Prediction of animal response from near infrared reflectance spectra of feeds was compared with predictions from chemical analyses. Sixty samples of pure and mixed forage-based diets were obtained from sheep intake and digestion trials. Sheep responses measured were digestible energy, dry matter intake, and calculated intake of digestible energy. Diets ...

These studies examine the effect of sodium (Na) and potassium (K) intake on the pressor and metabolic actions of ACTH (20 micrograms/kg/day) in sheep. After 21 days on each of five regimens in which Na and K intake varied from 0 to 100 mmol/day, no simple relationship between Na and ...

Senecio jacobaea (SJ) was incubated in sheep rumen fluid-buffer mixtures to determine if metabolism and(or) detoxication of pyrrolizidine alkaloids (PA) was occurring. The nontoxic reduction metabolite, 7 beta-hydroxy-l-methylene-8 alpha-pyrrolizidine, was not detected when SJ-rumen fluid incubation extracts were subjected to high performance liquid chromatography and mass spectrographic analysis. Rats were ...

Reference (normal) ranges for alkaline phosphatase, total bilirubin, urea nitrogen, chloride, cholesterol, total carbon dioxide, creatine phosphokinase, gamma glutamyl transpeptidase, glucose, lactic dehydrogenase, aspartate and aminotransferase, alanine aminotransferase, sorbitol dehydrogenase and triglycerides were established for cattle, sheep, pigs, ponies and ducks by use of the ABA-100 and A-Gent reagents (Abbott ...

Copper toxicity occurred in North Ronaldsay sheep fed on a diet of terrestrial herbage relatively high in molybdenum. Five sheep were taken from the island of North Ronaldsay, Orkney to the veterinary investigation centre at Thurso and fed solely on the herbage of the laboratory paddocks, supplemented in winter by ...

1. Steers and sheep were given basal diets of barley and straw (1:1, w/w), usually containing urea, which for certain experimental periods were supplemented with pure glucosyl urea (GU), pure lactosyl urea (LU) or a product prepared from whey concentrate (EW) which contained 65-80% of the lactose in the form ...

Sixteen ram lambs were fed 0, 50 or 200 ppm supplemental vanadium daily as NH4VO3 for 90 d and coccygeal vertebrae were sampled at 0, 15, 30, 60 and 90 d after the imposition of dietary treatments. Vertebral vanadium content was elevated (P less than .05) after exposure to 200 ...

1. Five monotocous and two ditocous Scottish Blackface ewes with indwelling catheters in an umbilical artery and vein of one foetus only and in both maternal jugular veins were used. 2. Experiments were conducted over a period of 2 d when [14C]urea was infused intravenously over 9 h into either ...

The seasonal incidence of gastro-intestinal helminths and of Oestrus ovis was determined by slaughter of successive groups of 4 tracer lambs, each exposed on pasture for 33 days. Haemonchus contortus was present from March 1979 to early July 1979, with a generally increasing percentage of 4th stage larvae in each ...

1. A procedure for measuring methane production by rumen contents incubated anaerobically in vitro is described. Assessments of methane production in vivo, in both sheep and cattle, were made by withdrawal of rumen contents and measuring their capacity to produce methane in vitro. 2. Many members of a series of ...

Masses and numbers of rumen ciliate protozoa were markedly different in individual sheep fed chaffed alfalfa hay under different feeding regimens. Studies on the ciliate contribution to specific aspects of rumen fermentation should take into account the size of members of each genus in individual animals as well as the ...

1. Three diets of barley-canola-seed (Brassica campestris), lucerne (Medicago sativa) or chopped brome-grass (Bromus inermis) were given at intervals of 3 h to closely-shorn Suffolk wethers held at a temperature of 1-5 degree (cold) or 22-24 degree (warm). Apparent digestibility of organic matter (OM) and nitrogen was reduced by 0.08-0.05 ...

Annual ryegrass (Lolium rigidum) parasitised by Anguina agrostis and Corynebacterium rathayi causes neurological signs and brain lesions thought to be associated with a vasoconstrictor effect of the toxic grass. In three separate experiments of six to 112 days duration parasitised ryegrass was fed to 21 adult sheep. The concentrations of ...

1. Fermentation and absorption of constituents of digesta in segments of the large intestine of sheep given different diets were studied by analysis of gut contents obtained at slaughter after a period during which the sheep had been administered a non-absorbable gut marker. 2. In sheep given chopped, dried lucerne ...

The relationships between Haemonchus contortus burdens, haemoglobin levels and bodyweight, were examined in 50 commercial Merino sheep, 9-18 months of age, in south-east Queensland where haemonchosis was endemic. Worm counts and haemoglobin levels were predictable (P less than 0.001, r = 0.68) from the equations log worm count = B.wt. ...

1. Three groups of 4 sheep were penned individually and provided with diets composed of either dried grass, 80% ground maize/20% soyabean meal or 80% ground barley/20% soyabean meal. 2. The diets were fed ad libitum for 3 weeks before s.c. adipose tissue biopsy samples were taken from the rump ...

