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t<> I .?"1
THE EFFECTS OF METHOD OF PRE-LAMB S�NG OF EWES ON P RODUCTION AND PHYSIOLOGICAL INDICATORS
OF COLD STRESS
A t he s i s pre sented i n pa rt i a l ful f i l lment of t he requi rements for the degree
of Mast e r of Agricultural S c ience i n Animal S cience
at
Ma s sey Unive rsity
Kurnia Asumatrani Kamil 1990
ABSTRACT
T h i s expe riment was undertaken to compa re the e f fects o f two met hods o f p r e - l amb s he a r i ng o n phys i o l ogi c a l and produc t i on c h a r a c t e r i s t i c s o f ewe s a n d t h e i r l ambs w i t h t he ob j ec t i ve o f d e t e rmi n i n g w h i c h me t h o d g i v e s t h e greater a dvantage s .
I n Jul y , approxima t e l y 2 0 - 6 3 days be fore lambing, s ixty Romney ewes were d i v i de d a t r a n dom i n t o two equ a l gro ups , one g r oup was s h o rn w i t h a conve n t i o n a l comb and t he othe r using a cover comb . The f o rme r l e ft wool 1 - 3 mm i n l e ngth and t he l at t e r 6 - 1 3 mm of w o o l on t h e a n ima l a f t e r s hea ring . The ewes were run together o n a rye g r a s s white c l over past ure for a 67 day period a f t e r shearing . Climat i c c onditions we re conside red mi l d w i t h ave rage minimum t empe rature of 5 . 2 °C , and a v e r a ge maximum t empe r a t u re o f 1 3 . 4 ° C , ave rage w i n d s p e e d s o f 8 . 5 km/ h, r e l a t i v e humidi ty 80 . 1 % , s u n s hi ne 4 . 7 h and 1. 2 mm of rainfa l l ove r the 6 7 days pe r i od after shea ring .
F o o d i nt a ke , me a s u re d i nd i r e c t l y u s i ng c on t r o l l e d - re l e a s e c a p s u l e s c o n t a i n i n g ch romi um s e squioxide p l a ce d i n t he rume n , d i d n o t di f f e r be t w e e n t he g r o u p s o v e r a 2 1 day pe r i od a f t e r s he a r i n g . T h i s w a s re f l e c t e d i n a l a c k o f e f fect o f t reatment o n the l ive weight o f the ewe s , bi r t h w e i g h t o f t he l ambs ,
g r o w t h o f t h e e w e s o v e r t h e 6 7
g r o w t h r a t e s o f t he l amb s d a y p e r i o d . E w e s s h o r n
o r b y
w o o l t h e conve n t i o n a l comb , h oweve r , we re mo re severely stre s sed t h a n the ewes shorn with the cove r comb as indi cated by the highe r concent ra t i on s o f non-esteri fied f a t t y acid (NEFA ) and 3 -hydroxybutyrate i n t he p l asma o f t h e f o rme r g roup o n days 1 and 3 after shea ring . Rec t a l t empe rat u re w a s a l e s s s e n s i t ive mea sure than the concentrations of t he metabo l i t e s a n d t h e d i ff e rence bet we e n the g roups i n rectal tempe rature a f t e r s he a ri ng w a s not s t a t i s t i ca l ly s i gnificant . I t w a s concluded that s he a r i n g w i t h a c ov e r c omb redu c e s t he c o l d s t re s s o n t h e ewe i n c omp a r i s o n w i t h t he c o nve nt i on a l met h o d o f shea r i ng . F u r t h e rmo re , i t w a s s ugge s t ed t h a t u n de r m o r e s ev e r e c l i ma t i c c on di t i o n s t h a n t ho s e expe r i e n c e d i n t he present experiment , t ha t shea ring with t he cover c omb might be expected t o result i n i n c r e a s ed product ion .
i i
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
Bismi l l ah i r rakhmani rrahim,
In the Name of Al l ah ( God) , the Compassiona te , the Me r c i ful , P r a i s e be t o A l l ah , Lord o f t he universe .
The f i r s t o f a ll , I thank Allah ( God) for H i s guidance and mercy t o me .
My s i nc e re t h a n k s go t o my teachers Professors D . D . S . Macke n z i e , c.w.
Holme s , R . D . Ande rs on; D r s I . M . Brooke s , W . J . P a rker f o r t he i r v a luable guidance , a s s i st a n c e , advice and encouragement t hroughout my s t udi e s . I am i n debted particularly to my supe rvi sor P ro fe s s o r D . D . S . Macken z i e who has guided me in w r i t ing up my thesi s .
