Comparative Value of Certain Feeds in Meeting the Nutritional Requirements of Ewes During Gestation and Lactation

A trial was conducted with 66 fine-wool ewes as a continuation of previous investigations at the Oklahoma Station concerning the cause of death losses among livestock in eastern Oklahoma. In addition, this trial included a study or the relative value of a new solvent-processed cottonseed meal, as compared to a hydraulic processed meal, when each was added to a low quality prairie hay ration. It also included a study or the practical value or urea in ewe rations and the supplemental value of alfalfa ash in the urea ration. The roughages fed in this trial included a poor-quality prairie hay grown in the eastern part ot Oklahoma and a good-quality prairie hay from central Oklahoma. The results showed that the unsupplemented low-protein ration containing approximately 7 percent crude protein was inadequate tor pregnant and lactating ewes as measured by weight loss of the ewe and lamb gain to 42 days. Ewes fed a low-protein ration supplemented with urea to raise the crude protein ot concentrate mixture from 9 to 14 percent, gained more weight during the experiment and produced lambs which made faster gains to 42 days than the ewes fed the low-protein ration. The data obtained suggests that hydraulic cottonseed meal and urea were or equal value in supplementing the low-protein ration, when supplied in nitrogen equivalent amount. Little advantage was obtained in thia trial by adding alfalfa ash to a ration containing urea. Ewes fed a poor-quality prairie hay, such as might be foundd in eastern Oklahoma, supplemented with a concentrate mixture that contained hydraulic cottonseed meal, produced normal, healthy lambs. These lambs did not differ in rate of gain from those or ewes fed a good quality prairie hay, supplemented in the same manner. These results, plus the inconsistent trends in the weight change of the ewes amd fleece weights, support the conclusions drawn from previous experiment; namely, that the livestock losses in eastern Oklahoma are probably due to a deficiency of protein and energy in the ration, rather than to specific factors associated with the roughage. The consistently inferior pertormance of ewes receiving & new solvent-processed cottonseed meal as compared to those receiving hydraulic processed cottonseed meal would indicate that further work should be done to determine the cause of these differences in performance.Animal Husbandr