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Summary of Reports . . .
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1976 Sheep and Wp61'
Special Report 457
May 1976
Agricultural Experiment Station
Oregon State University, Corvallis
CONTENTS
1.
CHEMICAL CURING OF SPECIAL USE PASTURES IN WESTERN OREGON
1
Glenn Savelle, David Tart, and William Hohenboken
2.
WETHER REPORT II - Summary of 1975-76 OSU Sheep Breeding Research
William D. Hohenboken
3.
12
RECYCLING ANIMAL WASTES
D. T. ToreZZ
4.
20
FORAGE CROP BREEDING AND GENETICS
Rod V. Frakes
5.
40
CURRENT STATUS OF RESEARCH ON FOOT ROT IN SHEEP
John A. Schmitz
6.
42
PERFORMANCE DATA FROM A ROTATIONAL CROSSBREEDING PROGRAM
Martin Vavra, W. D. Hohenboken, R. L. Phillips and M. M. Wing
46
CONTRIBUTORS
Dr. Rod V. Frakes is a Professor of Plant Breeding at Oregon State University,
Corvallis, Oregon.
Dr. William D. Hohenboken is an Assistant Professor of Animal Science, and
Acting Director of the Genetics Institute at Oregon State University,
Corvallis, Oregon.
Dr. Ralph L. Phillips is an Assistant Professor of Animal Science, Union, Oregon.
Mr. Glenn D. Savelle is an Assistant Professor of Rangeland Resources at Oregon
State University, Corvallis, Oregon.
Dr. John A. Schmitz is an Associate Professor of Veterinary Medicine at Oregon
State University, Corvallis, Oregon.
Mr. David Tart is a Graduate Research Assistant at Oregon State University, Corvallis.
Dr. Don T. Torell is an Animal Husbandry Range Nutritionist and Livestock Specialist,
Hopland Field Station, University of California, Hopland, California.
Dr. Martin Vavra is an Assistant Professor, Eastern Oregon Agricultural Research
Center, Union, Oregon.
Mr. Mark Wing is a Research Technician, Eastern Oregon Agricultural Research Center,
Union, Oregon.
CHEMICAL CURING OF SPECIAL USE PASTURES IN WESTERN OREGON
Glenn Savelle, David Tart, and William Hohenboken
CHEMICAL CURING WITH PARAQUAT 1/
A problem familiar to all livestock producers in Marine
Temperate and Mediterranean
environments is the feast or
famine situation of having an
overabundance of high quality
native pasture for 4 or 5 months
of the year and inadequate amounts
of marginal or submarginal quality
pasture for the other 7 months.
Two special problems that sheep
producers face are: 1) finishing
lambs at a time when the growing
season is ending and pasture
quality is deteriorating and,
2) entering the reproductive
season with native pasture that
is approaching its lowest ebb
in quality and quantity.
Paraquat is an extremely fast
acting herbicide which probably
moves into leaves and stems
through the minute orifices
(stomata) that are normally the
sites where gaseous interchange
of oxygen and carbon dioxide is
effected between the atmosphere
and intercellular spaces. The
apparent centers of herbicidal
activity are the small granules
(chloroplasts), within cells,
which contain the green coloring
matter of plants. Here, paraquat
is able to substitute for an iron
protein compound involved in
photosynthesis. This proves
lethal for the cell and no
further redistribution or metabolic breakdown of nutrients
or energy can occur. Only catalytic amounts of the herbicide
are needed to kill most chlorophyllous tissue. Complete
desiccation or drying out of the
herbage generally occurs within
3 to 4 days. If the nutritional
value of the species which dominate
a pasture is high at the time of
chemical application, the result
should be a preserved standing
forage of high quality.
In the past few years several
animal and range science groups
at Oregon State University have
been examining both these
problems from different perspectives. This paper will
report on progress in one of
these areas - reproductive
efficiency and the flushing of
ewes, but will direct primary
attention to the approach being
used to obtain high quality
special use pasture - chemical
curing. It is our intent to
provide a better understanding of:
what chemical curing is, what has
already been done in other geographical areas and, what the
potentials and limitations are
for this method of pasture conservation in western Oregon.
At moderate and high concentrations paraquat is non-selective,
that is, grasses and forbs and
most herbaceous species in
general are affected similarly.
Some translocation of the
1/ Paraquat has not yet been cleared by the U.S. Environmental
Protection Agency for the chemical curing of grasses.
1
chemical may occur in a few species
but the principal herbicidal
action occurs near the point of
contact. For this reason
perennials are usually defoliated
but not killed. This also means
that in very dense, thick,
meadow-like conditions only the
top part of the vegetation may
be desiccated while the lower
part remains green for a period
of time.
The use of paraquat to cure
pasture vegetation in place,
developed indirectly from
research that USDA Agricultural
Research Service scientists
Don Hyder and Forrest Sneva
were doing at the Squaw Butte
Experiment Station. This work
was directed towards improving
the summer quality of crested
wheatgrass pasture by developing
a grazing system timed to remove
the growing point of this grass
and thereby help arrest the
redistribution of nutrients.
This led them to look also for
a chemical that would accomplish
the same end by suppressing
growing point dominance. Paraquat
was one of the chemicals tested
in 1961 and although it did not
accomplish the desired result,
the curing qualities of the
chemical were noted and Sneva
began a series of experiments
and grazing trials that are
still active.
activity on the chemical curing
of pastures. A half dozen
chemicals other than paraquat
have been tested. The results
are usually a little more
erratic and not quite as satisfactory as with paraquat.
CURRENT STATE OF KNOWLEDGE
The potentials and limitations of
chemical curing, with any of the
suitable herbicides, will be
better understood if we take a
brief look at some of the effects
on vegetation and animal performance thus far demonstrated
for paraquat.
Chemical composition and
digestibility. A naturally
matured pasture can lose 50
percent or more of its crude
protein value by the end of
summer, while the same pasture
when chemically cured has the
potential to retain 80 to 90
percent of that value. Other
nutrients are also influenced.
Phosphorus concentrations are
always higher in paraquat treated
forage. Potassium and sulfur
are usually higher, while
magnesium concentrations appear
unchanged by treatment. Calcium,
crude fiber, and lignin are
variously affected. Cellulose
is usually lower in sprayed
forage.
In 1966 scientists at the
University of California, Davis,
who had worked with paraquat as
a weed control herbicide, began
looking at its curative properties
on annual rangeland. Simultaneously
reports on similar types of
experiments in Australia started
appearing in the literature.
During the past 10 years these
have been the three main geographical centers of research
2
The initial nutrient value of
chemically treated pasture, and
the relative difference in
nutrient status of sprayed and
unsprayed forage at the end of
summer depends on the time of
treatment, and probably on some
yet unidentified factors.
Australian studies show that
within the 3-week span from
grass head emergence until
pollination, protein retention
can drop to 20 percent of
maximum value. Results of less
magnitude have been obtained in
eastern Oregon and California.
are improved or unaffected. In
no case has any plant constituent
except lignin been found to be
less digestible after treatment.
The fact that both live and
dried plant material is susceptable to leaching has been
known for some time, but the
amount and pattern of precipitation that will cause significant leaching loses and the
relative leachability of treated
vs. untreated forage is unclear.
One laboratory study of the
leaching of cut-up and groundup herbage after immersion in
water concluded that all
nutrients except nitrogen are
equally susceptable to leaching,
whether chemically treated or
not, but that some nutrients particularly phosphorus and
potassium - may be leached at
a faster rate if paraquat
treated. It cannot be assumed
that these same relationships
will hold under field conditions.
Botanical composition and yield.
There is obviously going to be a
reduction in total dry matter
yield when pasture growth conditions continue to be favorable
and biomass accumulates (in
unsprayed pasture) beyond the
dates of paraquat application.
The magnitude of the reduction
depends on the length of the
growing season. In the Mediterranean environment of Western
Australia, a dry spring and a
consequently shortened growing
season resulted in yield reduction of no more than 2 to 15
percent. In a wet spring this
loss may increase to 40 percent.
Eighty-five percent of all pasture
experiments reported in the literature show some reduction in total
yield.
A complicating factor is the
effect precipitation has on
regrowth. In several instances
regrowth has been greater on
treated pasture, with a net
result that the total mineral
status of treated pasture and
the difference between it and
unsprayed pasture was greater
than would have been expected
without precipitation and
greater than it had been in
dry summers.
A less obvious loss of biomass
may occur because of the susceptibility of paraquat treated
forage to fungus attack.
Accelerated decomposition can
be triggered by a combination of
moist conditions and high temperature. This may have occurred in
several studies, but the relative
importance of such dry matter
disappearance has never been
separated from yield reductions
due to continued pasture growth
or from the possibility of
accelerated physical shattering
of chemically treated herbage.
Less has been done with digestibility. All in vitro and
in vivo trials have demonstrated
the greater apparent crude
protein digestibility of paraquat treated herbage, but there
is lack of agreement as to
whether the digestibility of
dry matter, water soluable
carbohydrates, gross energy,
crude fiber, or cellulose
In nearly every study in California
and Australia, where subterraneum
clover was substantial component
of a paraquat sprayed pasture,
there was a carry-over effect the
second year in the form of
increased clover dominance. This
increase has been as much as 100
3
are most likely to present problems
and which, therefore, should
receive research priority.
to 300 percent by weight. The
same shift in species composition
has also occurred in the first
year when pastures were sprayed
in mid-winter.
There is almost certain to be a
trade off of quantity for quality.
Infrequently there may be an
increase in nutrient yield per acre
even when total dry matter yield
is reduced. Generally, however,
one must expect to carry fewer
animals per pasture. This would
probably not make chemical curing
a viable management practice in
situations where animal maintenance
through the summer is the only
requirement.
Livestock performance. Reports
from grazing trials are few and
all have been limited to weaner
lambs and yearling cattle with
results rather evenly divided.
Trials in Australia were not able
to demonstrate absolute weight
gains for animals on paraquat
sprayed pasture, although lambs
did maintain weight during
summers that they were losing
on untreated forage.
Identifying the proper time to
apply a chemical like paraquat is,
for a number of reasons, one of
the two most important technical.
problems in western Oregon. First,
the odds that a complex mixture of
annual and perennial grasses will
be found on most foothill range
are good. Such a situation
potentially increases the spread
between calendar dates when
individual species attain the
same stage of phenological
development. As this time
interval widens, the probability
increases that there will be
one or more important vegetation
components at peak nutritional
quality when other equally
important components have either
not reached that stage or are
already declining in value.
Animal selectivity can also
cause problems in a polyculture.
If the preferred species coincide
with those of highest nutritional
value, the overall quality of the
pasture can decline during the
grazing period. A third point
to consider is how proper timing
of chemical application can be
used to influence botanical
composition, especially the
establishment or restoration
of clover dominance. An
inherent danger is that annual
On the other hand, yearling
heifers grazing paraquat treated
crested wheatgrass in eastern
Oregon have averaged a 1/2 pound
per day greater gain than on
untreated pasture. In two of
the three grazing trials, conducted on annual rangeland in
California, lambs gained about
0.15 pound per day on treated
summer pasture, which is double
what they gained on uncured
pasture.
The Australians are the only
ones to have looked at wool
production. In several studies
they have found a 20 to 30
percent higher grease wool
weight from animals on paraquat
pasture.
CHEMICAL CURING IN WESTERN OREGON
This review of past studies
leaves unanswered many questions
as to the relative advantages
and limitations of chemical
curing. But it does give insight
into some of the more probable
results to expect if this pasture
management practice were employed
in western Oregon. It also
directs attention to those
aspects of chemical curing that
4
weedy forbs may increase instead
of clover. Lastly, the relationship of timing to subsequent
regrowth is an unknown factor but possibly an important one.
The second important problem is
the amount or pattern of precipitation that can be tolerated
in late May or June - or any
other summer month - before
excessive leaching of the vegetation occurs. Some investigators in Australia suggest that
there is too much summer moisture
in an area like western Oregon
to make chemical curing of forage
feasible, at least with the
chemical products presently on
the market. A closely related
aspect of the moisture problem
is the increased susceptability
of herbage to fungus attack under
conditions of high relative
humidity.
It was with this background
knowledge that we decided to put
to the test the practicality of
chemically curing standing
forage, given the climatic
conditions that exist in western
Oregon.
FLUSHING TRIALS
During the 1974-75 grazing season
a combination flushing/creep
feeding study was started by
Dr. Hohenboken and his students.
Flushing consisted of three
treatments: two in drylot and
one on hill pasture. The preliminary results of this segment
were reported last Sheep Day.
The complete results, together
with an economic evaluation for
the first year, are the subject
of a Master's thesis and are
presented elsewhere (Hohenboken
and Taiwo, 1976). For the
1975-76 grazing season, a paraquatcured dryland pasture was added
as a fourth treatment. The
following is a summary of the
first year flushing treatment
design and results together
with the modified design and
partial results for the current
season.