I w o u l d l i ke t o t ha n k M r K . Ki lmi s t e r f o r t a k i ng c a re o f t h e s he ep dur i ng my expe riment ; the chief inst ruct o r o f New Zeal and Wool B o a rd f o r s h e a r i ng o f t h e s h e e p ; Mr D . L . Bu r n h a m , M r G . S . P u rcha s , M i s s Y . H . Cot t am, Ms C . M . C . Jenki nson, Ms F . S . Jackson and Mr Z . Xu for t h e i r help i n s he a ring, rnids i de patch , measuring of rect a l t empe rature, c o l le c t i ng f a e c a l a n d b l o o d s a mp l e s ; Ms F . S . Jac k s o n a nd Mi s s M . F . S c o t t f o r met ab o l i te analy s i s ; Mr D . A . Hami lton for p a s tu re analy s i s ; M r s B a rba ra P u r c h a s and M r s K a t hy Mo rton for ch romi um a n a l y s i s a nd a l s o to those peo p l e who have helped me direc t l y o r i ndi rect l y .
I a c k owledge a l s o the valuable a s s i s t ance Cho z i n .
f rom Mr J . D j egho a n d Mr M .
I w o u l d a l s o l ike t o thank the New Z e a l and g o v e rnment f o r the scholarship that all owed me to carry out my s t udies and the I ndone s i an government for allowing me to study in New Zealand.
I would like to extend a very special thanks to my late parents who reared, guided and educated me . I will never forget their kindness.
Lastly, but the most important to my dear wife Euis Maryamah for her love, patience, comprehension, support and encouragement and also my fervent thanks to my children Ramdhan, Eka and M. Fauzie who were the main source of my inspiration .
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Abs t r a c t . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .i
Ac knowledgements . . . i i Table o f content s . . . i i i L i s t o f t ables . . . v i Li s t o f f i gures . . . v i i L i s t o f abbrevia t ions . . . v i i i List o f appendix A . . . i x Chap t e r 1 . Int roduc t i on .. . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1
Chapte r 2 . Review o f l i terature . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3
2 . 1 . S he a ring . .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3
2 . 1 . 1 . P re-1amb shearing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3
2 . 1 . 1 . P re-1amb shea ring met hods . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6
2 . 2 . Body tempe rature . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .7
2 . 2 . 1 . Heat production . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8
2 . 2 . 1 . Factors af fecting heat produc t i on . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9 2 . 2 . 3 . Heat l o s s . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1 0
2 . 2 . 3 . 1 . Non evapo rat ive heat l o s s . . . . . . . . . . . .1 0 2 . 2 . 3 . 2 . Evaporative heat l o s s . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1 2 2 . 3 . 4 . Regulation o f deep body tempe r a t u re . . . . . . . . . . .1 3 2 . 3 . Feed I ntake . . . . .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1 5 2 . 3 . 1 . Phy s i o l ogical cont r o l of intake . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1 6 2 . 3 . 1 . 1 . S ingle f a c t o r theorie s . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1 6 2 . 3 . 1 . 2 . Mult ip l e f a c t o r t he o r i e s . . . . . . . . . . . . .1 8 2 . 3 . 2 . Factors af fecti ng i n t a ke . . . 1 9 2 . 3 . 2 . 1 . Animal f a c t o r s . . . 1 9 2 . 3 . 2 . 2 . Feed f a c t o r s . . . 2 2 2 . 3 . 2 . 3 . Clima t i c e f fe c t s . . . 2 4 2 . 3 . 3 . Feed intake mea s urement . . . 2 5 2 . 3 . 3 . 1 . Direct met hods . . . 2 6 2 . 3 . 3 . 2 . Indi rect met hods . . . 2 6 2 . 4 . Metabolic e f fects . . . 3 1 2 . 4 . 1 . Glucose . . . 3 2
