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Metabolic profile in Chilota lambs grazing Calafatal

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Abstract

The aim of this study was to determine the productive and metabolic response in Chilota lambs grazing Calafatal or naturalized pasture. The experiment was conducted at the Experimental Station Butalcura (INIA, Chiloé) during October, November, and December 2011. Eight Chilota and six Suffolk Down 2-month-old lambs, uncastrated males, no twin, were located to graze a typical secondary succession of the Chiloé Archipelago, as a Calafatal (a secondary succession which derivates from human intervention on native forest in Chiloé Archipelago). Simultaneously, eight male 2-month-old Chilota lambs were located to graze a naturalized pasture, another secondary succession derived from human intervention on native forest in Chiloé Archipelago. Animals had free access to water sources. Measurements were performed one time a month, for three consecutive months for productive indicators: live weight, average daily gain and body condition score, and blood indicators of protein and energetic metabolism. Productive and metabolic response was similar between both types of pastures (P > 0.05). However, Chilota and Suffolk Down lambs grazing Calafatal showed higher plasma concentrations of βOH-butyrate, but lower non-esterified fatty acids (NEFA) than Chilota lambs grazing naturalized pasture (P < 0.05). Chilota lambs grazing naturalized pasture showed the highest plasma concentrations of NEFA and urea (P < 0.05). It was concluded that, under the conditions of the study, Chilota lambs grazing naturalized pasture, which had higher contents of crude protein and metabolizable energy, showed better metabolic balance, but not performance, than Chilota and Suffolk Down lambs grazing Calafatal.

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Notes

  1. The ovine equivalent (o. e.) is a measure of the stocking rate corresponding to the energetic requirements of a sheep (55 kg LW) gestating and raising a lamb until weaning at 3 months old, including the forage consumed by the lamb.

  2. Prioritizing the homogeneity between animals and the similarity in the number of animals per group, from a total of 11 Chilota lambs grazing Calafatal and 13 Chilota lambs grazing naturalized pasture (and their mothers), we only considered a representative subsample of eight Chilota lambs on Calafatal and eight Chilota lambs on naturalized pasture.

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Acknowledgments

The authors wish to thank María Eugenia Martínez Peláez (members of Experimental Station Butalcura) for their collaboration in this publication. This study is financed by Graduate School, Faculty of Veterinary Science, Universidad Austral de Chile (UACh).

Conflict of interest

The authors have not conflict of interest.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Escuela de Graduados, Facultad de Ciencias Veterinarias, Universidad Austral de Chile (UACh), PO Box 567, Valdivia, Chile

    María Asunción Gallardo

  2. Universidade Federal do Pampa (UNIPAMPA), Uruguaiana, RS, Brazil

    Mirela Noro

  3. Instituto de Investigaciones Agropecuarias, Castro, Chiloé, Chile

    Rodrigo De la Barra

  4. Instituto de Ciencia Animal, UACh, Valdivia, Chile

    Rubén Pulido

Authors
  1. María Asunción Gallardo
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  2. Mirela Noro
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  3. Rodrigo De la Barra
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  4. Rubén Pulido
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Mirela Noro.

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Gallardo, M.A., Noro, M., De la Barra, R. et al. Metabolic profile in Chilota lambs grazing Calafatal. Trop Anim Health Prod 46, 685–689 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11250-014-0537-1

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