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Effect of source and level of fish oil for ewes in late pregnancy on subsequent performance

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  23 November 2017

L. E. R. Dawson  and
H. Edgar
L. E. R. Dawson*
Affiliation:
Agricultural Research Institute of Northern Ireland, Hillsborough, Co. Down, BT26 6DR
H. Edgar
Affiliation:
Agricultural Research Institute of Northern Ireland, Hillsborough, Co. Down, BT26 6DR Department of Agriculture and Rural Development for Northern Ireland and Veterinary Sciences Division, Belfast
*
Email: lynne.dawson@dardni.gov.uk
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Extract

Lamb mortality represents a major loss to the sheep industry with up to 10% of lambs born dead and a further 12% dying from birth to weaning (Dawson and Carson, 2002). Supplementing ewes in late pregnancy with fish oil has been demonstrated to improve lamb vigour at birth (Capper et al., 2002). However, Annett et al. (2004) observed that fish oil supplementation severely reduced colostrum yield and lamb output at weaning. The aim of the current study was to evaluate the effect of level and source of fish oil on ewe and lamb performance in order to minimise the negative effects on colostrum production and performance up to weaning.

Type
Poster Presentations
Information
Proceedings of the British Society of Animal Science , Volume 2005 , 2005 , pp. 141
Copyright
Copyright © The British Society of Animal Science 2005

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References

Dawson, L. E. R. and Carson, A. F. (2002). Effects of crossbred ewe genotype and ram genotype on ewe prolificacy, lamb viability and lamb output in the lowland sheep sector. Journal of Agricultural Science 139: 169 – 181 Google Scholar
Capper, J. L., Wilkinson, R. G., Sinclair, L. A., Pattinson, S. E. and MacKenzie, A. M. (2002). The effect of long-chain polyunsaturated fatty acid and vitamin E supplementation of ewes on neonatal lamb vigour, lamb growth and colostrum parameters. Proceedings of the British Society of Animal Science, April 2002, pp. 7 Google Scholar
Annett, R. W., Carson, A. F. and Dawson, L. E. R. (2004). Effects of concentrate DUP content and fish oil inclusion on colostrum production and lamb output from mature ewes. Irish Grassland and Animal Production Association, March 2004, pp.Google Scholar