iv 2 . 4 . 1 . 1 . Glucose requirements . . . 3 2 2 . 4 . 1 . 2 . Gluco s e precur s o r s . . . 3 3 2 . 4 . 1 . 3 . Glucose utili z ation . . . 3 3 2 . 4 . 1 . 4 . Fact o r s af fect ing glucose met abolism . 3 5 2 . 4 . 2 . NEFA ( non est e r i fied fatty acids ) . . . 3 8 2 . 4 . 2 . 1 . NEFA requi rements . . . 3 8 2 . 4 . 2 . 2 . NEFA precur s o rs . . . 3 9 2 . 4 . 2 . 3 . NEFA metabo l i sm . . . 3 9 2 . 4 . 2 . 4 . Fact o r s a f fecting NEFA metabo l i sm . . . . 4 0 2 . 4 . 3 . 3 -hydroxybutyrate . . . 4 2 2 . 4 . 3 . 1 . 3 -hydroxybutyrate requi rements . . . 4 2 2 . 4 . 3 . 2 . 3 -hydroxybutyrate precurso rs . . . 4 2 2 . 4 . 3 . 3 . 3 -hydroxybutyrate concent r a t i o n . . . 4 3 2 . 4 . 3 . 4 . Fac t o r s a f fecting 3-hydroxybutyrate . . 4 3 2 . 4 . 4 . Urea and c reatinine concent rat i o n . . . 4 4 2 . 5 . E f fects of pre-l amb shea ring o n animal p rodu c t i o n . . . . 4 6 2 . 5 . 1 . Lamb birth we ight . . . 4 6 2 . 5 . 2 . Lamb and ewe growth . . . 4 7 2 . 5 . 3 . Wool p roduction . . . 4 8 2 . 5 . 3 . 1 . P regnancy and lactation . . . 4 8 2 . 5 . 3 . 2 . Nut ri t i on . . . 4 9 2 . 5 . 3 . 3 . She a r i ng . . . 5 0 2 . 5 . 3 . 4 . Age and breed . . . 5 2
Chapter 3 . Mat e rials and methods . . . 5 3
3 . 1 . Expe rimental anima ls . . . 5 3 3 . 2 . Expe riment al s procedu r e s . . . 5 3 3 . 2 . 1 . Shearing t reatment . . . 5 3 3 . 2 . 2 . Intake measurement . . . 5 4 3 . 2 . 3 . Collect ion o f blood s amples . . . 5 5 3 . 2 . 4 . Measurement o f rectal temperature . . . 5 6 3 . 2 . 5 . Measurement o f r e sidual wool a f t e r shea ring and wool growth . . . .. .. . . .. . . 5 6 3 . 2 . 6 . Weighing ewes and l ambs . . . .. . . ... . . 5 7 3.2.7. Measurement o f herbage mass . . ... . . . . . . . 5 7 3 . 3 . Analytical methods . . . ... . . ... . . 5 9 3 . 3 . 1 . Plasma metabol i t e s .. . .. .... . . . ..... . ... . . .. . . . 5 9 3 . 3 . 1 . 1 . Gluco s e . . . . . . . .. . . . .... . . .. . . . 5 9
3 . 3 . 1 . 2 . NEFA ( Non e s t e ri fied fatty acids ) . . . . 6 0 3 . 3 . 1 . 3 . 3-hydoxybutyrate . . .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6 0 3 . 3 .1 . 4 . Urea . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .6 1 3 . 3 .1 . 5 . Creatinine . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .62 3 . 3 . 2 . Wool P roduc t i on . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .62 3 . 3 . 3 . Analysis o f Feed . . . 63 3 . 3 . 4 . Chromium analys i s ... . .. . ... ... . . 6 4 3 . 4 . Environmental mea s u reme n t s . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . . . 6 5 3 . 4 . 1 . Temperature and wind vel ocity . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .6 5 3 . 4 . 2. Rel ative humi di t y , r a i n f a l l and sunshine . . . . .6 6 3 . 4 . Stati s t i c a l analy s i s . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. .6 6
Chapt e r 4 . Res u l t s . . . . .. . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .7 2
4 . 1 . Faeca l output ; feed and ene rgy intake . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .7 2 4 . 2 . Rec t a l temperature . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7 4 4 . 3 . Lamb bi rt h weight and ave rage dai ly gain . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7 7 4 . 4 . Met abol i c effects . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .7 9 4 . 5 . Wool growth and ewe l ive wei ght . . . .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .87
Chapte r 5 . D i s c u s s ion .. . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . .. . .. . .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .89
5 . 1. Live weight , feed i n t a k e , l amb bi rth weight and
ave rage daily ga in . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 89 5 . 2 . Rec t a l tempe rature . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9 1 5 . 3 . Metabo l i c e ffects . . . . . . 1 • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • •9 2 5 . 4 . Wool growth . . . . .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9 6
Chapter 6 . Conc l u s i ons .. . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . .. . . . . . . . . . . . . .9 8
Appendix A . .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . .. . .. .. .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9 9
Re f e rences . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . .. . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . 1 0 2
LIST OF TABLES
Tab l e