On September 13, 1974, one
hundred and two mature blackface crossbred ewes were
randomly divided into three
treatment groups. Ewes in
group II were maintained,
throughout the flushing period,
in drylot where they were fed
a daily ration of one pound
alfalfa hay and one-half pound
barley per head. Grass clover
hay was provided "free choice".
The group III ewes received
the same treatment as group II
until bred. They were then
turned out to dryland hill
pasture. Group I, which served
as the control group, was kept
on hill pasture for the entire
flushing period without supplemental feed.
Breeding started with the introduction of the rams to all
groups on September 30. The
flushing treatment was ended
17 days later at which time
group II and all unbred group III
ewes were placed on dry pasture
with group I controls. Rams
were left with the pooled ewes,
for an additional 17 days, until
November 5, 1974. From this
date until lambing time all ewes
were maintained together on
hill pasture.
The control group (I) exhibited
a gradual increase in weight
a subsequent leveling off, and
then a slicAt drop in weight
towards the end of the breeding
season. Both drylot groups
initially lost weight, regained
it, and then leveled off.
Despite this variation in ewe
weight through time, overall
after being bred. Group I, the
dryland hill pasture ewes,
gained about 0.15 pounds per day
for the entire period. The
paraquat ewes (group IV) gained
0.25 pounds a day until breeding
but then lost weight. If we
accept a figure of from 0.2 to
0.3 pounds per day gain, the
range most frequently appearing
in the literature, as signifying
a flushing response, we can say
that the drylot ewes were flushed;
the paraquat ewes almost flushed;
and the dryland pasture ewes
were not flushed.
weight performance for all groups
gave little evidence that a
flushing response had been
achieved. We don't have an
explicit explanation for this.
It could have been due, in part,
to the already good condition of
the animals at the start of the
experiment (weights ranged
between 154 and 161 pounds).
An initial miscalculation resulted
in a marginally inadequate feed
ration, according to NRC standards
Dusty drylot conditions plus
excessive handling for blood
samples may also have been a
contributing factor.
The most obvious question,
posed by the past season's
results, is why the ewes began
to exhibit a flushing response
and then lost weight after the
start of mating. The appearance
of the treated pasture after
three weeks of grazing suggested
a lack of total available dry
matter. This has occurred in
some of the Australian work
with weaner lambs and steers on
summer pasture. However, there
was close to 1000 pounds per
acre of total biomass on the
pasture when it was sampled
September 17. If we discount
10 days of possible regrowth,
and allow for reduced accessibility of some of the forage
because of trampling, there
should still have been 400 to
500 pounds per acre of readily
available forage at the end of
the flushing trial. The
nutrient quality of the pasture,
at the time of animal use, has
yet to be determined. This,
coupled with an initial selective
curing effect combined with
selective grazing, could have
become an important factor
towards the end of the flushing
period.
Lambing percentages are shown in
Table 1. The differences between
groups suggest that drylot treatments had some stimulating effect
on ovulation rate, but that continued drylot feeding increased
embryonic mortality.
A similar experimental design
was used during the 1975 breeding
season except for the addition
of the paraquat-cured pasture
treatment and a fourth group of
33 ewes. Livestock procedures,
handling facilities, and feed
ration were improved. The entire
schedule was also shifted
forward 5 weeks so that flushing
was started August 4 and rams
were introduced August 22. As
in the previous year, rams were
left with the pooled ewes on
dryland pasture for an additional
17 days beyond the end of the
flushing period on September 8.
Weight changes for each group
are shown in Figure I. Drylot
ewes gained about 0.4 pounds per
day until the start of breeding.
Group II ewes, which remained on
drylot throughout flushing,
continued to gain at a reduced
rate while group III ewes barely
maintained weight when they were
turned onto dryland pasture
There was a total of 1.5 inches
of precipitation during a
6
Table 1. EFI4 ECTS OF FLUSHING MANAGEMENT ON REPRODUCTIVE
PERFORMANCE OF EIES
Year
I
Treatment 2
III
II
Number of Ewes 1
34
34
34
Fertility (%)
97
97
97
Multiple Birth (%)
65
59
77
167
161
182
Number of Ewes 1
31
29
32
30
Fertility (%)
87
90
91
80
Multiple Birth
44
70
38
46
Lamb Crop (-%) 1
148
174
145
154
Measurement
1974
Lamb Crop (%) 1
1975
1 Based on number of ewes surviving after lambing
2 I
Dryland pasture (control)
II Drylot until end of flushing
III Drylot until bred
IV Paraquat pasture
IV
Figure 1
WEIGHT CHANGE DURING FLUSHING
PER TREATMENT GROUP
■••■
1 2—
until
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bred
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411 401.
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4■41\ Nik
-4■
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40`,■
IWO*
AO■
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8—
0
CI_
6—
4—
2—
Drylot throughout
flushing
lo
lb'
0
4 10"
AteiP
401.
AP'
40, 40110•400,110,
4,
1000•
Asill°
ol■••
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I"
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August 4
Begin flushing
Dryland
pasture
August 22
Begin breeding
8
Paraquat
pasture
17 day period in late June and
early July. On two occasions
within this interval, 0.4
inches fell in a 24 hour period.
Although we do not feel at this
time that this was a critical
factor, shortly after the period
of precipitation forage blackened
considerably because of the
presence of fungi. The chemical
analysis will show if there was
appreciable leaching.
CONCLUSION
Animal response to paraquatcured pasture, during this
past years' flushing trial was
not as good as we had hoped.
But, it was encouraging enough
to warrent continued research.
We cannot expect maximum animal
response until we have obtained
the greatest possible vegetation response to the curing
process. This will not be
A complete economic analysis will
accomplished until we learn
be made of flushing and creep
more about which species are
feeding after this years crop of
the key to the timing of chemical
lambs is weaned. Table II gives
application, which give
a comparison of the first year's
maximum regrowth after being
extra-flushing costs for drylot
chemically cured, and which
feed, which will be a little
are the least susceptible to
higher this year, and the current
leaching and fungus attack
cost of chemically curing pasture • (if this latter factor should
None of these figures take into
prove important). Finally we
account the extra labor cost for
need a better idea of the
drylot handling and feeding
conditions and the threshold
or for spraying the herbicide.
point where precipitation
becomes a factor.
TABLE II
FLUSHING COSTS FOR FEED
AND PARAQUAT PER EWE BRED
Group
Treatment
II Drylot 34 days
The authors gratefully acknowledge
the loan of the sheep by the
Superior Packing Company of
Ellensburg, Washington, and
the donation of Paraquat by
the Chevron Chemical CompanY
that were used in these studies.
Cost $
3.72
III Drylot until bred
2.76
IV Paraquat pasture
1.41
The paraquat treatment was approximately one-third the cost of
flushing in drylot for the entire
34 days (group II), and one-half
the cost of flushing ewes until
bred (group III). The cost for
the paraquat treatment could
probably be reduced to less
than $1.00. An application rate
of 0.5 pounds per acre was used
and this is over twice the rate
that several studies have shown
to be necessary.
9
References
Agbakoba, S.C.O., and J.R. Goodin. 1967. Effect of paraquat
on the nitrogen content and regrowth of coastal bermudagrass (Cynodon dactylon (L.) Pers.). Agron,j. 59M:605-607
Akhavein, A.A., and D.L. Linscott. 1968. The dipyridylium
herbicides, paraquat and diquat. Pages 29-145 in Francis
A. Gunter, ed. Residue reviews. S p ringer-Verlag, New York.
Arnold, G.W., D.W. Barrett, P. Lapins, and J. Whitehead. 1970.
Some effects of paraquat on yield of dry matter and nutrients,
and on sheep production from annual pastures. Pages 866-869
in Proc. 11th Intern. Grassi. Cong., Australia.
Arnold, G.y., and D.W. Barrett. 1974. The effect of paraquat
desiccation in spring on plant and animal production from
annual pastures. Aust. J. EXD. Ag ric. Anim. Husb. 14(1):
23-32.
Barrett, D.W., H.A. Campbell, and G.W. Arnold. 1973. The effects
of pre-maturity desiccation with paraquat and leaching on
the quality of dry Wimmera ryegrass. Aust. J. Exp. Agric.
Anim. Husb. 13(63):411-417.
Barrett, D.W., G.W. Arnold, and N.A. Campbell. 1973. Effects
of tine and rate of paraquat application on yield and
botanical composition of annual pastures containing
subterranean clover in a Mediterranean climate. Aust. J.
Exp. Agric. Anim. Husb. 13(63):55b-562.
Freyman, S. 1970. Chemical curing of pinegrass with atrazine
and paraquat. Can. J. Plant Sci. 50:195-197.
Hohenboken, William, and Bolaji Taiwo. 197b. Drylot breeding,
creep feeding in we s tern Oregon. Oregon Farmer-Stockman.
99(3):40-43•
Kay, Burgess L. 1968. Effects of paraquat on yield and
composition of a subclover-hardinggrass pasture. Weeds
16(1):66-68.
Kay, Burgess L., and Donald T. Torell. 1970. Curing standing
range forage with herbicides. J. Range. Manage. 23(1):34-41•
Kay, Burgess L. 1970. Paraquat curing of seeded dryland pasture
species. J. Range. Mana ge. 23(b):40(-411.
Pullman, A.L., and W.G. Allden. 1Q71. Chemical curing of annual
pastures in southern Australia for beef cattle and sheep.
Aust. J. Agric. Res. 22( ):01-413.
1
0
Raleigh, R.J., F.A. Sneva, and H. A. Turner. 1968. Chemical
curing range forage for fall grazing. Pages 283-287 in
Proc. W. Sec. Am. Soc. Ani. Sci. 19.
Romberg, Barbara, G.R. Pearce, and D.E. Tribe. 19b9. The
effect of chemical curing with paraquat on the intake and
digestibility of Phalaris pasture. Aust. J. Exp. Agric.
Anim. Husb. 9(1):71-73.
Sneva, Forrest A. 1967. Chemical curing of raage grasses with
paraquat. J. Range. Manage. 20(6):389-394.
Sneva, Forrest A. 1970. Paraquat - effects of growing season
applications. J. Range. Manage. 23(6):451-452.
Sneva, Forrest A,, R.J. Raleigh, andY!_.A. Turner. 1973. Paraquat
cured herbage for late season grazing. J. Ani. Sci. 36(1):
107-113.
Sneva, Forrest A. 1973. Nitrogen and paraquat saves range
forage for fall grazing. J. Range. Manage. 26(4):294-295.
Taiwo, Bolaji.
1975. Biological and economic effects of flushing
and creep feeding in sheep. M.S. Thesis. Oregon State
University, Corvallis. 05 pp.
Wallace, Joe D., P.A. Sneva, R.J. Raleigh, and C.B. Rumburg.
1966. Digestibility of chemically cured range forage.
Pages 385-390 in Proc. V. Sec. Am. Soc. Ani. Sci 17.
11
WETHER REPORT II
Summary of 1975-76 OSU Sheep Breeding Research
William D. Hohenboken
As I begin this report, the month
of March shows every indication that it
intends to go out like a lion. We are
in the path of a storm front featuring
strong winds and driving rain. It's a
good day for writing; it would be a
poor day for working lambs.
area at the irrigated pasture unit, installing an underground water system to
pastures near the Sheep Barn, overseeding clover into several irrigated and
dryland pastures and using hay making,
wheat farming, pasture clipping and
heavy summer grazing as parts of our
pasture improvement program. Much of
the maintenance and improvement work
was completed using fence wire, lumber
and materials from unused facilities.
Our main problems of weeds, inadequate
fencing and poor production from some
pastures are gradually coming under
control.
In this OSU Wether Report, Second
Edition, I will first comment on our
animal, land and personnel resources.
Then progress reports of four breeding
projects will be presented. Finally,
there will be a brief comment on work
currently in progress.
Resources
Personnel. Bob Klinger and Lloyd
Westcott continue as full-time OSU
shepherds. In May of 1975, Bob was
honored as the OSU Oregon State Employee's Association employee of the month.
Bolaji Taiwo, graduate student in livestock management, completed his master's
degree and returned to his native
Nigeria in December, 1975. He had conducted the first year of the mating and
lactation feeding management project
for his research involvement. This
year, David Tart, graduate student in
Range, is continuing that work under the
supervision of Mr. Glenn Savelle. Progress on the project is reported elsewhere in this bulletin. Miss Rose Mary
Cedillo analyzed the lamb and wool production of crossbred ewe lambs for her
graduate research. Joe Ngam, a master's
student from the Cameroun, is working on
the importance and the inheritance of
appetite in ruminants for his research.
Results from both of their experiments
are presented later in this article.
