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Meal patterns in pregnancy and lactation of two spanish sheep breeds

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  21 November 2017

J. Amor ,
J.P. Barrio  and
F.F. Bermúdez
J. Amor
Affiliation:
Estación Agrícola Experimental CSIC, Apdo. 788, 24080 León(Spain).
J.P. Barrio
Affiliation:
Dept. Fisiología, Farmacología y Toxicología, Universidad de León, 24071 León(Spain).
F.F. Bermúdez
Affiliation:
Estación Agrícola Experimental CSIC, Apdo. 788, 24080 León(Spain).
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Extract

The majority of the studies on the feeding behaviour during pregnancy and lactation have been made in cows, being information on sheep scarce and generally limited to daily food intake (Bermúdez, 1989). During pregnancy and lactation variations do occur in nutrient requirements that markedly influence food intake. There is sometimes a small increase in intake in mid-pregnancy, and then a slight decline in the last few weeks before parturition is often observed (Forbes, 1970). This has been explained by the reduced ruminal function due to physical competition for abdominal space. The volume of the gravid uterus and abdominal fat contribute to compress the rumen, this effect being enhanced when bulky food is eaten. After lambing food intake always increases, but not in a way so as to match the high energy requirements of this stage. All these changes are expected to affect size and duration of meals, as well as the rate of eating.

The aim of this experiment was to study the variation in eating patterns along pregnancy and lactation of two Spanish sheep breeds: Churra, a dairy breed, and Merino. The influence of the presentation of feed was also studied.

Type
Sheep, Goats and Deer
Information
Proceedings of the British Society of Animal Production (1972) , Volume 1994 , March 1994 , pp. 200
Copyright
Copyright © The British Society of Animal Production 1994

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References

Bermúdez, F.F., Forbes, J.M. and Jones, R. 1989. Feed intakes and meal patterns of sheep during pregnancy and lactation, and after weaning. Appetite 13:211–222.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Forbes, J.M. 1986. The Voluntary Food Intake of Farm Animals, pp. 78–83. London: Butterworths.Google Scholar