The effect of offering concentrate supplement to twin- and triplet-bearing ewes grazing a 60 mm herbage sward height on lamb birth weight, heat production and post-natal growth

Abstract

SUMMARYThe current study investigated the effect of offering concentrate supplement to ewes in late pregnancy on twin- and triplet-born lamb heat production at 24–36 h old and performance from birth until lactation day 94 (L94). Twin- (n=40) and triplet-bearing (n=28) ewes were grazed on a 60 mm sward height from day 70 of pregnancy (P70) until L94. From P100, half of the ewes from each litter size were offered 400 g/ewe/day of concentrate sheep pellets. Ewe liveweight and body condition were recorded on P50, 100, 130, 135 and 140. Ewe blood samples were also collected on P130, 135 and 140, and ewe herbage intake was estimated from P133–136 using the n-alkane method. Lamb measurements included liveweight and body size at birth, production of heat using indirect open-circuit calorimetry at 24–36 h old and liveweight at L94. Blood samples were also collected from lambs at 24–36 h old and directly before and after calorimetry measurements. While estimates of ewe herbage intake suggested that substitution of herbage for concentrate did not occur, offering concentrate supplement failed to improve ewe liveweight gain, or birth weight of lambs. Offering concentrate supplement, however, did have a positive effect (P<0·05) on the maximal amount of heat a triplet-born lamb can produce on a per kg of body weight basis (concentrate 21±1·3 W/kg, non-concentrate 17±0·6 W/kg). It also had a positive effect (P<0·05) on lamb square-root-transformed plasma gamma-glutamyl transferase (GGT) concentrations, an indicator of colostrum uptake (concentrate 46±3·1 U/l, non-concentrate 38±2·9 U/l). Irrespective of lamb birth rank, offering concentrate supplement had a positive effect (P<0·01) on liveweight gain per day from birth until L94 (concentrate 261±5·7 g/day, non-concentrate 239±5·8 g/day), although there was no effect on the total weight of lamb reared/ewe. Supplementation with concentrate resulted in triplet-born lambs that produced more heat which may have positive effects on the ability of the newborn lamb to deal with cold stress and potentially its survival. Offering concentrate supplement also produced greater lamb growth in twin- and triplet-born lambs.