Animal. Purebred Hampshire and
Suffolk flocks number 36 and 59 ewes,
respectively, including replacements.
These sheep support our undergraduate
teaching program. Rams from both flocks
breed over 400 ewes involved in Animal
Science and Rangeland Resources research.
The purebreds also support shortterm management, behavior, genetics and
nutrition research. Our experiment on
the effects of feeding during mating
and lactation involves 123 grade blackface ewes on loan from Superior Packing
Company and C2L, Inc. of Ellensburg,
Washington. After this year, they will
be replaced by a group of their daughters who will be used in continuing management research. The major OSU breeding experiment has 390 ewes of eight
crossbred groups split between hill pasture and irrigated valley management
systems.
RESEARCH PROGRESS REPORTS
Land. This past year we have continued efforts -to maintain and improve
our physical facilities. Projects have
included: moving division fences and
replacing perimeter fences at the Wilson
Farm, constructed a shelter and work
Breed effects on lamb carcass
merit. 1973 male lambs from eight crossbred groups (Dorset, North Country
Cheviot, Romney or Finnsheep rams mated
to Suffolk or whiteface, Columbia-type
12
Yield grade five lambs would be seriously overfinished.
range ewes) were raised to weaning in
June under typical western Oregon hill
pasture conditions. They were then
trucked to the Columbia Basin Branch
Experiment Station in Hermiston where
they were sorted by weight into lots,
sheared, drenched for internal parasites, implanted and placed on feed.
The RALGRO ® implants were furnished by
Commercial Solvents Corporation, Terra
Haute, Indiana, and their support is
gratefully acknowledged. After six
weeks, lambs were topped out for slaughter at Superior Packing Company, Ellensburg, Washington. All remaining lambs
were sent to slaughter five weeks later.
OSU personnel collected data on carcass
quality and quantity of 136 lambs.
All groups averaged middle choice
(11 on the numerical scale) for USDA
quality grade. Thus, lambs of all the
crossbred groups, when carried to normal market weight on a feedlot ration,
had no difficulty in grading acceptably.
Important differences did exist for fat
thickness. Columbia-type crosses were
fatter than Suffolk crosses, and
Romneys and Finnsheep were fatter than
Cheviots and Dorsets. Differences in
kidney fat percentage were also significant. For this trait, the more wasty
groups were the Columbia-type, the
Dorset and the Finnsheep crosses. This
is reflected in poorer cutability or
yield grade for those groups. Suffolk
and Cheviot crossbreds had superior
cutability.
Results are presented in table 1.
All lambs were two breed crosses, so
the figures represent average performance of all lambs of 50% inheritance
from each sire and each dam breed.
Carcass weight per day of age (WDA) is
important economically because it is a
good measure of growth rate. High WDA
means fewer days in the feedlot to
reach market weight or more pounds of
lamb available at the end of a constant
feeding period. Differences among the
groups were not large, but Cheviot,
Suffolk and Dorset crosses were superior
to Romney, Finnsheep and Columbia-type
crosses. Likewise, differences in
dressing percentage were not large.
The difference between the highest and
lowest dressing groups was only 1.2%.
Two more years of carcass data
have been collected and are awaiting
analysis. At this stage we have not
found large differences in WDA, dressing percent or USDA quality grade.
There are indications that differences
exist in fatness and in cutability that
favor Suffolk and Cheviot crossbreds,
with Columbia-type and Finnsheep cross
breds being less desirable.
Breed effects on wool production.
Wool production data from ewes of the
same eight crossbred groups were presented in the 1975 Wether Report. This
will be an update of that information,
with records on 1974 ewes added to the
analysis. The ewes were born in
February of 1973 and 1974 and weaned
and sheared in June and July, respectively, each year. They were grown out
during the summer on irrigated pastures
and were bred each year starting in
early October. Each group thus lambed
in February at about 12 months of age.
Fleeces were sampled at the britch and
at midside before shearing in March or
April. Wool data represent about 81/2
months of growth for each group.
Lamb carcasses can now be federally
graded for quality, using the primechoice-good standards that most producers are familiar with, and for yield of
salable lean meat from the carcass.
Yield or cutability is estimated by the
USDA yield grade system. Fat thickness
over the loin eye muscle is measured at
the 12th rib of the carcass, and percent
kidney fat and leg confirmation score
are estimated. These are plugged into
a formula whose solution assigns each
carcass a one through five yield grade.
Smaller numerical grades are most desirable; they indicate carcasses with high
red meat yield and minimal waste fat.
Results are presented in table 2.
For wool fineness or fiber diameter,
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In each breed of sire comparison, ewes
with Columbia-type mothers were 2 to 4
units finer than ewes with Suffolk
mothers. This is reflected in the
dollar value per pound of clean wool.
Sire breeds didn't differ markedly for
fiber diameter grade, but Dorset sired
ewes were finest.
Breed effects on lamb production.
In this section, lamb production from
1973 and 1974 born ewes, lambing first
at 12 months of age, will be described.
The same ewes from the same eight crossbred groups in the same two management
systems, as were discussed in the previous section, furnished these data.
All ewes had been bred to Hampshire
rams beginning in late September of
each year. Results are presented in
table 3.
For staple length, Dorset-sired
ewes were shortest with small differences among the other breeds. Finnsheep crosses had the longest 81/2 months
growth. Within Dorset and Finnsheep
crosses, ewes with Columbia breeding
had longer fleeces than ewes with Suffolk breeding. Columbia-type and
Romney crosses had a clear-cut advantage for grease fleece weight, and
Finnsheep crosses were poorest for that
trait. Differences in clean wool yield
were small and not consistent among
breed groups and years. The high
yields for all groups probably reflect
our "pre-scoured" wool from winter
rains. Clean weight was estimated by
multiplying grease fleece weight by
clean wool yield. Averages for clean
wool followed the same pattern as averages for grease wool weight.
Fertility refers to the number of
ewes lambing as a percentage of the
number of ewes mated. The overall level of fertility achieved was not satisfactory. For breeding of ewe lambs to
be economically feasible, at least twothirds of the potential replacements
should conceive during a 40-50 day
breeding season. Part of the reason
that we did not achieve this level was
that we saved a much higher replacement
percentage (about 85%) and thus a
higher percentage of smaller ewes than
a commercial producer normally would
save. This was done to build up numbers and to allow the experiment to be
run in a shorter amount of time.
Ewe lambs with Suffolk breeding
were more highly fertile than ewes with
Columbia-type breeding. Finnsheep
crosses were most fertile, Romney
crosses the least, with Dorset and
Cheviot crosses intermediate. The
groups didn't differ greatly in twinning rate except that Finnsheep cross
ewes were 40-50% above the others.
Higher reproduction is their main potential contribution to American commercial
sheep production.
Clean wool prices were assigned
according to fiber diameter grade, staple length and discount for medullated
fibers. Medullation (harsh-feeling
wool caused by faulty structure within
individual fibers) was most severe in
Cheviot crosses and least severe in
Finn crosses. It occurred with higher
incidence in Suffolk than in Columbia
crosses.
Price per pound of clean wool
favored Columbia-type over Suffolk
crossbred ewes. It was lowest for ewes
with Cheviot breeding. Finnsheep
crosses scored surprisingly well--on a
par with the Romney crosses. For total
gross income from wool, Columbia-type
crosses surpassed Suffolk crosses, and
Romney crosses surpassed the other sire
breeds.
All crossbred ewes were mated to
Hampshire rams, so all of the lambs
were 50% Hampshire breeding and 25% of
each of two other breeds. Differences
in average lamb weaning weight among
groups reflect breed differences in
growth potential and in milk production
of the crossbred mothers. For average
weaning weight per lamb. Suffolk
crosses were superior to Columbia-type
crosses. Average weaning weight also
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of sire. Dorset and Cheviot breeding
had about an equal, desirable impact;
while Finnsheep and Romney breeding had
about an equal, less desirable impact
on weaning weight.
emerges as a very efficient reproduction machine--somewhat deficient in
growth rate and carcass merit. It must
be remembered, though, that all these
data are for production from ewes lambing first at 12 months of age. Experience from other stations indicates that
the reproductive superiority of Finnsheep crosses will lessen as ewes
become older. They will probably still
lamb with a higher twinning rate than
other groups, but the difference will
not be as large as it was for ewe lamb
production.
The product of fertility, twinning
rate, survival and weaning weight gives
total pounds of lamb weaned per ewe
bred. Pricing those pounds at 394
apiece gives lamb income per ewe. Adding wool income from table 2 gives
total income generated per ewe bred per
crossbred group.
Inheritance and importance of
appetite. Last year in the Wether
Report I described experiments to
determine whether appetite was related
to rate of gain or feed efficiency in
lambs. If it were, it might be cheaper,
easier or more accurate to performance
test lambs for appetite than for
efficiency.
Suffolk cross ewes were superior
to Columbia cross ewes for lamb production, for lamb income and (despite
poorer wool income) for total income.
They were also heavier the fall after
their first lambs were weaned. The
Suffolk has great potential for commercial crossing systems in Oregon. The
breed should be exploited not only for
growth rate and carcass merit, but for
reproductive and maternal characteristics as well. Of the breeds evaluated
in this experiment, it comes closest
to all-purpose, all-weather specifications. It lacks only in wool production and wool value, and these deficiencies are more than compensated for by
increased lamb production.
Trials similar to those reported
last year were conducted on purebred
Hampshire and Suffolk replacement ewes
and rams during the summer of 1975.
During the three-week test period,
lambs were confined to individual 4 x
12 foot pens. They were allowed one
week to acclimate to test conditions
and to a pelleted ad libitum diet. Six
appetite trials followed at two-day
intervals. For each trial, feed was
taken away from the lambs at 4:00 pm
and reintroduced at 8:00 am the following day. Consumption was recorded
after 30 minutes, after 60 minutes and
after 24 hours. Appetite was estimated
as the proportion of 24 hour feed consumption eaten in 30 minutes (FC30) and
in 60 minutes (FC60) and as the average
daily feed consumption per unit of body
weight (F/W).
Ewe lambs with Finnsheep breeding
surpassed ewe lambs with Dorset,.
Cheviot and Romney breeding (in that
order) for lamb production, lamb income
and total gross income per ewe bred.
The higher fertility and twinning rate
of Finncross ewes was responsible for
most of the difference. They held
their own for wool income but had below
average weaning weights. Romney x
Columbia-type ewe lambs suffered from
low fertility; only part of the deficiency was made up by their above average wool income. For fall ewe weight,
Finncross ewes were slightly lighter
than other crossbred groups. Differences among the other three breed
groups for ewe weight were not large.
Average values for FC 30 for rams
and ewes respectively were 23 and 25%.
Comparable FC 60 percentages were 28
and 31%. Thus, after an overnight fast,
sheep will eat over one-quarter of their
next 24 hour feed consumption the first
hour after feeding. For ewes the percentage is slightly higher than it is
From these data, the Finncross ewe
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breeding experiment is midway into
another year. We have begun collecting
records on footrot incidence of ewes in
the eight crossbred groups. Also, a
trial was run in the fall of 1975 to
compare emotional behavior or skittishness of the eight groups. Those data
are being analyzed. An interesting
observation so far is that Dorset-cross
ewes seem more willing to approach and
challenge (by foot stamping) a tethered
dog. The relationship between this and
their life expectancy is not yet known!
We are also about to begin experiments
to determine whether ewes of the eight
crossbred groups harbor different loads
of internal parasites. After these and
other trials and tribulations, our 390
crossbreds would be justified in feeling more like guinea pigs than sheep.
We hope it doesn't damage their mental
health.
for rams. Both FC 30 and FC 60 were
quite repeatable from day to day. In
other words, a lamb who started out
above average was likely to stay above
average for the remaining five appetite
trials. Both sexes consumed pellets
equal to 4% of their body weight per
day.
FC 30 and FC 60 were highly correlated to one another. Both were moderately negatively related to F/W, however
indicating that the two traits are not
the same biologically.
For appetite to be a useful trait
to measure on sheep, it should predict
some economically important characteristic. FC 30 and FC 60 were not consistently related to the lambs' weaning
weight, their weight at the start of
the test or their rate of gain during
the test. This is similar to results
from the winter, 1974 trials. Thus,
these traits do not look promising as
useful future selection criteria. More
extensive analyses will be necessary
before they can be eliminated with certainty, however.
F/W did have a consistent negative
relationship with weaning weight.
Lambs heavier at weaning tended to
consume a smaller percentage of their
body weight in feed than did lambs
lighter at weaning. The full relevance
and significance of that observation is
not yet known.
Feed, air and water are a lamb's
only raw materials for meat and wool
production. The amount of feed that he
consumes is bound to be important in
determining how much animal product he
produces. We suspect that the rate and
greediness with which the feed is consumed might also be important, but
concrete results and conclusions have
eluded us to this point. Mr. Ngam, the
graduate student working on this project, should finish by fall of 1976.
