ACTA VETERINARIA ET ZOOTECHNICA SINICA ›› 2018, Vol. 49 ›› Issue (1): 111-120.doi: 10.11843/j.issn.0366-6964.2018.01.013

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The Net Macromineral Requirements for Maintenance and Growth of Dorper×Hu Crossbred F1 Ewe Lambs from 20 to 35 kg

ZHANG Hao1,2*, NIE Hai-tao3, MA Tie-wei3, WANG Zi-yu3, WANG Feng3   

  1. 1. College of Animal Science and Technology, Yangzhou University, Yangzhou 225009, China;
    2. Joint International Research Laboratory of Agriculture & Agri-product Safety, Yangzhou University, Yangzhou 225009, China;
    3. Jiangsu Engineering Technology Research Center of Mutton Sheep & Goat Industry, Nanjing Agricultural University, Nanjing 210095, China
  • Received:2017-05-23 Online:2018-01-23 Published:2018-01-23

Abstract:

This study was conducted to estimate the net macromineral requirements for maintenance and growth of Dorper×Hu crossbred F1 ewe lambs from 20 to 35 kg. Thirty-five ewe lambs were used (the initial body weight (BW) of (19.2±0.36) kg). Seven lambs were randomly chosen and slaughtered at 20 kg BW as the BL group for measuring initial body composition. Another 7 lambs were also randomly chosen and offered a pelleted mixed diet for ad libitum intake and slaughtered at 28 kg BW as the IM group. The remaining lambs (n=21) were allocated randomly to 3 groups (ad libitum intake group, 70% of the ad libitum intake group, 40% of the ad libitum intake group) with 7 lambs in each group. All lambs were slaughtered when the lambs in ad libitum intake group reached approximately 35 kg BW. The contents of macrominerals of empty bodies of the lambs (head+feet, hide, internal organs + blood and carcass) were weighed, ground, mixed, and subsampled for chemical analyses. The results showed that, in the growth phase from 20 to 35 kg BW, the daily net macromineral requirements for maintenance were 22.21 mg Ca, 11.65 mg P, 3.41 mg Na, 6.92 mg K and 1.23 mg Mg per kilogram empty BW (EBW) for ewes, the daily net macromineral requirements for growth were 11.93-11.68 g Ca, 6.12-5.71 g P, 1.34-1.24 g Na, 1.58-1.63 g K and 0.41-0.36 g Mg per kilogram EBW gain (EBWG) for ewes. These results for the nutritional requirements of macrominerals may help to formulate more balanced diets for Dorper×Hu ewe lambs in the growth phase from 20 to 35 kg BW.

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