Early weaning of twin-born lambs onto a herb-clover mix containing plantain (Plantago lanceolata), chicory (Cichorium intybus), red clover (Trifolium pratense) and white clover (Trifolium repens) : a thesis presented in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Animal Science, Massey University, Palmerston North, New Zealand
Loading...
![Thumbnail Image](assets/images/mime.png)
Date
2020
DOI
Open Access Location
Authors
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
Massey University
Rights
The Author
Abstract
Early weaning of lambs may be a useful management tool when either herbage quality, or
quantity, limits lamb growth. Herb-clover mixes containing chicory, plantain, red clover
and white clover have been shown to improve the growth of suckling lambs and those
weaned at a traditional age compared to ryegrass-clover based pastures. The objectives of
this thesis were to examine; 1) the effect of lamb live weight at early weaning on their
subsequent growth on a herb-clover mix; 2) the response of early weaning of lambs onto
a herb-clover mix when ryegrass-clover based pasture herbage masses were restricted
rather than ad-libitum; 3) the effect of weaning lambs at different minimum live weights
(16 kg then 14 kg); 4) the impact of early exposure of lambs to a herb-clover mix prior to
early weaning on their growth post weaning, and 5) to characterise the nutritional
composition of the herb-clover mix during the late spring to autumn period. Lambs
weaned early onto a herb-clover mix, at a minimum weight of 16 kg at approximately 50
days of age, had the potential to grow at a similar rate to unweaned lambs on a ryegrass
clover based pasture. This was more apparent when herb-clover mix had a high chicory
(57%) and clover content (14%) or there was a low (< 5%) clover content in the
ryegrass-clover based pasture. In first year of the study light lambs (< 18 kg) grew 50
g/day slower than heavy lambs (18-23 kg), however, in the second year they grew at a
similar rate . Weaning lambs less than 16 kg onto a herb-clover mix, therefore, should be
undertaken with caution. Further, the advantages of early weaning were enhanced when
the supply ryegrass-clover based pasture resulted in restricted intake of ewes and lambs
(< 1200 kg DM/ha). Lambs weaned at a minimum weight of 14 kg at approximately 40
days of age, were found to grow at a similar rate to unweaned lambs on a ryegrass-clover
based pasture. Early exposure to a herb-clover mix prior to early weaning had no impact
on subsequent growth of early-weaned lambs.
Description
Keywords
Lambs, Feeding and feeds, New Zealand, Weight, Growth