More definitive answers will be available at that time.
Work in progress. The OSU cross19
RECYCLING ANIMAL WASTES
D. T. Torell
University of California, Hopland, California
greatly exceeds the demand. Present ewe population is approximately 13,000,000.
INTRODUCTION
"Waste" is perhaps not the best choice of
words to describe what I am going to discuss, as
the dictionary defines "waste" as something that is
"rejected as useless or worthless." Since anything
with a potential use cannot be considered useless
or worthless, a product which can be recycled
cannot be considered waste. A better nomenclature
might be the old-fashioned term, "by product,"
which is defined as a "secondary or incidental
product." Since there are many by-products that
can be recycled or fed as livestock feed and I
haven't the time nor the inclination to cover all of
these, I shall limit my presentation to "manure"—
not an especially enticing title! So, we may as well
stick with the misnomer, "wastes."
This report will be further limited to the
manure of laying hens, broilers, and feedlot cattle.
The categories may be limited, but not so the
manure; it is indeed plentiful. According to the
Federal State Market News Service, there were
382,793,000 hens in the United States in 1974. If
one hen excretes .07 pounds (air dry) of manure
daily, and if one ewe's diet consists of 50% dry
poultry waste, this is enough to feed 19 million
ewes (Forsht et al. 1974).
Likewise, the 2,992,844,000 broilers raised
during 1974 in six fills per year would mean that
there were approximately 500,000,000 broilers in
existence each day. Their manure would weigh 17.5
million pounds (air dry), so if one-fourth of a ewe's
diet were from broiler manure, one-fourth from
the bedding, and one-half from an energy source
(grains or pulps), there would be enough broiler
litter to feed 25 million ewes.
The amount of ewe feed that could be furnished by beef feedlot manure is astronomical.
During the 1973-74 feeding year, 96,625,000 tons
of feed were fed to cattle in the feedlot. If this
were 65 percent digested, there would be
33,818,750 tons of dried manure or enough to
feed 70 to 80 million ewes. So, the availability
PROTEIN
The chemical composition of broiler litter, cage
manure, and feedlot manure depends upon several
factors such as presence of litter, type of litter
(shavings, peanut hulls, rice hulls, almond hulls,
etc.), number of broods per change of litter, age
and type of stock, floor area per bird, and the
ration they have been fed. Table 1 shows the
variability of these products.
Feedlot manure is not included in this table as
there have been few papers published on its use as
a livestock feed. Ratio of roughage to concentrate
in the ration would greatly influence the chemical
composition of the manure.
Several similarities exist in the reported
chemical composition of the broiler litter. Crude
protein is variable with a minimum of 20.9% and a
maximum of 32.5%. It is estimated that 40 to 50%
is true protein, 30 to 40% uric acid, and the
remainder ammonia, urea, creatine, and other
non-protein nitrogens.
Uric acid has an advantage over urea in that it
is 10,000 times less soluble. Belasco (1954) found
that the purines—uric acid and allantoin (a product
of partial breakdown of uric acid by enzymic
pathway of degradation to ammonia)—are utilized
by ruminal organisms as nitrogen sources. This
occurs at a much slower rate than the breakdown
of urea to ammonia, so the toxicity danger is
almost nonexistant. The microorganisms are able
to utilize all of the NH 3 , whereas the peak
production of ammonia from urea degradation is
greater than can be utilized by the organisms.
The crude protein content of layer manure is
higher than broiler litter, primarily because of the
dilution of the broiler manure with the litter.
Table 2 (Flegal, 1971) shows the amino acid
composition of dried layer waste. Table 3 (Forsht
et al., 1974) compares the ingredients in dried
20
may limit the activity of ruminal microorganisms.
Lowman et al. (1970) found that the copper
content of dried poultry excreta was almost double
that of barley, but the digestibility was less than
half as great, hence the available copper content of
barley (24.5 ppm) was higher than that of dried
poultry excreta (17.6 ppm).
A local turkey producer feeds turkey manure
mixed with either almond hulls or apple pulp to his
ewes from June to December with no problems.
After having fed beef for approximately 180
days, Oliphant (1974) analyzed their livers for
copper and found controls with 333 ppm; those
fed deep litter poultry manure, 282 ppm; and
those fed battery poultry manure, 273 ppm.
Fontenot et al. (1971) reports the average copper
levels of ewe livers at death or slaughter for lots fed
0, 25, and 50% litter were 648, 1,993, and 2,671
ppm respectively. The average copper content of
the litter was 195 ppm. Copper is more toxic to
sheep than to cattle.
He also states, "Feeding litter had no consistent effect on total red blood cells, total and
differential white blood cell numbers, blood urea,
blood ammonia, hemoglobin, or appearance of
glucose, ketones, protein, occult blood or bilinibin
in the urine. No treatment-related abnormalities
other than those of copper toxicity were evident
from gross observations, detailed necropies and
studies of histological sections."
layer waste and other primary poultry rations. It is
interesting to note the high percentage of cystine
in dry layer waste. Cystine and methionine are the
two amino acids containing the sulphur atom used
for wool growth. Experimental evidence of greater
wool growth when feeding poultry waste is not
documented but experience has indicated this.
Whether it is because of the cystine and methionine or better over-all nutrition is not known.
Crude protein content of feedlot manure was
quite high-18.8% when the cattle were fed a
ration of 32.5% alfalfa hay, 12.5% oat hay, 7.0%
beet pulp, 39.0% rolled barley, 2.5% cottonseed
meal, 6% molasses, 1% salt (Hull et al., 1974).
Torell (1975) fed ewe lambs with a 60% feedlot
manure, 40% almond hull pellet which contained
14.4% crude protein. Discounting the contribution
of the almond hulls in the ration, the feedlot
manure contributed 21.3% crude protein.
ASH
Soil contamination from chicken scratching
and cleanup with scrapers etc. will account for
some of the ash. Since most rations fed to chickens
are highly digestible, the mineral component of the
diet, mostly nondigestible, will be concentrated.
The wide variation in total ash reflects variation in individual mineral constituents. Table 4
shows the ranges which have been recorded for dry
poultry manure.
Layers are fed high-calcium diets for egg shell
formation so the manure would also be high in
calcium. Phosphorus and magnesium are moderately high. Manganese and zinc are very high but
would not cause problems to livestock. Copper is
an element which needs monitoring, especially
when sheep are fed in a feedlot for long periods.
Fontenot et al. (1971) reported the occurrence
of copper toxicity in one ewe after it was fed a diet
containing 50% poultry litter for 137 days. When
the experiment terminated (254 days), 64% of the
ewes fed the ration containing 50% litter and 55% of
those fed the 25% litter had died of copper
toxicity.. The amount of copper used in the
broiler's ration as a growth stimulant, then, would
be a point of concern.
A diet containing a high percentage of broiler
litter or dried waste products tends to be unpalatable and of lowered digestibility (Bhattachary et
al., 1964, 1965). The high levels of zinc and copper
ENERGY
Metabolizable energy from dried poultry waste
was found to be 500 Kcal/lb. by Pryor and Connor
(1964) and 300 Kcal/lb. by Nesheim (1972). These
values should be compared with an average
metabolizable energy figure for barley of 1,250
Kcal/lb. Broiler litter would have similarly low
values because of the low digestibility of most of
the litters such as rice hulls, wood shavings, peanut
hulls, etc. As the feed passes through the digestive
system, most of the energy is removed.
APPARENT COEFFICIENT OF DIGESTION
Table 5 shows results of some digestion trials
which have included hen or broiler manure in the
rations. The digestibility cannot be compared from
one to another because of the variations among
treatments. Each author considered the compari21
sanction the use of poultry litter as a feed
or as a component of feed for animals.
Poultry litter subject to the jurisdiction of
the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act
and offered for use as animal feed may be
considered as adulterated within the meaning of section 402(a) (1), (2) (C), and/or
(3) of the act.
At the time of this writing, the release of
broiler litter as animal feed is imminent.
sons that he made to be valid, so I have taken the
liberty of condensing the ration ingredients to the
pertinent differences between treatments.
Dry matter and organic matter digestibility
decrease as the percent of poultry manure increases
in the ration.
Bhattacharya and Fontenot (1965) found the
protein digestibility to be reduced with increasing
manure; however, Lowman and Knight (1970) and
Harmon et al. (1975) showed an increase.
Crude fiber digestibility changes slightly (Bhattacharya and Fontenot, 1966; Harmon and
Fontenot, 1975) or decreases (Bhattacharya and
Fontenot, 1965) with increased amounts of
manure, as does energy digestion (Bhattacharya
and Fontenot, 1965; Lowman and Knight, 1970).
DISEASES
With the FDA regulation in mind, Caswell et al.
(1975) tried several methods for reducing or
eliminating the bacteria in the broiler litter. Dry
heat, auto-claving, dry heat and paraformaldehyde,
and ethylene oxide were used. All samples tested
negative for Salmonella, the bacteria of most
concern especially for young lambs, as well as
Shigella and Proteus. However, he did find more
than 30,000 colonies of total bacteria per gram of
untreated litter.
Coliforms were completely eliminated by all
processing methods except fumigation with ethylene oxide for thirty minutes. Dry heat plus
paraformaldehyde was very effective, especially at
4 g. per 100 g. litter. Fumigation with ethylene
oxide for 2 hours was also very effective.
Jacobs and Leibholz (1974) state, "Pomeroy
(personal communication, 1972) has studied litter
ensiled in a `Harvestore' on a commercial feedlot
property in Minnesota. He detected Salmonella in
the litter going into storage, but none in the
`poultry silage' (ensiled about 30 days)."
Harmon et al. (1975) conclude, "The trend for
lower coliform numbers in litter silage than controls suggests that ensiling may be an economical
means of eliminating potential hazards from the
possible presence of pathogens in litter."
The magnitude of the problem associated with
feeding litter to livestock, on the basis of potentially infectious microorganisms found in litter is
well documented by bacteriologic studies (Halbrook et al., 1951; Whitehead and Corson, 1962;
Schefforle, 1965; Tucker, 1967; Alexander et al.,
1968; Messer et al., 1971).
However, Alexander et al. (1968) also state
that the diseases of poultry, apart from Salmonellosis, are not thought to be of major importance in the feeding of ruminants. Salmonella
REGULATIONS
The Food and Drug Administration has issued
a policy statement regarding the use of litter as
animal feed (Kirk, 1967).
(a) Poultry rations used today generally contain drugs including antibiotic drugs used
individually or in combination. The levels
of drug use vary from very small quantities
of antibiotic drugs for growth promotion
to relatively large quantities of drugs for
treatment of diseases. Consequently, poultry litter can be expected to contain drugs
and antibiotic drugs or their metabolites. It
is not practical to determine, or feasible to
estimate, the nature and levels of the drugs
and their metabolites in litter. Therefore, it
is not possible to conclude that poultry
litter is safe as a feed or as a component of
feed for animals, nor is it possible to
conclude that there will be no drug residues in the tissues and by-products of
animals fed poultry litter.
(b) Disease organisms may be transmitted
from poultry to other animals through the
use of poultry litter as animal feed. There
are several diseases affecting poultry that
can also affect cattle, hogs, and sheep as
well as man. Thus such transmission of
disease organisms from poultry to other
animals and possibly to man constitutes a
hazard to animals and to the public health.
(c) Therefore, the Food and Drug Administration has not sanctioned and does not
22
for the litter groups. When fattening steers (Table
11), there was little difference in gain between the
steers fed the peanut hull poultry litter ration and
those fed the control ration. Feed efficiency was
highest for the steers fed the poultry litter ration.
Noland et al. (1955) also fattened steers and
found that steers fed ground chicken litter as a
source of nitrogen gained more slowly than those
fed cottonseed meal. This difference was significant during the first 56 days when the nitrogen
intake was equal but there was no significant
difference when the amount of litter ration was
increased (15%) to nearly equal the energy intake
of the two groups.
Oliphant (1974) conducted three years of
experiments with British Friesian steers from 150
kg. live weight to slaughter at 400 kg. The
treatment rations were made isonitrogenous
(14.5% crude protein). When the crude protein of
the poultry manure was low (24%), poor performances resulted. For manures of 30% crude protein,
performance was not markedly different from
that shown with control diets (Table 13).
El-Sabban et al. (1970) used poultry waste
subjected to three different heat treatments to
produce autoclaved, cooked and dried products
which he fed to steers for a 139-day feeding trial.
All of the supplemental nitrogen was provided by
soybean meal, urea or the poultry waste. Rate of
gain and feed efficiency were not significantly
different amount steers fed rations in which
supplemental nitrogen was provided by soybean
meal, autoclaved and dried poultry waste (Table
14). Carcass characteristics and meat acceptability
were not significantly different among the steers
fed the different rations.
