Effects of plane of nutrition and selenium supply during gestation on ewe and neonatal offspring performance, body composition, and serum selenium1

Abstract

To investigate the effects of nutritional plane and Se supply during gestation on ewe and offspring performance and body composition, 84 Rambouillet ewe lambs (age = 240 +/- 17 d, BW = 52.1 +/- 6.2 kg) were allocated to a 2 x 3 x 2 factorial arrangement of treatments. Factors included Se [adequate Se (ASe, 11.5 microg/kg of BW) or high Se (HSe, 77.0 microg/kg of BW)] initiated at breeding, nutritional plane [60% (restricted, RES), 100% (control, CON), or 140% (high, HIH) of NRC requirements] initiated at d 40 of gestation, and physiological stage at necropsy [3 to 24 h postpartum or d 20 of lactation]. Ewes were fed and housed individually in a temperature-controlled facility. At parturition, all lambs were removed and artificially reared until necropsy on d 20.6 +/- 0.9 of age. Ewes assigned to the treatment at d 20 of lactation were transitioned to a common diet meeting lactation requirements and were mechanically milked. From d 95 of gestation through parturition and d 20 of lactation, ewe BW and BCS were least (P <or= 0.01) in the RES treatment, intermediate in the CON treatment, and greatest in the HIH treatment. Ewes fed HSe had a greater (P <or= 0.05) BCS increase than those fed ASe during mid- and late gestation. During gestation, ewes in the HIH treatment had the greatest (P < 0.001) ADG and G:F, those in the CON treatment were intermediate, and those in the RES treatment were least, whereas ewes fed HSe had greater (P < 0.001) ADG and G:F than those fed ASe during midgestation. Ewe backfat and LM area on d 135 of gestation were least (P < 0.001) in the RES treatment, intermediate in the CON treatment, and greatest in the HIH treatment, with ewes fed HSe having greater (P <or= 0.03) backfat than those fed ASe. During the first 20 d of lactation, ewes fed the RES diet had greater (P < 0.09) G:F than those fed the CON and HIH diets. Physiological stage had no effect on ewe omental and mesenteric fat or perirenal fat weights, although both were greater (P < 0.001) for ewes fed the HIH diet than for those fed the RES and CON diets. At birth, lambs born to ewes in the RES group weighed less and had decreased curved crown rump lengths (P = 0.08) compared with those born to ewes in the CON and HIH groups, and lambs from ewes in the ASe-RES treatment were lighter (P < 0.08) than those from ewes in the HSe-RES, ASe-CON, and ASe-HIH treatments. Lambs from dams in the RES group had less (P < 0.05) BW from d 7 to 19 and decreased (P < 0.07) overall ADG compared with lambs from dams in the CON and HIH groups. Additionally, lambs from dams in the RES group had less (P <or= 0.08) perirenal fat than their counterparts, and lambs from dams in the HIH group had greater (P = 0.01) omental and mesenteric fat than lambs from dams in the RES group. Postpartum serum Se of ewes and lambs (birth and d 19) was increased (P < 0.001) by HSe feeding during gestation. Results indicate that BW differences in pregnant ewes attributable to nutritional plane are accompanied by changes in body composition and offspring BW, both of which m...

Dietary melatonin supplementation alters uteroplacental amino acid flux during intrauterine growth restriction in ewes

“…Nutritional requirements were based on NRC (2007) recommendations for a 60-kg body weight pregnant ewe lamb during mid-to late-gestation so that adequate ewes were fed to receive adequate nutrients and energy for maintenance, maternal growth, and fetal growth. This mid-to late-gestation maternal undernutrition model has been previously described in our laboratories (Meyer et al, 2010;Lemley et al, 2012). All ewes were fed and/or supplemented with melatonin-enriched pellets at 1400 h (5 h before the start of the dark cycle at 1900 h).…”

Neonatal hormone changes and growth in lambs born to dams receiving differing nutritional intakes and selenium supplementation during gestation

“…Lambs were fed artificial colostrum (45% crude protein; 15% crude fat; 0.15% crude fiber; 10% ash; 0.40% minimum, 0.90% maximum Ca; 0.30% minimum, 0.50% maximum NaCl; 1.0% minimum, 1.5% maximum Na; 0.40% P; 0.75 mg/kg Se; 110 000 IU/kg vitamin A; 2200 IU/kg vitamin D; and 440 IU/kg vitamin E (DM basis); Acquire Colostrum Replacement; APC, Inc., Ankeny, IA, USA) within 30 min of birth and at six additional times by 20 h postpartum to achieve 10.64 g IgG/kg BW (19.1 ml colostrum/kg BW for the first two feedings and 25.5 ml colostrum/kg BW in subsequent feedings; Meyer et al 2010. This dosage of IgG was calculated to provide 50 g IgG/4.7 kg BW based on the previous reports using a similar product (Quigley et al 2002).…”

“…During gestation, diets were fed once daily at 0800 h in a complete pelleted ration (0.48-cm diameter), and three pellet formulations (ASe pellet, HSe pellet, and concentrated Se pellet; as previously described by Meyer et al (2010)) were blended to meet Se and ME levels as dictated by Se and nutritional intake treatments for each ewe. As for diets fed during early gestation, the Se source of the HSe pellet was the previously described Se-enriched wheat mill run, and the Se source of the ASe pellet was feedstuffs used in the diet.…”

Nutritional plane and selenium supply during gestation affect yield and nutrient composition of colostrum and milk in primiparous ewes1

“…Our sheep research model utilizing artificial rearing has demonstrated that many alterations caused by maternal nutrition extend past gestation and into neonatal (Meyer et al, 2010b) and market-weight lambs (Neville et al, 2010a). Maternal changes in body composition Carlson et al, 2009;Meyer et al, 2010b), endocrine and metabolic status (Ward et al, 2008;Lekatz et al, 2010), and colostrum yield and nutrient content (Swanson et al, 2008) have accompanied changes observed in offspring.…”

“…Maternal changes in body composition Carlson et al, 2009;Meyer et al, 2010b), endocrine and metabolic status (Ward et al, 2008;Lekatz et al, 2010), and colostrum yield and nutrient content (Swanson et al, 2008) have accompanied changes observed in offspring. Therefore, we hypothesized that gestational nutrition alters the subsequent milk production of the dam, even when nutrient requirements of lactation are met.…”