PERFORMANCE OF YOUNG LAMBS FED A CLOTTING OR A NON-CLOTTING MILK REPLACER

Abstract

Sixteen male lambs weighing 2.8 – 5.8 kg and 3–5 d old were fed for 5 wk a clotting milk replacer with or without an oxalate-NaOH buffer known to prevent curd formation in the abomasum. Milk replacers were fed ad libitum at room temperature using formalin (0.1% vol vol−1) as preservative. Dry matter intake and average daily gains were the same (P > 0.05) for both the clotting and the nonclotting milk replacers. Digestibility of dry matter, nitrogen, and lipids was also similar (P > 0.05) for both treatments. Key words: Lambs, artificial rearing, milk replacer, clotting, coagulation, digestibility