In a sheep fattening experiment (Table 15)
Thomas et al. (1972) found sheep fed rations
containing 25 and 50% dehydrated feces gained .16
and .15 kg./day which was significantly less than
those fed a control corn-corncob-soybean meal
ration (.21 kg./day). "Results indicate the feasibility of using relatively large amounts of dehydrated caged layer feces as a nitrogen and energy
source for cows and lambs."
Galmez et al. (1970) fed lambs varying
amounts of a rice hull, broiler litter ration (27.4%
crude protein) with the remainder of the ration
containing one-half beet pulp and one-half ground
oats plus 2% salt (Table 16). These rations were
compared with baled alfalfa hay. All lambs on the
organisms may be transferred to ruminants, but
these should not cause difficulty in adult animals
unless the management is poor (Gibson, 1965).
Of the many experiments with unprocessed
broiler litter, none have reported any disease
problems. Torell (unpublished data) has fed unprocessed litter to from 600 to 1,000 ewes during
flushing and breeding for four years and to 1,200
ewes for two to four weeks just prior to lambing
without any disease problem caused by the litter.
During this period, one ewe did not eliminate the
sand contained in the litter from her rumen and
had to be sacrificed. Broiler litter-apple pulp has
also been fed to replacement ewe lambs with no
disease problem (Torell, 1975).
PRODUCTION
We have seen that broiler litter and layer
manures are high in nitrogen, low in energy, are
fairly well digested, and can be made safe to feed.
Tables 6 through 21 present the results of some
studies measuring the feeding potential of this feed
when used as a nitrogen (protein) source. These
data are based primarily on trials with beef cattle
but because of the similarity of the rumen the
results can be applied to sheep as well.
Drake et al. (1965) fattened beef on broiler
litter derived from four different litters and compared results with the control ration (Table 6) of
soybean meal and chopped hay (protein and fiber
equalized to litter mixtures). The average daily gain
for the broiler litter groups were less than the
control groups, but significance was not reported.
Ray and Child conducted a number of experiments feeding broiler litter rations for wintering
beef cows and calves (1965), wintering steers
(1964), and fattening steers (1964). The results of
their experiments are shown in Tables 7, 8, and 9.
For wintering cows, the litter ration prevented as
much weight loss to the cows and increased the
calf gains at less expense. Wintered calves and
yearlings fed litter rations gained more with about
the same feed to gain ratio as the prairie hay
groups. The same type of results were obtained in
finishing steers.
Fontenot et al. (1964), wintering steers and
heifers (Table 10), found that the feeding of a
wood-base broiler litter had no marked effect on
the daily gain of the cattle—I.25 lbs. per day for
the cottonseed meal groups and 1.22 lbs. per day
23
the cottonseed meal supplement, but intake of
supplement was much greater for those given the
manure-barley pellet."
litter rations gained more than the alfalfa group as
well as being more efficient. Fairly high levels of
broiler litter can be fed (68%) with good gains (170
g.). They also fed ewes, during the last third of
gestation and approximately 90 days of lactation, a
ration containing 63% broiler litter, 35% beet pulp,
2% salt and one composed of 87% alfalfa, 13% beet
pulp. Both rations were calculated to contain 52%
TDN. Table 17 shows the results of these trials.
There were no significant differences in lamb birth
weights, 90-day weights, or ewe consumption
between the rations although the litter group's
lambs were heavier at birth and at 90 days.
Toren (1975) fed three groups of ewe lambs
rations containing either 50% broiler litter plus
50% apple pulp, 60% feedlot manure plus 40%
almond hulls as a pellet or 60% alfalfa plus 40%
almond hulls as a pellet for 97 days prior to joining
with rams and for another 49 days of breeding.
The regulated feed consumption was approximately the same for all three groups to give similar
nitrogen intake. The 97-day gains were 6.2 kg., 2.2
kg., and 14.4 kg. respectively. The percent breeding as lambs and lambing as yearlings was highest
for the alfalfa-almond hull group (90%), followed
by the broiler litter and apple pulp group (68%),
and lowest for the feedlot manure almond hull
group (50%).
Noland et al. (1955) fed ewes during gestation
and lactation on rations of oat hay and supplemented with either soybean meal, ground chicken
litter, or ammoniated molasses. Table 18 summarized the results. The group fed ground chicken
litter performed as well as those fed soybean meal.
Ensiling broiler litter with either corn forage
(Harmon et al., 1975) or with grain (Jacobs and
Leibholz, 1974) looks very promising. Table 19
shows the results of ensiling grain with broiler
litter. Dry matter intake and nitrogen balance were
significantly improved by ensiling the grain with
the broiler litter.
COMMENT
In view of the FDA regulation, one might
question the practicality to the sheep industry of
proceeding with this line of investigation. But the
Federal Food and Drug Administration is concerned only with human food products transported
across state lines. Since breeding ewes are the class
of sheep most likely to be fed these waste
products, rather than lambs, and since too often
ewes are culled only "when they have been dead
three days," it is unlikely that FDA laws would be
violated.
Harmon et al. (1975) investigated the nutritive
value and palatability of ensiling broiler litter and
corn forage cut at two stages of maturity. Dry
matter digestibility averaged 64.5% and was similar
for all silages. Voluntary dry matter intake was
higher, approximately 70% for silages containing
broiler litter than for the control (corn silage only)
group.
Even though poultry waste does not change the
flavor of the meat (Drake et al., 1965; El-Sabban et
al., 1970; and Fontenot et al., 1964) lamb produced
on this type of feed would probably not be so
popular with the public. Ironically, the public is
blissfully unaware that millions of hogs have been
fattened behind steers in the feedlot. If this fact
were publicized, many pork consumers would
undoubtedly alter their meat preferences somewhat. Lamb producers must protect their image
but at the same time operate efficiently, to stay in
business and feeding poultry manure to breeding
ewes can be considered an efficient management
practice.
FEEDLOT MANURE
Hull et al. (1974) supplemented beef cows
grazing dry native annual range for a period of 84
days with pelleted cottonseed meal (0.90 kg./head
daily) or a pelleted mixture of 75% feedlot manure
and 25% barley (ad lib.). A third group received no
supplementation. "Cows given the manure-barley
pellet had a higher body weight than cows given
24
Chance, C. M. 1965. Non-protein nitrogen and poultry litter in
ruminant diets. Proc. Md. Nutri. Conf., p. 8.
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Hull, J. L., C. A. Raguse, J. G. Morris, and R. Delmas. 1974. Feedlot
animal waste compared with cottonseed meal as a
supplement for pregnant range cows. J. Range Mgt.
27(3): 192.
Morris, W.H.M. 1971. Economics of waste disposal from confined
livestock. Internatl. Symposium on Livestock Wastes
Proc., Columbus, Ohio. 195-196.
Muhrer, M. E., and E. J. Carroll. 1964. Urea utilizing microorganisms in the rumen. J. Animal Sci. 23:885.
Jacobs, G. J. L., and Jane Leibholz. 1974. The digestibility of
ensiled broiler house litter/barley rations for sheep. Proc.
Aust. Soc. Prod. 10:400.
Nesheim, M. C. 1972. Evaluation of dehydrated poultry manure as a
potential poultry feed ingredient. Cornell Agr. Waste
Mangt. Conf., Syracuse, N. Y.
Kirk, J. K. 1967. Use of poultry litter as animal feed. Fed. Register
32(171):12714.
Noland, P. R., B. F. Ford, and M. L. Ray. 1955. The use of ground
chicken litter as a source of nitrogen for gestatinglactating ewes and fattening steers. J. Animal Sci. 14:860.
Leibholz, Jane. 1969. Poultry manure and meat meal as a source of
dietary nitrogen for sheep. Aust. J. Exp. Agr. and An.
Husb. 9:589.
Linn, A. 1966. Whipping the manure problem. Farm Quarterly,
Winter, 56-59.
Oliphant, J. M. 1970. Feeding poultry waste for intensive beef. Prog.
Rep. Exp. Husb. Fms Exp. Hort. Stas. N.A.A.S. 11:94.
Linton, R. E. 1966. The economics of poultry manure disposal.
Cornell Agr. Exp. Sta. Bul. 1195, Cornell Univ., Ithaca,
N .Y.
Oliphant, J. M. 1974. Feeding dried poultry waste for intensive beef
production. An. Prod. 18:211-217.
Livshutz, A. 1964. Aerobic digestion (composting) of poultry
manure. World's Poultry Sci. Jour. 20:212-215.
Palafox, A. L., and M. M. Rosenberg. 1951. Dried cow manure as a
supplement in a layer and breeder ration. Poultry Sci.
30:136-142.
Loehr, R. C. 1968. Pollutional implications of animal wastes-a
foreward oriented view. Fed. Water Pollut. Control
Admin., Environ. Protection Agency, Ada, Okla., July.
Parker, M. B. 1966. Chicken manure on orchard grass-ladino clover.
Ga. Agr. Exp. Sta. Bul. N.S. 159, Univ. of Ga., Athens,
May.
Loehr, R. C. 1972. Animal waste management-problems and
guidelines for solutions. J. Environmental Quality
1(1):71-78.
Perkins, H. F., and M. L. Walker. 1964. Chicken manure-its
production, composition, and use as a fertilizer. Ga. Agr.
Exp. Sta. Bul. N.S. 123, Univ. of Ga., Athens, Dec.
26
Perkins, H. F., and M. B. Parker. 1971. Chemical composition of
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Rpt. 152, Mich. State Univ., East Lansing, Nov. 8-11.
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Thomas, J. W., Yu Yu, P. Tinnimitt, and H. C. Zindel. 1972.
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roughage in finishing rations for steers. Ark. Farm
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Walsh, L. M., and R. F. Hensler. 1971. Manage manure for its value.
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June.
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manure. Jap. Poult. Sci. 5:37-39.
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excreta. Transactions, Amer. Soc. Agr. Eng. 9:374-376.
27
Table 1. Some chemical compositions of broiler litter and caged layer manure (dry poultry waste).
•
•
Investigator
•
•
E.E.
C.P.
C.F.
N.F.E.
ASH
15.2
14.6
9.7
12.7
20.8
16.0
30.7
Broiler Litter
Fontenot et al. (1964):
Galmez et al. (1970):
Manterola (1969):
English (unpublished)
Forsht et a/. (1974)
Evans et al. (unpublished)
Means of 20 samples
Torell (1975)
Peanut hulls
Shavings
Shavings
Rice hulls
Shavings
32.5
32.4
21.7
27.4
21.6
24.4
29.9
3.3
2.5
16.3
16.7
31.1
30.7
31.8
2.9
1.3
3.1
24.8
26.0
18.2
29.9
32.3
17.9
25.8
20.9
1.4
24.5
24.8
23.4
25.2
Caged layer manure
English (unpublished):
Maximum
Minimum
Morgan (unpublished)
Thomber (1969)
Flegal, et al. (1971)
Leibholz (1969)
39.1
24.7
32.7
26.6
24.3
28.0
1.1
0.5
1.8
14.3
12.4
11.9
26.1
2.1
0.9
13.7
7.6
39.6
21.8
Table 2. Amino acid composition of dried layer waste.
Amino acid
True protein
Crude protein
Grams/100 grams
Alanine
Arginine
Aspartic acid
Cystine
Glutamic acid
Glycine
Histidine
Isoleucine
Leucine
Lysine
Methionine
Phenylalanine
Proline
Serine
Threonine
Tyrosine
Valine
4.38
1.93
4.38
4.51
6.35
3.40
.82
2.05
3.32
2.01
.37
1.84
2.21
2.13
2.05
1.07
2.58
Source: Flegal et al., 1971.
28
9.73
4.27
9.73
10.00
14.09
7.54
1.82
4.54
7.36
4.45
.82
4.09
4.91
4.73
4.54
2.36
5.73
39.4
29.5
27.5
15.2
26.9
33.8
Table 3. Comparison of ingredients in dried layer waste and other primary poultry rations.
DLW
Ingredient
Alfalfa
Corn
Soybean
mean
(44%)
•
Ground
oats
Dried
whey
Wheat
m iddlings
Milo
Percent
Amino Acid:
Arginine
0.48
1.13
.85
Cystine
Glycine
Lysine
Methionine
.50
.09
7.5
2.5
20.0
Tryptophan
Calcium
Phosphorus
Fiber
0.82
.33
.88
.95
.30
.29
1.4
.3
24.2
0.43
.15
.32
.27
.16
.08
.02
.30
2.00
3.21
.63
0.74
.20
1.94
2.93
.59
.43
.47
.16
.61
.3
.6
5.9
.15
.1
.4
11.0
0.37
.33
.70
0.98
.19
.43
.90
.67
.18
.30
.29
.16
.19
.16
.18
.9
.8
.2
.21
.1
.8
6.7
.11
.02
.3
2.7
885
1,480
0.31
1,000 calories per pound
Metabolizable
636
energy
-
555
1,500
1,020
1,165
868
= not analyzed
Source: Forsht
et al., 1974
Table 4. Variations in ash content of dried poultry manure.
