Hostname: page-component-cd9895bd7-jkksz Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-12-27T05:11:02.337Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

The effects of mineral-block components when offered to ewes in late pregnancy on colostrum yield and immunoglobulin G absorption in their lambs

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  18 August 2016

T. M. Boland ,
P. O. Brophy ,
J. J. Callan ,
P. J. Quinn ,
P. Nowakowski  and
T. F. Crosby
T. M. Boland
Affiliation:
Department of Animal Science and Production, University College Dublin, Newcastle, Co. Dublin, Ireland
P. O. Brophy
Affiliation:
Department of Animal Science and Production, University College Dublin, Newcastle, Co. Dublin, Ireland
J. J. Callan
Affiliation:
Department of Animal Science and Production, University College Dublin, Newcastle, Co. Dublin, Ireland
P. J. Quinn
Affiliation:
Department of Animal Science and Production, University College Dublin, Newcastle, Co. Dublin, Ireland
P. Nowakowski
Affiliation:
department of Sheep Breeding, Kozuchowska 7, 51-631 Wroclaw, Poland
T. F. Crosby*
Affiliation:
Department of Animal Science and Production, University College Dublin, Newcastle, Co. Dublin, Ireland
*
†Corresponding author. E-mail: frank.crosby@ucd.ie
Get access

Abstract

Ninety twin-bearing ewes were given food individually and allocated to five (no. = 18) treatments in order to determine the effects of supplementing their diet in late pregnancy with mineral-block components on colostrum production, lamb serum immunoglobulin G (IgG) concentration and colostral IgG absorption. Ewes were offered grass silage ad libitum, supplemented with 400 to 500 g per ewe per day of concentrates from day 99 of gestation, in addition to receiving one of the following supplements: C, (control) no supplement; B, mineral block; ML, liquid molasses; MN, granular minerals; ML + MN, liquid molasses and granular minerals. The experiment commenced on day 99 of gestation. Ewes were milked at lh, 10 h and 18 h post lambing and all lambs were fed measured quantities of colostrum, proportionate to birth weight, via stomach tube. Treatment had no effect (P > 0-05) on colostrum yield at lh, 10 h or 18 h post partum or on total colostrum yield to 18 h post partum. Ewes offered molasses (ML) or molasses plus minerals (ML + MN) had a lower colostral IgG concentration at lh post lambing than the control ewes (C) (P < 0-05). Ewes offered molasses (ML) also had a lower colostral IgG concentration than the control (C) at 10 h post partum (P < 0-05). Treatment had no effect on total IgG yield to 18 h post partum. When ewes were supplemented with minerals in any combination, with or without molasses (B, MN, ML + MN) it resulted in lambs having an impaired ability to absorb colostral IgG. Lambs from treatments B, MN and ML + MN had significantly poorer efficiency of colostral IgG absorption than lambs born to control ewes (C) or molasses (ML) supplemented ewes (P < 0-001). This in turn resulted in the progeny of mineral supplemented ewes (B, MN or ML + MN) having lower serum IgG concentration at 24 h post partum than either the control (C) or the molasses treatments (ML) (P < 0-001). When ewes were supplemented with molasses only (ML) lamb serum IgG content at 24 h was lower than in lambs born to control (C) ewes (P < 0-05) but this was as a result of a lower intake of colostral IgG (P < 0-05) and not a result of reduced IgG absorption efficiency. In conclusion, the data show that when ewe mineral intake is high in late pregnancy, as was the case in the current experiment, lamb serum IgG concentration and colostral IgG absorption efficiency are reduced. Further work is required to determine which component of the mineral formulation is responsible for this reduced IgG absorption efficiency and the mechanism through which this impaired efficiency operates.

Keywords

IgGsubimmunoglobulinslambsmineral nutrition
Type
Ruminant nutrition, behaviour and production
Information
Animal Science , Volume 79 , Issue 2 , October 2004 , pp. 293 - 302
Copyright
Copyright © British Society of Animal Science 2004

