1998; Houdijk et al., 2000). The objective of the present study was to evaluate the effect of diet during mid and late pregnancy as influenced by forage type and harvest system, concentrate feed level and soyabean supplementation on the peri-parturient rise in nematode egg output in ewes.
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- Copyright © The British Society of Animal Science 2008