PPM in dry matter
Percent
Calcium
Phosphorus
Magnesium
Sodium
Copper
Manganese
2.4 - 11.5
1.4 - 2.8
0.4 - 0.6
0.3 - 1.0
Zinc
Cobalt
29
60
40 300 - 500
350 - 1200
0.4 - 0.9
Table 5. Apparent coefficient of digestibility.
Investigator and feed tested
Brugman (1964)
Layer litter Anthony (1963)
Control Layer litter 1 Brood B.L Several brood B.L. Bhattacharya (1966)
Control, alfalfa & corn 25% of control replaced by peanut hull litter 50% of control replaced by peanut hull litter 25% replaced by wood shaving litter 50% replaced by wood shaving litter Bhattacharya (1965)
Control, SBOM 25% of control replaced by peanut hull litter 50% of control replaced by peanut hull litter 100% of control replaced by peanut hull litter
El-Sabban (1970)
Control, Soybean meal Autoclaved poultry waste Cooked poultry waste Lowman (1970)
Control, barley 25% of control replaced by dried layer litter 50% of control replaced by dried layer litter 75% of control replaced by dried layer litter 100% of control replaced by dried layer litter
Harmon (1975)
Silage:
Corn maturity
Treatment
30% DM
30% DM
30% DM
30% DM
40% DM
40% DM
40% DM
40% DM
Harmon (1974)
10.35% Soybean meal 14.84% Autoclaved B.L 13.25% Heat dried B.L 12.20% Acid & heat dried B.L Control Urea B.L. 15% B.L. 30% Control Urea B.L. 15% B.L. 30% :
D.M.
:
O.M.
58.8
62.0
53.6
57.5
76.7
73.1
70.1
74.1
69.1
:
C.P.
77.8
-
-
78.4
79.1
76.6
71.2
:
C.F.
59.2
75.0
74.5
74.0
74.6
72.0
59.6
62.6
63.2
62.2
62.9
76.4
72.7
69.2
72.7
69.4
67.1
64.8
57.7
73.9
76.8
74.1
71.0
60.4
58.4
40.5
41.3
-
74.3
65.5
69.4
77.9
73.6
68.7
62.9
56.6
80.7
77.3
74.0
70.3
66.5
68.4
69.5
76.9
76.5
77.2
-
64.3
66.7
65.0
63.4
65.0
64.9
64.1
62.7
-
57.1
71.5
59.9
67.0
48.0
61.9
54.9
64.0
53.5
58.6
54.5
54.8
44.0
44.0
46.1
52.7
63.3
59.9
58.6
56.3
65.5
57.9
62.4
54.3
72.9
66.8
68.8
65.1
30
-
Energy
91.0
75.3
72.1
76.2
-
:
-
-
74.7
73.5
76.3
80.0
74.8
72.1
66.1
60.3
Table 6. Beef finishing trials with various litters.
Average dail y gain
Broiler litter base
25%
:
Broiler
litter
:
40%
Broiler
litter
.91
.96
1.02
.92
1.07
1.00
1.01
1.06
0.94
1.21
25% Peanut hull litter
25% Corn cob litter
25% Chopped hay litter
25% Soybean hull litter
Control
Source: Drake et al., 1965.
Table 7. Chicken litter as a supplement in wintering beef cows and calves on pasture.
Ration
Feed cost
per
cow and calf
Calf
weight
change
Cow
weight
change
Dollars
Pounds
21.98
23.81
22.72
10.65
+120
+ 82
+137
+124
-155
-206
-116
-118
Litter* free choice + all hay
All hay
Litter* (2 hrs.) + all hay
Free choice litter*
All on pasture.
*Litter = 4 parts litter to 1 part corn.
Source: Ray and Child, 1965.
Table 8. Wintering steers on broiler house litter.
Yearlings
Calves
Ration
ADG
Feed/gain
ADG
Feed/gain
Pounds
Broiler litter (cottonseed hull)
+ 2 lb. prairie hay
Prairie hay
6.81
6.65
2.61
2.49
All received 75 to 85% of their ration as 9 parts ground corn and 1 part cottonseed meal.
Source: Ray and Child, 1964.
31
3.25
2.05
7.39
8.84
Table 9. Results of finishing steers by feeding broiler litter and rice hull rations.
Ration
Gain
Feed/gain
Pounds
25% broiler litter
25% broiler litter + 4.5% fat
25% - 12% protein rice hulls (ammoniated)
25% - 12% protein rice hulls + 4.5% fat
288
305
309
298
8.17
8.20
7.97
7.43
Source: Ray and Child, 1971.
Table 10. Performance of wintering cattle fed broiler litter on cottonseed meal - 56 days.
Lot
Cattle
Supplement
1
2
3
4
5
6
Steers
Heifers
CSM
Litter
CSM
Litter
CSM
Litter
23.4
3.0
1.0
23.1
3.0
23.5
3.0
1.0
23.3
3.0
23.4
2.9
1.0
23.2
2.9
Feed intake
Lbs/head/day
Corn silage
Hay
Cottonseed meal
Broiler litter
1.4
Daily gain, lbs.
1.18
1.4
1.07
1.09
1.21
1.4
1.48
1.39
Source: Fontenot, Drake et al., 1964.
Table 11. Feedlot performance of steers fed poultry litter rations (123 days).
•
•
•
•
Peanut hulls
Wood shavings
Daily feed:*
Mixture
Long hay
Feed/gain
Mixture
Long hay
Total
Daily gain
•
•
•
•
Control
Pounds
26.2
2.2
26.3
2.2
29.8
2.2
9.34
0.79
10.13
9.91
0.84
10.75
10.40
0.78
11.18
2.81
2.65
2.87
*Salt and a mineral mixture of 3 parts defluorinated pho stone and 1 part salt were provided, in addition.
Source: Fontenot, Drake et al., 1964.
32
Table 12. Summary of finishing steer trial.
2.14
Av. daily gain (lb.)
Period 3*
42 days
•
Cotton-
Chicken
seed
litter
meal
Period 2*
56 days
CottonChicken
:
seed
litter
:
meal
Period 1*
56 days
•.
Cotton- •
Chicken :
seed
:
:
litter
:
meal
1.86
1.81
2.08
1.32
Av. daily feed intake
per steer (lb.):
17.3
5.8
Concentrate mixture
Prairie hay
Feed per cwt. gain (lb.):
Concentrate mixture
Prairie hay
808
270
17.3
19.5
5.8
6.5
978
326
1049
350
19.5
6.5
1.92
23.8
27.4
7.0
9.1
1148
382
1472
475
1472
491
*Steers fed cottonseed meal ration in period 1 were fed chicken litter ration in 2 and 3 and vice versa.
Source: Noland et al., 1955.
Table 13. Mean performance of cattle.
Year
Control
Deep litter
poultry
manure
Mixture
Battery
poultry
manure
Daily live-weight gain (kg)
1969
1970
1971
1.13
1.29
1.18
0.93
1.23
1.04
1.09
1.23
1.26
1.14
1.19
Daily intake of dry matter (kg)
1969
1070
1971
5.6
6.1
5.6
5.2
6.0
5.3
5.6
6.2
5.4
6.1
5.4
Dry-matter conversion ratios (kg food dry matter/kg live-weight gain)
1969
1970
1971
4.95
4.71
4.72
5.67
5.14
4.90
5.12
5.00
4.74
Source: Oliphant, 1974.
33
4.86
4.90
Table 14. Average feedlot performance of steers fed rations containing processed poultry waste.
Ration
Nitrogen source
No. of steers
Daily gain, kg
Daily feed consumption, kg
Kg feed/kg gain
1-Soybean
meal
6
2-Autoclaved
poultry waste
7
3-Dried
poultry waste
6
4Urea
6
1.22
12.53
10.27
1.22
12.12
10.02
1.15
12.45
10.83
1.43
11.66
8.15
Source: El-Sabban et al, 1970.
Table 15. Performance of sheep fed dehydrated caged layer feces rations.
Broiler litter
Item
Weight gain (kg/day)
Intake grain mix (kg/day)
Feed/Gain
0%
25%
50%
.21
1.39
7.10
.16
1.41
10.00
.15
1.65
12.50
Source: Thomas et al.,1972.
Table 16. Lamb fattening results.
Ration
Lot
ADG(gm)
Feed/gain
Broiler litter
Broiler litter
Broiler litter
Broiler litter
Baled alfalfa
68%
58%
48%
38%
170
174
186
208
84
5.4
5.3
4.5
4.0
25.0
Rice hull base with 27.4% crude protein. Ration also contained 1/2 beet pulp, 1/2 ground oats, and 2% salt.
Source: Galmez et al., 1970.
34
Table 17. Pregnancy and lactation results.
Lamb data
63% Broiler litter
87% Alfalfa
4.78
19.70
171.00
4.39
17.60
146.00
2.4
2.5
Birth weight (kg)
90-day weight (kg)
ADG (gm)
Ewe consumption pre-partum (kg)
Beet pulp + 2% salt composed remainder of ration.
Source: Galmez et al., 1970.
Table 18. Summary of gestating-lactating ewe trail.
Item
Initial weight per ewe (lb.)
Final weight per ewe (lb.)
No. lambs dropped
No. lambs raised
Birth weight per lamb (lb.)
Birth weight, twins (lb.)
Birth weight, singles (lb.)
Av. daily gain birth to
termination of trial:
All lambs (lb.)
Singles (lb.)
Twins (lb.)
Av. daily conc. intake of ewes (lb.)
Oat hay fed per ewe daily (lb.)
Oat hay consumed per ewe daily (lb.)
Total conc. intake per lamb from
creep (lb.)
Lot I
Soybean
oil meal
lot
Lot 2
Chicken
litter
lot
Lot 3
Ammoniated
molasses
lot
135
111
12
10
10.2
7.4
10.7
134
112
12
10
9.4
6.2
10.1
132
106
14
13
9.4
8.0
10.4
0.44
0.44
0.42
0.42
0.42
0.42
0.34
0.39
0.28
1.13
3.68
3.10
1.13
3.68
3.26
3.68
3.18
85.6
Source: Noland et at, 1955.
35
86.8
1.13
65.8
Table 19. Dry matter intake, dry matter digestibility, nitrogen digestibility.
Diet
Poultry litter + barley
Poultry litter ensiled 3 wks. + barley
Poultry litter + barley ensiled 3 wks.
Poultry litter ensiled 6 wks. + barley
Poultry litter + barley ensiled 6 wks.
Dry
matter
intake
Dry
matter
digestibility
Nitrogen
digestibility
Nitrogen
balance
Gm/day
%
%
Gm/day
932
888
1177
930
1104
65.8
66.4
64.5
66.8
66.3
69.8
72.5
72.9
72.5
73.7
5.9
6.7
11.4
6.9
10.5
Source: Jacobs and Leibholz, 1974.
Table 20. Daily silage dry matter intake by sheep, palatability study.
Silage
•
•
Maturity
30% DM
30% DM
30% DM
30% DM
40% DM
40% DM
40% DM
40% DM
Intake
Treatment
Grams DM
Control
Urea
Litter-15%
Litter-30%
Control
Urea
Litter-15%
Litter-30%
881
844
1317
1581
816
1006
1573
1348
Source: Harmon et al., 1975.
Table 21. Mean body weight changes of pregnant range cows grazing dry annual range and given
supplements of cottonseed meal (CSM) and manure-barley pellets.
Item
None
Number of cows
Length of supplemental period (days)
Gain or loss during supplementation (kg)
Supplement consumed (kg/hd/day)
8
84
-36.3
0
Source: Hull et al., 1974.
36
Supplement
CSM
8
84
+14.5
0.90
Manure-barley
8
84
+34.9
7.75
contained 16.4% crude protein and 26.1%
crude fiber on a dry matter basis. At
each feeding level one group was fed
daily; another was given its week's
ration divided into two feedings (Monday
and Thursday), while the third group received its entire week's ration at one
feeding (Monday). The ewes were classified as thin, medium, or fat at the beginning of flushing and weighed after an
overnight shrink at the beginning of
flushing and when they left the feedlot.
The ewes were sheared on the 11th day of
breeding. The time at which the cubes
were all consumed was recorded. At
breeding two mature whiteface rams were
placed with each group of ewes and given
the same ration as the group of ewes to
be bred. After 32 days in the feedlot,
all ewes were returned to the same range
pasture and the rams remained with the
ewes for another 34 days.
PART II. OBSERVATIONS ON FREQUENCY
OF FEEDING
Over the years we have developed the
custom of eating three times a day and,
if a meal is not served at the customary
time, we get hunger pains. Likewise,
we have assumed that our livestock must
be fed at least once a day.
