mohammad asadi; Taghi Ghoorchi; Abdolhakim Toghdory
Volume 26, Issue 1 , March 2024, , Pages 33-44
Abstract
Introduction: During pregnancy, especially the period around birth, animals make many metabolic adjustments to support the transition from pregnancy to lactation. Since the last two months of pregnancy (late pregnancy) constitute 75% of fetal growth, therefore, enriching the sheep diet can have positive ...
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Introduction: During pregnancy, especially the period around birth, animals make many metabolic adjustments to support the transition from pregnancy to lactation. Since the last two months of pregnancy (late pregnancy) constitute 75% of fetal growth, therefore, enriching the sheep diet can have positive consequences on the health and general performance of the ewe and lamb. In such conditions, using of management and nutritional strategies will reduce the problems during the transition period and heat stress condition. Under stress condition, the mobilization of glycogen reserves and glucose production occur to produce energy to maintain stability in the body. Chromium is one of the scarce essential minerals that plays an important role in the metabolism of carbohydrates, lipids, proteins and nucleic acids. Chromium is part of the glucose tolerance factor that increases the affinity of insulin receptors to insulin hormone and increases the sensitivity of receptors to insulin.
Material and Methods: This experiment was conducted to evaluate the effect of different forms of chromium in ewes during the transition period under the heat stress condition. Forty pregnant Afshari ewes from 42±5 days before the expected lambing were assigned to four treatments with 10 replications in a completely randomized design. Experimental treatments included: 1) basal diet without chromium supplementation (control), 2) basal diet containing three milligrams of inorganic chromium per kg of DM, 3) basal diet containing three milligrams of chromium in the form of chromium-methionine per kg of DM and 4) basal diet containing three milligrams of chromium in the form of chromium nanoparticles per kg of DM.
Results and Discussion: The results showed that ewes receiving chromium had less weight changes at two, four and six weeks after lambing (P≥0.05). Also, supplementation of different forms of chromium increased the body condition score of ewes at the time and six weeks after lambing (P≥0.05). Ewes receiving chromium-methionine and chromium nanoparticles had better body condition than control and inorganic chromium treatments. There was no significant difference in glucose concentration between the treatments 60 and 90 minutes after intravenous glucose injection. After 60, 90, 120 and 180 minutes after the intravenous injection of glucose, the insulin concentration of the ewes receiving different forms of chromium decreased compared to the control treatment (P≥0.05).
Conclusion: In general, the use of chromium, especially in the form of chromium-methionine and chromium nanoparticles, is recommended during the transition period of ewes under the influence of heat stress.
Abdolhakim Toghdory; Taghi Ghoorchi; Mohammad Asadi; Javad Zareie
Volume 25, Issue 4 , December 2023, , Pages 389-398
Abstract
In order to investigate the effect of feeding milk enriched with garlic powder on performance, digestibility of nutrients, diarrhea status and blood parameters in suckling lambs, twenty-four newborn lambs (birth weight 3.7±0.5) were randomly placed in three treatments and eight replications. The ...
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In order to investigate the effect of feeding milk enriched with garlic powder on performance, digestibility of nutrients, diarrhea status and blood parameters in suckling lambs, twenty-four newborn lambs (birth weight 3.7±0.5) were randomly placed in three treatments and eight replications. The lambs of the control group were fed with milk without garlic powder and the other groups were fed with 1.5 and 3 grams of garlic powder per day, respectively, for 45 days. The results obtained from this research showed that consumption of garlic powder in suckling lambs led to improvement in daily weight gain, final weight and starter feed consumption (P<0.05). Also, treatments caused a significant increase in digestibility of nutrients (P<0.05). The use of garlic powder in experimental lambs improved stool consistency and significantly reduced the number of lambs with diarrhea and the average days of diarrhea (P<0.05). By adding garlic powder, the concentration of glucose and high-density lipoprotein increased (P<0.05). In addition, garlic powder caused a significant decrease in the level of triglyceride, cholesterol and low density lipoprotein in plasma (P<0.05). However, different levels of garlic powder did not make a significant difference on the concentration of urea, albumin, globulin and the ratio of albumin to globulin. According to the present results, it is possible to use garlic powder up to the level of at least 1.5 grams per day as a food additive to improve the performance and health of suckling lambs.
Kamel Amozadeh Araee; Taghi Ghoorchi; Abdolhakim Toghdory; Mohammad Asadi; Katayoun Mehrani
Volume 25, Issue 1 , April 2023, , Pages 71-81
Abstract
The effect of different levels of Oji plant powder on performance, nutrient digestibility, rumination behavior, blood and rumen parameters of Dalagh ewes, using 18 ewes with an average weight of 38±3.5 kg in a completely randomized design with three treatments and six Repetition was investigated. ...
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The effect of different levels of Oji plant powder on performance, nutrient digestibility, rumination behavior, blood and rumen parameters of Dalagh ewes, using 18 ewes with an average weight of 38±3.5 kg in a completely randomized design with three treatments and six Repetition was investigated. The treatments included 1- control (without Oji powder), 2- 25 gr of Oji powder per day and 3- 50 gr of Oji powder per day. Different levels of Oji powder in ewes had no effect on the weight at the end of the period, daily weight gain, cholesterol, glucose, total protein, albumin, globulin and blood albumin/globulin ratio. Feeding ewes with different levels of Oji powder decreased the apparent digestibility of dry matter, increased nutritional consumption behavior and rumination activity, and increased blood urea and triglyceride levels(P<0.05). Feeding ewes with different levels of Oji powder caused a significant decrease in protozoan population three hours after feeding and an increase in rumen pH three hours after morning feeding(P<0.05). Ruminal ammonia concentration in ewes that received 50 gr of Oji powder per day was higher than other treatments(P<0.05). According to the results of this research, adding the powder of Oji plant up to the level of 50 gr per day to the ration of Dalagh ewes does not have a significant effect on the functional traits of the animal, and it also shows a positive effect on the protozoan population and rumen pH.