Techniques for rearing gnotobiotic lambs

Abstract

Techniques are described for rearing, sampling and studying gnotobiotic lambs up to 5 months of age. TECHNIKEN FUR DIE AUFZUCHT GNOTOBIOTISCHER L.:i..MMER Die Techniken filr Aufzucht, Probenentnahme und Studium von gnotobiotischen Uimmern bis zum Alter von 5 Monaten werden mitgeteilt. LES TECHNIQUES POUR ELEVER LES AGNEAUX GNOTOBIOTIQUES Les techniques ont signale pour elever, echantillonner et etudier les agneaux gnotobiotiques jusqu'a I'age de 5 mois. 239 Gnotobiotic lambs have been reared in this laboratory since] 968 (Alexander & Lysons, 1971) and since 1970 they have been used for experimental studies of rumen microbiology, digestion, and development. In all, 3 classes of lamb have been used, namely lambs kept free of normal rumen bacteria (Alexander & Lysons, 1971), lambs given a limited defined rumen microflora (Lysons, Alexander, Hobson, Mann & Stewart, 1971), and lambs kept free from rumen bacteria for 7 weeks and then given rumen contents from conventional sheep (called here 'conventionalised' lambs). This report is concerned solely with techniques, and constant reference is made to a recent report in this journal (Alexander, Lysons, Elliott & Wellstead, 1973) which described the equipment in detail. TECHNIQUES Lambs were obtained by hysterectomy and reared in large flexible-film isolators on canned cows' milk and sterile water until they were 4 to 10 weeks of age. They were fed solid early-weaning lamb diets, which had been sterilized by gamma radiation, for a period before milk-feeding was stopped until death.