4 .1 . Compa rison o f mean ( ±S E ) dry mat t e r ( DM ) , o rganic mat t e r ( OM ) and ene rgy i ntake and f a e c a l output of 1 0 ewes sho r n b y a conve n t i o n a l method and 10 e w e s shorn w i t h a cover c ombs in t h re e p e r i o ds each of 4 ,5,6 ;1 1 ,1 2 ,1 3 ; 1 8 , 1 9 ,2 0
vi
days a f t e r shea ring . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . .. . . .. . . . . . . . . . . . . .7 3
4 . 2 . Compa rison o f the me an ( ±S E ) re c t a l tempe rat ure (°C ) o f
3 0 ewes sho rn w i th conventional combs and 3 0 8wes sho rn
w i t h cove r c ombs two days be f o re she a ring and 1 ,3 ,7 ,1 4
days a f t e r shea r i ng . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .7 5
4 . 3 . Comparison o f t he mean ( ±SE ) l amb b i r t h weight ( kg ) and t he average dai l y gain (g/d) of l ambs of convent ional and
cove r combs sho rn ewes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .7 8
4 . 4 . Comp a r i s o n o f the mean ( ±S E ) c o n c en t r a t i o n o f v a r i o us metabo l ites i n the plasma of ewes f rom two groups each o f 3 0 ewes sho r n e ithe r w i t h conve n t i on a l or cove r combs two
days be f o re shearing and 1 ,3 ,7 ,1 4 days after she a ring . . . . . . . . . . . . 8 1
4 . 5. The mea n ( ±S E ) mid-side patch wool growth o n day 6 7 a ft e r she a r i n g a nd ewe l i ve w e i g h t s o n days 0 a n d 6 7 a f t e r shearing o f ewes shorn with a c o nvent ional comb or w i t h a
c ove r c omb . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . ..8 8
LIST OF F IGURES
F i gu r e
4 . 1 . Me a n r e c t a l t e mpe r a t u r e s ( °C ) o f 3 0 e w e s s h o rn w i t h c onven t i o n a l c ombs and 30 ewes s ho rn with cover combs two
d a y s be f o re s hea ring a n d 1 , 3 , 7 , 1 4 days a fter shea ring . . . 7 6
4 . 2 . Mean g l u c o s e c oncent r a t i o n s (mmol / 1 ) o f 3 0 ewes s h o r n w i t h c o n v e n t i on a l c omb s a n d 3 0 e w e s s h o r n w i t h c o v e r combs t w o days be f o re shearing a nd 1 , 3 , 7 , 1 4 days a ft e r
she a r i ng . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8 2
4 . 3 . Me an n o n e s t e r i f i e d fat t y a c i d ( NEFA ) c oncent r a t i o n s ( �eq/1 ) o f 3 0 e wes shorn with conventional combs and 3 0 ewes s h o rn w i t h cover combs two days be fore shearing and
1 , 3 , 7 , 1 4 days a f ter shearing . . . . . .. . . . .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .8 3
4 . 4 . Mean 3 -hydroxybutyrate concent r a t i ons ( mmol / 1 ) o f 3 0 ewes s h o r n w i t h c on v e n t i on a l c omb s and 3 0 ewes shorn w i t h c ove r c ombs t w o day s be f o re s h e a ring and 1 , 3 , 7 , 1 4 day s
a ft e r s h e a ring . . . 8 4
4 . 5 . Mean urea concent rations (mmol / 1 ) b f 3 0 ewes shorn w i t h convent i o n a l combs and 3 0 ewes s ho rn with cover combs two
days be f o re shea ring and 1 , 3 , 7 , 1 4 days after shea ring . . . . . . . . . . . . 8 5
4 . 6 . Mean c re a t i ni n e concent rations ( �o l /1) of 30 ewes s h o r n w i t h c o nv e n t i o n a l c ombs a n d 3 0 e w e s s h o r n w i t h c ove r c ombs t w o days be f o re s h e a r i n g and 1, 3,7,14 days a f t e r
s he a r i ng .. . . .. . . . . .. .. . . . . . . . . . . .. . .. . . .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .8 6
CRC d DM DOMD g h GLM h a k g km mg NEFA 1 m ml mm mmol ng OM OMD
p
r RH rpm s S E
�eq
LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS
cont r o l led-re l e a s e capsules day
dry mat t e r
o rga n i c mat t e r i n dry mat t e r gram
hour
gene r a l l inea r model hec t a re
k i l o gram kilo met e r mi l l i gram
non-e s t e r i f ied f a tty acid l i t re
mi le
mil l i l i t re mi l l imet e r mi l l imol nano gram o rgan i c mat t e r
orga n i c mat t e r digestibility probabi l i ty
c o r re l a t i on
rel a t i ve humidit y rot a t i o n pe r minute second
st a ndar d e r ror mic roequivalent
Level of s t a t i s t i c a l s igni f icance
NS P>O.lO ( no t s ignificant )
+ O.lO>P>O.OS
* O.OS>P>O.Ol
** O.Ol>P>O.OOl
*** O.OOl>P
viii