Ekanayake Lukshman Jay, Corner-Thomas Rene Anne, Cranston Lydia Margaret, Kenyon Paul Richard, Morris Stephen Todd, Pain Sarah Jean
Department of Animal Science, Faculty of Agriculture, University of Peradeniya, Peradeniya 20000, Sri Lanka.
School of Agriculture and Environment, Private Bag 11-222, Massey University, Palmerston North 4442, New Zealand.
Animals (Basel). 2020 Aug 5;10(8):1354. doi: 10.3390/ani10081354.
Twin sets of lambs were randomly allocated to one of six treatments: (1) lambs born and managed on ryegrass-clover-based pasture until conventional weaning approximately at 99 days of age (Grass-Grass); (2) lambs born on ryegrass-clover-based pasture and early weaned onto a herb-clover mix at ~45 days of age (Grass-Herb); (3) lambs born on ryegrass-clover-based pasture, transferred with their dam onto a herb-clover mix at ~45 days of age until conventional weaning (Grass-Herb); (4) lambs born on ryegrass-clover-based pasture, transferred with their dam onto a herb-clover mix at ~15 days of age and early weaned onto a herb-clover mix at ~45 days of age (Grass-Herb); (5) lambs born and managed on herb-clover mix until conventional weaning (Herb-Herb); (6) lambs born on herb-clover mix and weaned early onto a herb-clover mix at ~45 days of age (Herb-Herb). In both years, Herb-Herb lambs had greater ( < 0.05) growth rates than lambs in other treatments. The liveweight gains and rumen papillae development of Herb-Herb, Grass-Herb and Grass-Herb lambs did not differ ( > 0.05). The weight of the empty digestive tract components at either early weaning or conventional weaning did not differ ( > 0.05) between treatments. Exposing early-weaned lambs to the herb mix for a prolonged period, prior to early weaning, does not improve their subsequent growth.
(1) 羔羊出生并在以黑麦草 - 三叶草为主的牧场上饲养，直至约99日龄常规断奶（草 - 草）；(2) 羔羊出生在以黑麦草 - 三叶草为主的牧场上，约45日龄时提前断奶并转移到草本植物 - 三叶草混合牧场上（草 - 草本）；(3) 羔羊出生在以黑麦草 - 三叶草为主的牧场上，约45日龄时与其母羊一起转移到草本植物 - 三叶草混合牧场上，直至常规断奶（草 - 草本）；(4) 羔羊出生在以黑麦草 - 三叶草为主的牧场上，约15日龄时与其母羊一起转移到草本植物 - 三叶草混合牧场上，约45日龄时提前断奶并转移到草本植物 - 三叶草混合牧场上（草 - 草本）；(5) 羔羊出生并在草本植物 - 三叶草混合牧场上饲养，直至常规断奶（草本 - 草本）；(6) 羔羊出生在草本植物 - 三叶草混合牧场上，约45日龄时提前断奶并转移到草本植物 - 三叶草混合牧场上（草本 - 草本）。在这两年中，“草本 - 草本”组羔羊的生长速度均高于其他处理组（<0.05）。“草本 - 草本”组、“草 - 草本”组和“草 - 草本”组羔羊的体重增加和瘤胃乳头发育情况没有差异（>0.05）。各处理组在提前断奶或常规断奶时，空消化道各组成部分的重量没有差异（>0.05）。在提前断奶前，让提前断奶的羔羊长时间接触草本植物混合物，并不能改善它们随后的生长情况。
