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Vitamin E supplementation of undernourished ewes pre- and post-lambing reduces weight loss of ewes and increases weight of lambs

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Abstract

The aim of this study was to test if vitamin E supplementation during late gestation and early lactation would affect the weight of ewes under nutritional restriction and the performance of their lambs. Mature Rambouillet ewes (n = 37) were fed a diet that supplied 70 % of the energy and 80 % of recommended protein requirements and randomly assigned to either vitamin E (vit E, n = 20, 4 IU of α-tocopherol kg−1 of live weight) or control (n = 17, without vitamin E supplementation). During the experimental period, the mean weight of ewes decreased from 74.6 ± 2.4 to 58.1 ± 2.2 kg. Weight loss of ewes was slightly less for the vit E than the control (−65 vs −124 g day−1, SEM = 46; P = 0.07). Lambs born from vit E-supplemented ewes were heavier than lambs from the control and grew significantly faster (239 vs 195 g day−1, SEM = 29.3, P < 0.05) with heavier weights at weaning (16.5 vs 13.5 kg, SEM = 1.8, P < 0.05). Besides, birth weight, weaning weight and daily weight gain favoured to single lambs and to male lambs (P < 0.05). Weaning weight was positively correlated to birth weight (P < 0.05) and weight gain (P < 0.001). When the nutrient requirements for ewes are not met, supplementation of vitamin E during late gestation and early lactation might be an effective strategy to minimise ewe weight loss as well as to increase lamb growth.

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Acknowledgments

The authors wish to thank Agustin Alonso Sandoval for his assistance with care of the animals and all the volunteers and students for their assistance in the data collection.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Campo Experimental San Luis, Instituto Nacional de Investigaciones Forestales Agrícolas y Pecuarias, 78431, San Luis Potosí, México

    César Augusto Rosales Nieto & Hector Guillermo Gámez Vázquez

  2. Unidad Regional Universitaria de Zonas Áridas, Universidad Autónoma Chapingo, 35230, Bermejillo, Durango, México

    César Alberto Meza-Herrera

  3. Facultad de Agronomía y Veterinaria, Universidad Autónoma de San Luis Potosí, 78321, San Luis Potosí, México

    Felipe de Jesús Moron Cedillo & Felipe de Jesús Ventura Pérez

  4. Campo Experimental Zacatecas, Instituto Nacional de Investigaciones Forestales Agrícolas y Pecuarias, Calera de Víctor Rosales, 98500, Zacatecas, México

    Manuel de Jesús Flores Najera

  5. UWA Institute of Agriculture, The University of Western Australia, Crawley, WA, 6009, Australia

    Shimin Liu

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  1. César Augusto Rosales Nieto
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Correspondence to César Augusto Rosales Nieto.

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Rosales Nieto, C.A., Meza-Herrera, C.A., Moron Cedillo, F.d. et al. Vitamin E supplementation of undernourished ewes pre- and post-lambing reduces weight loss of ewes and increases weight of lambs. Trop Anim Health Prod 48, 613–618 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11250-016-1006-9

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