In many parts of the world experiments
have been conducted to examine the possibility of feeding ruminants at less
frequent intervals than daily. Australian researchers have carried on many
studies in drought feeding. They have
found that, with daily feeding, the
strong ewe gets stronger and the weak
ewe gets weaker because the strong ewe
eats more than her share of the daily
ration while the weak ewe is timid and
takes less than her share. Whereas,
when feeding the whole week's ration in
one day, they found that the strong ewe
got her fill and left the feeding area
so that the weak ewe had her turn at
the feed and ate as much as she wanted.
They both felt the pangs of hunger before
the next feeding.
The ewes were brought to a barn for lambing and the collection of data. Lambing
data reported are for the first 26 days
of lambing.
RESULTS and DISCUSSION
The two levels of feeding had a significant effect (P<0.01) on body weight
change during the 32 days in the feedlot.
Table 1 shows these changes in body weight
corrected for fleece weight. All groups
of ewes given the 4.0 pounds per day of
cubes gained weight (mean 6.2 pounds)
while all groups given 2.2 pounds of
cubesper day lost body weight (mean -6.3
pounds). Frequency of feeding had less
effect on body weight than level of
feeding.
At Hopland we have supplementally fed
replacement ewe lambs daily and once
and twice per week and have found that
the lambs do as well or better when fed
less frequently than when fed daily.
This was also true when ewes were supplemented on the range during the latter
part of gestation.
The following experiment was conducted
to determine the effect of frequency of
feeding during flushing and breeding upon lambing percentage.
The difference in body weight change between groups of ewes given the equivalent
of 2.2 and 4.0 pounds of cubes daily decreased as the time interval between
feedings increased.
Two hundred eighty-eight Targhee type
ewes were taken from range on August 13,
1973, and assigned by age and condition
into 6 groups, each of which were fed in
pens for 14 days of flushing, then 18
days of breeding. A 3x2 factorial allocation of treatments was used. Three
groups were fed the equivalent of 2.2
pounds alfalfa cubes per day and three
the equivalent of 4.0 pounds alfalfa
cubes per day. The alfalfa cubes
Changes in body weight during the period
in the feedlot were not related to the
initial condition of the ewe. Initial
condition and body weight at the commencement of feeding were related. The mean
body weights of the thin, medium and fat
37
ewes were 123, 130, and 141 pounds
respectively.
they were without any feed for one day
between feedings for both the 2.2 and
4.0 pound groups at the beginning of the
experiment, but this time was increased
to 1.5 to 2 days by the end of the experiment.
When ewes at Hopland Field Station are
bred on the range, approximately 1.15
lambs are born per ewe lambing. Using
lambing percent as an index of nutrition, it would appear that all groups
in this experiment were receiving better
nutrition than was available on the
range, even though the groups given 2.2
pounds of cubes per day lost weight
(table 1).
There were 6.2% dry ewes in the groups
given 2.2 pounds and 1.6% in those given
4.0 pounds per day. Considering all of
the groups, 40% of the dries were in the
daily, 10% in the twice-per-week, and
50% in the once-per-week groups.
As the differences in lambing percentages
between groups fed at the three frequencies of feeding and two planes of nutrition were not statistically significant,
it would be advantageous from a management aspect to feed once or twice
weekly. A level of 2.2 pounds alfalfa
cubes per day appeared adequate for
medium and fat ewes with possibly 4.0
pounds being superior to 2.2 pounds
for thin ewes.
Feeding a week's ration either once or
twice per week resulted in similar lambing percentage as daily feeding but from
practical management intermittent feeding would require less labor. The number of days sheep were without food
between feedings was greater in the
group given 2.2 pounds (3.5-4 days) than
the group given 4.0 pounds (3-3.5 days).
When the ewes were fed twice per week,
38
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Forage Crop Breeding and Genetics
Rod. V. Frakes
Oregon Agricultural Experiment Station
It is hoped that selection will identify
alfalfa plants that can be made
available to public and private
alfalfa breeders interested in breeding
for weevil tolerance.
Forage breeding research at Oregon
State University is concerned primarily
with tall fescue, orchardgrass, alfalfa
and birdsfoot trefoil. Currently,
eighty varieties of alfalfa are being
evaluated for forage production in the
Willamette Valley. The 1976 harvest
season will represent the third
production year for this test. Alfalfa
varieties are being released and
marketed faster than they can be
evaluated by the experiment stations.
In an effort to learn about germplasm
response in alfalfa producing areas,
we are involved in an uniform testing
program for the evaluation of certain
germplasm. To date, the same germplasm
is established at eleven location;
Corvallis, Medford, Hermiston, Burns,
Redmond, Caldwell, Aberdeen, Kimberly,
Moscow, Prosser, and Puyallup. Data
from this study will be of value in
making inferences about potential
adaptation of newly released varieties,
provided the parental germplasm source
is known.
Thirty-eight varieties and experimental
lines of birdsfoot trefoil are being
evaluated for forage production in the
It is suggested
Willamette Valley.
that in trefoil the first harvest of
the year can be delayed until after
spring rains, without a loss in forage
quality. This is being tested during
the 1976 season by sampling several
alfalfa and trefoil varieties periodically from early spring until early
July, to determine the relative
change in percent protein, carbohydrate level, and digestibility, as
the two legume species age.
Fifty-two orchardgrass varieties and
sixty-eight tall fescues are being
evaluated for forage production and
rated for seed producing potential.
Part of the breeding program objective
is to cooperate with grass breeders in
the consuming areas by evaluating
selected germplasm for seed production
in Oregon. Twenty-five tall fescue
genotypes from a private breeding
program in Indiana, and twenty-one
from the public program in Alabama are
being examined for relative seed
producing characteristics. Eighteen
genotypes of Phalaris aquatica from
Alabama, two experimental lines of
Pennisetum from North Carolina, and
twenty hybrid orchardgrasses from a
private program in Minnesota are also
being evaluated.
In a cooperative study with the United
States Department of Agriculture, we
have selected desirable genotypes from
long established alfalfa fields, in an
attempt to identify plant material
tolerant to natural pests. These
selected plants were cross pollinated,
and the progeny again crossed to elite
alfalfa germplasm from the USDA program.
Seed increase of three experimental
lines were carried out by O. J. Hunt in
Reno, Nevada and they are now ready for
testing in the area of selection.
The alfalfa weevil continues to be a
major problem in certain areas of our
state. Several thousand alfalfa
plants representing germplasm believed
to have some resistance to other alfalfa
pests, have been established in weevil
invested fields at Klamath Falls and
Redmond.
The breeding and genetics of tall
fescue has been of primary interest in
our forage breeding program. Fawn tall
fescue, a synthetic variety with eight
parent plants was released twelve years
ago.
40
We recently initiated an experiment
to determine (a) the influence of
regrowth period, and season of growth
on perloline content in tall fescue,
(b) the effect of stage of growth,
and plant part at maturity on the
the genetic
perloline level, (c)
differences and level of heritability
of perloline content. Data from this
research will be used to develop a
selection procedure for identifying
tall fescue genotypes to be used in
public and private breeding programs.
Over five million pounds of Fawn seed
It is a
are produced annually.
variety with good seedling vigor,
higher forage yield in the spring and
fall, and growers have suggested it
may be more acceptable to the animal
than other tall fescue varieties.
During the 1975 season, however, Fawn
was severely damaged by stem and leaf
rust and it did not produce as well as
other varieties in our forage
production tests.
Plant breeders have been successful
in crossing tall fescue with ryegrass,
and selecting plants that resulted in
a stable variety. Kenwell is one of
these, and it seems to be producing
well in Oregon and other areas of
the United States. This is a USDA
variety, to be released this fall, and
seed of it should be available to
growers within a couple of years.
Nearly one hundred million pounds of
tall fescue seed are distributed each
year. Most of it is used in the
transitional zone for warm vs. cool
season grasses; an area centered
around Missouri and Kentucky. One
of the reasons for its high use is the
ability for the species to respond
relatively well to adverse soil and
climatic conditions. Tall fescue has
high carrying capacity, but has been
critized for its low palatability and
low animal performance, when performance is measured in terms of daily
gain. It has been observed that the
alkaloid perloline is present in
relatively high concentrations in tall
fescue.
Scientists of the University of
Kentucky have experimental evidence
to suggest that perloline level in
tall fescue may be sufficiently high
to reduce cellulose digestion within
the rumen, causing a reduced rate of
digestion, which could contribute to
lower daily gain.
41
convincingly indicated that vaccinated
sheep had fewer and less severe cases
of foot rot than unvaccinated controls,
although the vaccine failed to comp letely prevent the disease.
CURRENT STATUS OF RESEARCH ON
FOOT ROT IN SHEEP
John A. Schmitz, D.V.M., Ph.D.
Joseph L. Gradin, M.S.
School of Veterinary Medicine
Oregon State University
Isolation and Classification of the
Foot Rot Organism
The primary research effort at
Oregon State University has been directed toward the isolation and characterization of the B nodosus strains infecting sheep in Oregon. Sheep foot
rot is a highly contagious disease and,
considering the ease with which B
nodosus is transmitted from a carrier
to a susceptible sheep, it is a surprising phenomenon that the organism is
extremely difficult to grow under laboratory conditions. Australian workers
have sent cultures of B nodosus to
scientists all over the world and the
recipient laboratories have frequently
had difficulty in successfullypropagating the organism. Approximately two
years of culture attempts passed at OSU
before the first isolation of B nodosus
was made. However, the succeeding two
years have been considerably more productive with 42 strains of B nodosus
being isolated from 13 different flocks
of sheep. During this time, a special
medium has been developed that will inhibit the growth of unwanted bacteria
while at the same time allowing the
growth of B nodosus. This medium has
greatly facilitated the isolation of
B nodosus from samples collected from
infected feet.
Introduction
During the past three decades, the
major research effort on the cause, prevention and control of foot rot has been
conducted in Australia and New Zealand.
Investigators in these countries have
quite conclusively shown that foot rot
is caused by the combined activity of
at least two anaerobic (oxygen sensitive) bacteria, namely, Bacteroides
(formerly Fusiformis) nodosus and
Fusobacterium necrophorum (formerly
Sphaerophorous necrophorous). Numerous
additional microorganisms have been incriminated and their significance is
still not completely elucidated.
Based on the Australian work which
demonstrated the etiologic roles of
Bacteroides (B) nodosus and Fusobacterium necrophorum, the emphasis of the
foot rot research at Oregon State University has been toward the isolation
and characterization of the B nodosus
strains that infect sheep in Oregon.
Australian workers have shown that
while Fusobacterium necrophorum is readily available in any sheep environment
(apparently derived from feces), B
nodosus can persist only in the tissue
making up the hoof wall. It has been
demonstrated experimentally that B
nodosus can survive in the environment,
that is, in soil etc., for only ten days
to two weeks. Based on this information
research on the prevention of foot rot
has been directed toward controlling the
B nodosus infection by use of a vaccine.
Reports from Australia, New Zealand and
England on a B nodosus vaccine quite
Work is presently in progress on
the B nodosus isolates to determine
their antigenic (chemical) make-up.
Based on this information, the isolates
can be classified into seperate groups,
or "serotypes" of organisms, with identical or similar composition. Recent
work in Australia has shown that for a
foot rot vaccine to be successful it is
important to produce the vaccine from a
42
The vaccine used in this field trial
was produced by an American company
using the same B nodosus strains used
to produce the commercial Australian
vaccine. The trial was conducted as a
"double-blind" study in which 500 sheep
were injected with the vaccine and 505
sheep were injected with placebo (a
fluid that looked like vaccine but in
reality was only colored water). The
feet of all sheep were examined seven
times during the trial period and the
presence or absence of foot rot was recorded. Since the sheep were vaccinated and inspected by coded numbers,
there was no knowledge as to whether
the sheep were injected with the vaccine or the placebo, and the judgement
of the foot examination was not prejudiced. If there was no foot rot, the
foot was designated as "0" for that
examination. If foot rot was present,
a grade was assigned to indicate the
severity of the case--a "1" denoted an
early, very mild case while a "4" denoted the most severe lesion where
there was severe underrunning of the
sole and separation of the wall of the
hoof. Some cases, such as chronics,
hoof deformity or recently healed cases
did not fit into the "1-4" grading
system and were arbitrarily assigned an
"X" grade. Eight flocks of sheep were
utilized in the in the field trial.
strain of B nodosus that is identical
with or cross-immunizes against the
serotypes infecting the particular
flock of sheep. Thus far, the major
B nodosus isolates at OSU have been
classified into either of two serotypes.
Besides these two major serotypes other
minor serotypes have been identified.
Only five of the isolates belong to any
of the major serotypes identified in
Australia thus verifying dissimilar
antigenic composition between B nodosus
strains in the United States and Australia.