Two groups of Merino sheep (with or without rumen fistulae) were used to study the effect of feeding maize-silage (compared to hay) on: thiamine concentrations in rumen fluid, tissues and organ; blood transketolase activity; microbial fermentation in the rumen. After sheep were transferred from a hay diet to maize-silage, thiamine ...

Six sheep and three steers were fed pelleted alfalfa hay prior to and during the first blood sampling period (BSP) and then switched to an 85% concentrate (HC) diet at least 28 days before a second BSP. Portal plasma flow rates were higher in steers than sheep (7.9 versus 5.0 ...

The investigations were carried out on 7 wethers with cannulated fistulas of the "small" abomasum and rumen. In two series of experiments the optimal dose of one of the tested analogues of PGF 2 alpha (Estrumate 3-4 microgram/kg, Lutalyse 130-170 microgram/kg of body weight) was used. It was found the ...

1. The rates of transfer of plasma urea to the rumen of six sheep given brome grass (Bromus inermis) pellets alone or with supplements of sucrose or urea were determined using [14C] urea and 14C-labelled sodium bicarbonate infusions during three periods. 2. The sheep were slaughtered after the third period ...

The mitotic index of the ruminal epithelium increased rapidly when the diet of sheep was changed from one based on roughage to a concentrate-based diet. After several days the mitotic index declined to a new level which was slightly higher than that observed initially. Autoradiography of sections of rumen epithelium ...

The populations of Haemaphysalis punctata and Ixodes ricinus on the Mynydd Mawr National Trust reserve, Gwynedd, were studied for two years. H. punctata was the more numerous species, being recoverable by blanket dragging over most of the year except for some very short days. There were spring and late summer ...

Twelve sheep, each prepared with a rumen fistula, were divided into three groups of four and fed three dietary levels of manganese (22,300, and 3000 micrograms/g dry matter) for 11 weeks. The sheep were then dosed with radioactive manganese and samples of rumen contents were taken via the rumen fistula ...

Arsenic from two sources--arsanilic acid and 3-nitro-4-hydroxyphenylarsonic acid (3-nitro)--was fed to mature wethers and lactating dairy cows, and the uptake and depletion of arsenic in tissues and milk were determined. In experiments with sheep, arsenic concentration in liver, kidney and blood increased as the level of arsenic from arsanilic acid ...

Thirteen goats (9 does and 4 bucks) were each inoculated orally with 10,000 infective Toxoplasma gondii oocysts. Three does and one buck were used as noninoculated controls. In 2 to 4 days after inoculation (DAI), inoculated goats became dull, pyrectic (40 to 41 C), and anorectic. Three goats died (10, ...

Twelve 18-month-old Merino wethers were fed a ground and pelleted diet of equal parts oaten chaff and lucerne chaff. Sulfur flows at the ileum and faecal excretion of sulfur were estimated for two levels of dry matter intake (500 and 1000 g/day) in sheep receiving intraruminal infusions of water or ...

1. Vitamin D-depleted, housed sheep were given diets providing fixed intakes of cholecalciferol ranging from 0.0 to 0.8 microgram/kg body-wt per d for 220 d. Thereafter they were shorn, deprived of dietary cholecalciferol and turned out from 30 June to 30 November. The concentration of 25-hydroxyvitamin D (25-OHD) in serum ...

Experiments were conducted to permit electrophysiological characterization of hypomagnesemia in sheep. For 6 weeks, adult wethers were fed: (1) a diet deficient in magnesium and calcium, (2) a diet deficient in magnesium, (3) a diet deficient in calcium and (4) a control diet. Weekly blood samples were collected to determine ...

Extensive tests on dietary materials suitable for ingestion by sheep have led to the preparation of an appropriate diet which, when fed to the sheep, caused severe iodine deficiency. The deficiency was manifested by daily urinary excretion values which fell to levels of less than 20 micrograms iodine and by ...

Three groups of five wethers were each fed ad libitum a practical type diet containing 22, 300, or 3000 ppm of manganese for 8 wk. The wethers then were fistulated and killed 13 h after intraruminal dosing with manganese-54. Several tissues were sampled. Average daily gains and feed/gain ratios of ...

In the experiments carried out on 3 sheep (males) it was demonstrated that intramuscular administration of Lutalyse in optimal doses (130-170 g/kg of body weight) caused a rise in the volume of juice, the amount of free HCl, and the value of total acidity, as well as an increase in ...

The effectiveness of selenium pellets in grazing Merino sheep was examined by comparing the selenium status of treated and untreated animals over a 13 month period. The selenium status of treated sheep, as measured by blood glutathione peroxidase levels, had reached a maximum 3 months after treatment and there was ...

Many diseases of farm animals, particularly salmonellosis, may be disseminated by slurry. Salmonellas may be found in low numbers (less than 100 per gram) in slurries but 90 per cent die during the first two to four weeks when the material is stored and survive on grass for short periods ...

