Tuesday, 30 August 2022 17:55

Diverse diets lead to healthier lambs - new research

Written by  Staff Reporters
Professor Pablo Gregorini Professor Pablo Gregorini

New research from Lincoln University’s Pastoral Livestock Production Lab claims that feeding lambs a diverse diet during the lambing process leads to reduced oxidative stress and healthier lambs.

The research explored whether offering dietary diversity to ewes in the final trimester of pregnancy would reduce oxidative stress for both the mother and offspring.

The research indicated a reduction in stress, with ewes who ate functionally diverse diets also birthed heavier lambs that had lower cortisol levels.

The project is reportedly the first to detect maternal and foetal stress by examining the cortisol concentration and antioxidant levels of lamb’s wool in utero.

These findings suggest moving away from a typical monotonous ryegrass menu for lambing ewes and instead peppering their diet with foods like chicory, plantain, red clover and lucerne, as well as other plants.

According to Livestock Production Professor Pablo Gregorini, whose former PhD student Konagh Garrett conducted the study, the hormonal and metabolic changes of pregnancy can increase nutritional demands and strain. Certain diets then exacerbate the issue, especially as animals transition from non-lactating to lactating.

“Maternal nutrition in late gestation also influences lamb birth weight and the stress experienced by lambs in utero,” Gregorini says.

“Our findings have significant implications, as farmers can enhance animal wellbeing using simple dietary measures and adding further value to New Zealand pasture-based animal products, because animals would be ‘happy’ from the get-go.

“It’s clear that feeding lambing ewes a wider variety of foods will enhance both animal welfare and production.”

More like this

Still feeding minerals like its 1991?

We've come a long way in dairy farming over the past couple of decades. Genetics are better, sheds are more modern and we have more data at our fingertips than ever before.

Big return on a small investment

Managing director of Woolover Ltd, David Brown, has put a lot of effort into verifying what seems intuitive, that keeping newborn stock's core temperature stable pays dividends by helping them realise their full genetic potential.

Handling sheep with care

I wrote an article in the May 6th issue of Rural News about how when set-stocking ewes for lambing, they need spreading lightly - and topped up with cattle after the lambs have dropped.

Featured

Big return on a small investment

Managing director of Woolover Ltd, David Brown, has put a lot of effort into verifying what seems intuitive, that keeping newborn stock's core temperature stable pays dividends by helping them realise their full genetic potential.

Editorial: Sensible move

OPINION: The Government's decision to rule out changes to Fringe Benefit Tax (FBT) that would cost every farmer thousands of dollars annually, is sensible.

National

Machinery & Products

» Latest Print Issues Online

The Hound

Overbearing?

OPINION: Dust ups between rural media and PR types aren't unheard of but also aren't common, given part of the…

Foot-in-mouth

OPINION: The Hound hears from his canine pals in Southland that an individual's derogatory remarks on social media have left…

» Connect with Rural News

» eNewsletter

Subscribe to our weekly newsletter