Vaccination Against Foot Rot
The relationship between antigenic
composition (serotype) of a strain of
B nodosus and its immunizing ability
against different serotypes is not well
understood. Vaccination trials in
Australia have shown that their serotype "A" will immunize against serotypes
"A" and "B" but not against serotype
"C" and certain "untyped" strains.
Presently, these relationships can be
determined only by vaccine trials--prolonged, tedious and expensive endeavors.
Such trials have not yet been conducted
with OSU isolates.
Foot rot vaccines are produced
commercially in Australia, New Zealand
and England but have not been authorized in the United States because there
is no proof that the vaccine is effective under U.S. conditions. Two field
trials of Australian-produced foot rot
vaccine, one in California conducted by
Dr. Blaine McGowan and the other in
Oregon by Dr. Stanley Snyder, have
failed to demonstrate any reduction in
severity or incidence of foot rot in
vaccinated sheep as compared to nonvaccinated sheep.
A summarization of the vaccine
field trial is given in Table I. In
compiling this summary the five examinations, which were conducted following
the second of the two vaccinations,
were considered. If a sheep had a "4"
grade foot rot lesion in any foot at
any of the five postvaccination examinations, it was placed in the "4" category in Table I. Similarly, if the most
severe foot rot lesion during this
period was a "1", "2" or "3", the sheep
was designated in the appropriate category in the summation table. The "X"
grade was arbitrarily placed between a
"2" and a "3" when deciding the most
severe lesion, that is, if a particular
sheep had both "2" and "X" grades, the
Foot Rot Vaccine Field Trial
A foot rot vaccine field trial was
conducted by the authors in 1974-1975.
43
sheep was designated "X" in the table,
if on the other hand it had grades "3"
and "X", it was designated "3" in the
table.
The results of this vaccine field
trial indicate that the vaccine was not
totally effective in preventing foot
rot in any flock, indeed in five of the
flocks there appeared to be no difference in the incidence or severity of
foot rot between the vaccinates and
nonvaccinates. However, in three of
the flocks (B, D, and H, Table I) there
appeared to be considerable reduction
in both the incidence and severity of
foot rot in the vaccinated sheep. The
results in these three flocks give hope
for ultimate success and encouragement
for continued research. Perhaps the
three flocks beneficially affected by
the vaccine all contained the same
serotype of B nodosus which crossreacted with B nodosus strains in the
vaccine. Perhaps one or two strains of
B nodosus will cross-immunize against
all or most of the B nodosus strains in
Oregon. Only diligent research will
answer these and many other questions
relating to one factor of improved sheep
production--that of prevention and control of sheep foot rot.
* ***** * ***** *
The authors gratefully acknowledge
the assistace of the following men in
the vaccination trial: Don Gnos, Irvin
Jones, Jack Kalina, Ed and Roger Leabo,
Jeff Rice, Wayne Swango, Claude Swanson,
Wayne Townsend and Alfred Wheeler; also
the technical assistance of Chris Fredricks and Sheryl Nied.
**************
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Performance Data From a RotationalCrossbreeding Program
by M. Vavra, W. D. Hohenboken, R. L. Phillips and M. M. Wing
Introduction
7 months of age were bred to a Montadale ram to decrease lambing difficulty. The mating scheme is illustrated in table 1. Observations
were made on fertility, prolificacy,
wool production, lamb growth rate,
longevity and general health of ewes
and lambs. Abbreviations used in the
text are Col for Columbia, Finn for
Finnish Landrace and Hamp for Hampshire. Crosses are designated with
the sire breed first and the ewe
breed or breeds second (Hamp X Finn,
Col would be an animal which is 1/2
Hampshire and k Finnish Landrace and
1/4 Columbia and resulted from mating
a Hampshire ram with a 1/2 Finn and 1/2
Columbia ewe).
Increasing production of farm
flock sheep has been a high priority
research item in recent years. Farm
flock sheep are kept under rather
confined and hence controllable conditions. The opportunity to manage
for maximum production potential is
greatly enhanced. With the introduction of the Finnish Landrace
breed in 1968, increasing the number
of lambs produced per ewe became
more feasible. Besides her high
twinning rate, the Finn ewe is a
good mother and produces a good supply of milk. Finn lambs are quite
hardy at birth and are known for
their "livability". However, Finn
sheep produce poor quality wool,
gain weight slowly and produce carcasses of poor conformation and cutability. Through a crossbreeding
program it is hoped that strengths
and efficiencies of the Finn and of
available breeds can be combined to
produce a ewe with acceptable wool
production and quality that will
produce more lambs with the capability to gain fast and produce good
carcasses.
Results and Discussion
The performance of ewes as yearlings and 2-year-olds is presented
in table 2. Crossbreeding had the
greatest impact on production when
the ewes lambed as yearlings. Finn
X Col ewes had the highest conception rate as yearlings and Columbias
had the lowest. All ewes that failed to lamb as yearlings were culled.
Conception rates were more uniform
when the ewes lambed as 2-year-olds.
Experimental Procedure
The limited data collected thus
far indicate that inclusion of Finn
blood has increased the number of
lambs born per ewe. As with conception rate, the greatest increase in
lambs born per ewe occurred when the
ewes were yearlings. Triplets occurred only in the Finn X Col group.
As 2-year-olds the 1/2 Finn ewes produced more triplets (25% and 20% for
the 2 groups); additionally, one set
of quadruplets was produced. However, triplet production results in
more problems than the added lamb is
worth. Triplet lambs are smaller
than twin or single lambs and have a
lower survival rate at birth. Also,
Grade Columbia ewes formed the
base population for the rotational
crosses to be described. They also
served as straightbred controls. In
the fall of 1972 and 1973, 40 Columbia ewes were randomly allotted
into two groups of 20 each which
were bred to either a Hampshire or
a Finn ram. The female progeny were
bred at 7 months of age to a ram of
the third breed. The resulting
three-breed-cross females were then
bred to a ram of the most distantly
related breed. Concurrently,
straightbred Columbia matings were
made on mature ewes. Ewes bred at
46
Table 1. Crossbreeding scheme.
Line 1
Hampshire Line
Line II
Finn Line
*H X C
F
F X(1- H L c
2
C
X
I
C2
H
C
F
1
Line III
Straightbred Control
C
c)
12F2
4-21 H
J.
C X C
1972 breeding
C X C
1973 lambing
1973 breeding
F
1974 lambing
1974 breeding
4,
5
1
1
5
1 )
HX(-8-C-4-Fe-H) FX(7
C-4-H-g F
FXrH—F4CHX
o■
16
16 F 16
,
4'
1975 lambing
1975 breeding
2 u
16 -
1976 lambing
1976 breeding
1
18
u
r), ,(18 u 9 55 r)
432 L. 32 " 32 '
32 " 32
3 ,
C X C
*H = Hampshire
F = Finnish Landrace
C = Columbia
--Ram breed is listed first.
47
C X C
1977 lambing
1977 breeding
rn
0)
10
to
u-)
CO
0)
0
01
0
CO
NHOC)
H
H
H
H
01
•
N
0
•
CO
10
.
N
ti
CO
1.0.
lO
•
0
CO
•
01
0.
CO
I
I
I
I
cc)
•
1
I
I
I
I
I
I
co
H
ti
CO
0
LO
c0
l0
N
0)
CO
it)
c0
0
In
0
0
H
rl
0
0
cq
c0
0
•
co•
•
CR
•
CO
-P
43
4-) E--1
Ca 0)
4-,
•
•r1
•
cJ
CO
•
o)
E-1
•
I
LO
•
01
0)
co
•
N.
I
I
N
in
di
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
CO
N .
ID
0)
4-)
N
N
0)
H
N
di
N
0)
0
0
0
0
c\i
H
in
N
0
L0
di
0
(1)
0 •ri
P
LO
H
CO
N
4)
a,
Fi
04
O
4-) /4
g
m of
H
NHN
H
H
H
l0
H
01
H
0
N
CO
H
N
P-1 F-1
0
4-) 4-)
•
a,
(D
O 0
• O
p
0 00 00 co 0
0
co
00
00
10 0 0 0 0
0) 0 0 0 0
rl H H H
0
0 r0
H
Si 0
4-)
(L)
H 4-)
04 .0
0 0)
1-4 •r4
T3 a)
al 3
CD
ti
0 0
H
A
48
one lamb of a set of triplets has to
be removed from the ewe either fostered or raised artificially, increasing costs.
All of the crossbred groups produced more twins as yearlings than
did the Columbias. Ewes that were
1/2 Finn produced more twins than did
1/4 Finn ewes. As 2-year-olds the 4
Finn ewes produced the highest incidence of twinning (86%) but not any
triplets. This is the ideal result
of the inclusion of Finn breeding if
it is repeatable in coming years and
generations.
Yearling ewes that were 1/2 Hamp
produced the biggest lambs at birth
even though the Finn X Col ewes had
been bred to Hamp rams and the Finn
X Hamp, Col ewes had been bred to
Columbia ra ms. Finn breeding in the
ewe apparently influences birth
weight. All lambs born from Finn X
Col yearling ewes gave birth unassisted even though lambs were 1/2 Hemp.
(Hamp Col); Hamp X (Finn Col); and
Montadale X Col lambs were compared
in another study. The lambs in the
second study were from yearling ewes.
Columbia ewe lambs at the Union Station are normally bred to a ram of a
smaller breed to decrease the incidence of lambing difficulty.
In the first study lambs were
weaned at about 65 days of age and
put in the feedlot. Hamp X Col
lambs were about 10 lb. heavier at
weaning than were lambs of the other
2 groups (table 4). Finn X Col and
Columbia lambs performed about the
same during the suckling stage. Once
in the feedlot all 3 groups of lambs
performed equally well. Hamp X Col
lambs had the heaviest weight at
slaughter because of their greater
suckling gains.
In the second study the lambs
were weaned when the average weight
per group was approximately 50 lb.
Lambs were then put in the feedlot
and fed until finished. Montadale X
Col lambs did not gain as well during the suckling period or in the
feedlot as the three-breed-cross
lambs. Carcasses of all groups in
both studies were of similar quality.
Wool production was decreased
by the addition of Finn breeding
(table 3). Thus far the reduction
in production has been greatest in
the 3-breed crosses. Hamp X Col
ewes did not show a decrease in
pounds of wool produced. Only yearling wool production is presented.
All crossbred groups have slightly
lower wool grades than the Columbias.
As the number of crossbred lambs in
the experiment increases,selection
pressure may be applied so that the
poorest wool producers are culled.
The decrease in wool production due
to crossbreeding then could be
lessened.
Summary
Use of the Finn in a crossbreeding program has effectively increased
the number of lambs produced per ewe.
The greatest overall increase in fertility and prolificacy due to crossbreeding occurred when the ewes lambed as yearlings. However, Finn X
(Hamp, Col) ewes performed better for
reproduction than ewes of all other
groups when they lambed as 2-yearolds. Finn X (Hamp, Col) ewes produced a large number of triplets which
are somewhat harder to manage. However, 4 Finn ewes produced the greatest incidence of twins. Wool production was decreased by crossbreeding, but a careful selection program
should rectify this in a few generations. Crossbred lambs performed
In 1974, wether lambs from
straight and crossbred ewes were
weaned and put into the feedlot.
Weaning weights, daily suckling gains
and daily feedlot gains were recorded. The feedlot lambs were separated
into 2 studies. Columbia, Finn X Col
and Hamp X Col lambs from mature ewes
were compared in one study. Finn X
49
well in the feedlot.
Ewes with Finn breeding tend to
be as hardy as contemporary ewes.
Based on data gathered to date, use
of the Finnish Landrace in a crossbreeding program can increase the
number of lambs produced. Ewes of
k Finn blood seem to be the optimum
thus far because of the higher incidence of twinning but lower frequency
(compared to 1/2 Finn) of triplets.
Table 3. Yearling wool production and grade by breed.
Ewe Breed
Ave. An.
Wool Prod
Ave. Yearl.
Wool Grade
Columbia
11.2
54.0
Hamp X Col
12.8
52.3
Finn X Col
9.8
52.6
Hamp X Finn, Col
7.6
53.1
Finn X Hamp, Col
7.5
50.2
Table 4.
Feedlot performance of lambs.
Lamb breed
Weaning
Weight
Ave. Daily
Suckling
Gain.
Final
Weight
Ave. Daily
Feedlot
Gain
Study 1
Columbia
57.3
0.55
99.8
0.83
Finn X Col
58.1
0.55
100.8
0.83
Hamp X Col
67.7
0.64
110.7
0.83
Mont X Col
51.2
0.40
100.8
0.50
Finn X (Hamp Col)
59.6
0.57
111.0
0.65
Hamp X (Finn. Col)
56.0
0.57
101.6
0.61
Study 2
50