A new Gram-negative, non-sporulating, rod-shaped, anaerobic bacterium capable of fermenting cellulose and starch was isolated from the rumens of sheep fed supplemented maize stover diets. The organism fermented few carbohydrates, showing a preference for polysaccharides. The main acid products of carbohydrate fermentation were butyrate and formate. Acetate was utilized.

Soft coal fly ash has been found to be a source of selenium when included in the rations of cows and hogs. In the work reported, a ration including 10% by weight of soft coal fly ash was fed to sheep for 135 days. Selenium levels in blood and tissues ...

The relative rate of increase in the carcass and its tissues with increasing empty body weight (EBW) or carcass weight respectively, was studied in male sheep from the Dorset Horn (29), Hampshire (21) and Sudan Desert sheep (31). The rate at which the carcass, muscle and bone increased in weight ...

Paper containing colored inks from magazines and newspapers was fed as 23% of their ration to sheep for 175 days. A similar ration containing oat hulls in place of the paper was fed to control animals. The paper-fed animals consumed 29% more feed than the controls but the feed efficiency ...

A study on the economic effects of naturally acquired trypanosomiasis in sheep and goats over a period of 35 weeks under range conditions in the Kiboko area of Kenya indicated that the financial loss from reduced weight gain and death amounted to 36.2 and 62.9 Kenya shillings per head for ...

The levels of cyclic nucleotides, cAMP and cGMP, were determined in splenic lymphocytes of normally fed (N) and protein deprived (PD) rats before and at different time intervals after a single injection of sheep erythrocytes. Assays were performed with protein binding methods on unseparated as well as on T and ...

Sheep were fed a diet containing 30 per cent (dry weight) cabbage which had been grown on municipal sewage sludge from Syracuse, NY for 77 days. Slight increases were found in the concnetration of nickel in kidney, copper in liver and cadmium in certain animal organs as compared to those ...

A method was developed for repeated or prolonged infusion of substances into the rumen. A blind rumen fistula was surgically formed so that the unopened rumen compartment was easily accessible immediately beneath the skin. A cardiac catheter was inserted into the rumen and was tied to a canvas patch cemented ...

Hypomagnesaemia was induced in adult sheep by changing their diet from chaff given orally to a milk diet, low in Mg, infused via the abomasum. All sheep given the milk diet developed hypomagnesaemia and four out of 19 developed nervous convulsions similar to the natural disease grass tetany. Analysis of ...

The pattern of normal foetal brain development has been described for the Merino sheep. Controlled flock matings were used and foetuses removed by hysterotomy at 40, 54, 67, 81, 90, 95, 109, 121 and 150 days of gestation. Lambs at 7 days after birth and adults were also studied. The ...

1. Comparisons were made between castrated male Scottish Blackface sheep and red deer (Cervus elaphus) of voluntary forage intake (VFI), digestibility and the mean retention time (MRT) of a particulate-phase marker (103Ru-phenanthroline) in the alimentary tract, when a range of forages: dried-grass pellets, chopped dried grass, fresh-frozen Agrostis-Festuca spp. and ...

Sixty-six male Sudan desert sheep and a similar number of Sudan desert goats representing different weight classes of sheep and goats commonly slaughtered in the local market were killed and carcass data collected. The patterns of the relative increase in weight of the components of the body were similar in ...

The intestinal disappearance and simultaneous arterial inflow and portal appearance of individual amino acids (AA) were studied in sheep fed closed formula, unrefined high (H.P.) and medium (M.P.) protein diets. Gut contents were sampled through four intestinal cannulae and blood was sampled through portal and arterial catheters. The amount of ...

Raw rumen liquor derived from sheep fed a wheat grain plus limestone diet was 2.5 times more toxic when injected into mice than liquor from sheep fed lucerne chaff. Liquors from transitional diets were of intermediate toxicity. Lactic acid was apparently not the toxic factor and relatively high molecular weight ...

The structure of the microbial population of rumen liquor froom sheep fed diets of roughage and of whole wheat grain with and without mineral buffer additives was studied. Addition of either 2 per cent of a mixture of 1/1/1/1 sodium bicarbonate, potassium bicarbonate, disodium hydrogen phosphate and calcium hydrogen phosphate ...

Cholesterol was hydrogenated by anaerobic incubation with sheep rumen fluid for periods up to 20 hr. The principal product of cholesterol hydrogenation was identified as coprostanol. Cholesterol could be protected against in vitro ruminal hydrogenation by encapsulation in a matrix of formaldehyde-treated casein. Formaldehyde-treated casein-cholesterol preparations were also shown to ...

1. Sheep were given either a basal diet of 107 g crude protein (nitrogen X 6.25)/kg or the same diet to which urea was added to increase the crude protein content to 221 g/kg. Isotope-dilution techniques with [U-14C]glucose and [2-3H]glucose were used to measure various criteria of glucose metabolism. The ...