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Agricultural and Food Research Council. 1993. Energy and protein requirements of ruminants. CAB International, Wallingford.Google Scholar
Agricultural Research Council. 1980. The nutrient requirements of ruminant livestock. Commonwealth Agricultural Bureaux, Farnham Royal, UK.Google Scholar
Brambell, F. W. R. 1970. The transmission of passive immunity from mother to young. Frontiers of Biology no. 18. North Holland Publishing Co., Amsterdam.Google Scholar
Brandon, M. R. and Lascelles, A. K. 1971. Relative efficiency of absorption of IgGl, IgG2, IgA and IgM in the newborn calf. Australian Journal of Experimental Biological and Medical Science 49:629–634.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Campbell, S. G., Siegel, M. J. and Knowlton, B. J. 1977. Sheep immunoglobulins and their transmission to the neonatal lamb. New Zealand Veterinary Journal 25:361–365.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Carafoli, E. 1991. Calcium pump of the plasma membrane. Physiology Reviews 71:129–149.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Church, D. C. 1991. Livestock feeds and feeding, third edition. Prentice Hall, New Jersey.Google Scholar
Dawson, L. E. R. and Steen, R. W. J. 1998. Estimation of maintenance energy requirements of beef cattle and sheep. Journal of Agricultural Science, Cambridge 131:477–485.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Doney, J. M., Peart, J. N., Smith, W. F. and Louda, F. 1979. A consideration of the techniques for estimation of milk yield and a comparison of estimates obtained by two methods in relation to effect of breed, level of production and stage of lactation. Journal of Agricultural Science, Cambridge 92:123–132.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Fahey, J. L. and McKelvey, E. M. 1965. Quantitative determination of serum immunoglobulins in antibody agar plates. Journal of Immunology 94:84–90.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Ganong, W. F. 1977. Review of medical physiology, eighth edition. Lang Medical Publications, Los Altos.Google Scholar
Guilloteau, P., Corring, T., Garnot, P., Martin, P., Toullec, R. and Durand, D. 1983. Effect of age and weaning on enzyme activities of abomasums and pancreas of the lamb. Journal of Dairy Science 66: 2373–2385.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Howell, McC. J. 1983. Toxicity problems associated with trace elements in domestic animals. In Trace elements in animal production and veterinary practice (ed. Suttle, N. F., Gunn, R. G., Allen, W. M., Linklater, K. A. and Wiener, G.), British. Society of Animal Production occasional publication no. 7, pp. 107–118.Google Scholar
Joyce, D. 2000. An evaluation of Uniblock mineral licks as an aid to improved efficiency in sheep production. M. Agr. Sc. thesis, National University of Ireland.Google Scholar
Keane, N. 2001. Some factors influencing early lamb performance and IgG absorption in March born lambs. M. Agr. Sc. thesis, National University of Ireland.Google Scholar
Kruse, P. E. 1983. The importance of colostral Ig's and their absorption from the intestine of newborn animals. Annates de Recherches Veterinaires 14: 349–353.Google Scholar
Larson, R. E., Ward, A. C. S., Frederiksen, K. R., Ardrey, W. B. and Frank, F. W. 1974. Capability of lambs to absorb immunoproteins from freeze-dried bovine colostrum. American Journal of Veterinary Research 35:1061-1063Google Scholar
McDowell, L. R. 2003. Maximum tolerance levels. In Minerals in animal and human nutrition (ed. McDowell, L.), pp. 543–554. Elsevier, Amsterdam.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
McEwan, A. D., Fisher, E. W., Selman, I.E. and Penhale, W. J. 1970. A turbidity test for the estimation of immune globulin levels in neonatal calf serum. Clinica Chimica Acta 27:155–163.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Mellor, D. J. and Murray, L. 1986. Making the most of colostrum at lambing. Veterinary Record 118:351–353.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
National Research Council. 1985. Nutrient requirements of sheep, sixth revised edition. National Academy Press, Washington, DC.Google Scholar
Nonnecke, B. J., Franklin, S. T., Reindhart, T. A. and Horst, R. L. 1993. In vitro modulation of proliferation and phenotype of resting and mitogen stimulated bovine mononuclear leukocytes by 1, 25 hydroxyvitamin D3. Veterinary Immunology and Immunopathology 38:75-89.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
O'Doherty, J. 1994. Alternative methods of forage supplementation and their effects on ewe and lamb performance. Ph. D. thesis, National University of Ireland.Google Scholar
O'Doherty, J. V. and Crosby, T. F. 1997. The effect of diet in late pregnancy on colostrum production and immunoglobulin absorption in sheep. Animal Science 64: 87–96.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Parker, R. J. and Nicol, A. M. 1990. The measurement of serum immunoglobulin concentration to estimate lamb colostrum intake. Proceedings of the New Zealand Society of Animal Production 50:275–278.Google Scholar
Pattinson, S. E., Davies, D. A. R. and Winter, A. C. 1991. Colostrum production by prolific ewes. Animal Production 52: 583 (abstr.).Google Scholar
Pattinson, S. E., Davies, D. A. R. and Winter, A. C. 1995. Changes in the secretion rate and production of colostrum by ewes over the first 24 h post partum. Animal Science 61: 63–68.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Penhale, W. J., Logan, E. F., Selaman, I. E., Fisher, E. W. and McEwan, A. D. 1973. Observations on the absorption of colostral Igs by the neonatal calf and their significance in colibacillosis. Annates de Recherches Veterinaires 4: 223–233.Google Scholar
Robinson, J. J. 1983. Nutrition of the pregnant ewe. In Sheep production (ed. Haresign, W.), pp. 111–131. Butterworths, London.Google Scholar
Robinson, J. J. 1993. Supplementary feeding of sheep., issue no. 4 R and H Hall Technical Bulletin, LAWS, Dublin.Google Scholar
Rock, M. J., Kincaid, R. L. and Carstens, G. E. 2001. Effects of prenatal source and level of dietary selenium on passive immunity and thermometabolism of newborn lambs. Small Ruminant Research 40:129–138.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Shubber, A. H., Doxey, D. L., Black, W. J. M. and Fitzsimons, J. 1979. Colostrum production by ewes and the amounts ingested by lambs. Research in Veterinary Science 27: 280–282.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Smith, W. D., Dawson, A. McL., Wells, P. W. and Burrells, C. 1975. Immunoglobulin concentrations in ovine body fluids. Research in Veterinary Science 19:189–194.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Statistical Analysis Systems Institute. 1985. Statistical analysis systems, version 6.12. SAS Institute Inc., Cary, NC.Google Scholar
Tarn, M., Gomez, C., Gonzalez-Gross, M. and Marcos, A. 2003. Possible roles of magnesium on the immune system. European Journal of Clinical Nutrition 57:1193–1197.Google Scholar
Tilley, J. N. A. and Terry , R. A. 1963. A two-stage technique for the in vitro digestion of forage crops. Journal of the British Grassland Society 18:104–111.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Underwood, E. J. and Suttle, N. F. 1999. Iodine. In The mineral nutrition of livestock, third edition, pp. 343–374. CAB International, Wallingford, UK.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
University College Dublin. 2000. Tables of feed composition and nutritive value for ruminants. UCD, Belfield, Dublin 4.Google Scholar
Yvon, M., Levieux, D., Valluy, M., Pelissier, J. and Mirandi, P. P. 1993. Colostrum protein digestion in newborn lambs. Journal of Nutrition 123: 586–596.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed