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. 2018 Dec 19;8(12):241.
doi: 10.3390/ani8120241.

Supplementing Dairy Ewes Grazing Low Quality Pastures with Plant-Derived and Rumen-Protected Oils Containing Eicosapentaenoic Acid and Docosahexaenoic Acid Pellets Increases Body Condition Score and Milk, Fat, and Protein Yields

Quang V Nguyen  1   2 , Hung V Le  3   4 , Don V Nguyen  5   6 , Peter Nish  7 , John R Otto  8 , Bunmi S Malau-Aduli  9 , Peter D Nichols  10   11 , Aduli E O Malau-Aduli  12
Affiliations

Supplementing Dairy Ewes Grazing Low Quality Pastures with Plant-Derived and Rumen-Protected Oils Containing Eicosapentaenoic Acid and Docosahexaenoic Acid Pellets Increases Body Condition Score and Milk, Fat, and Protein Yields

Quang V Nguyen et al. Animals (Basel). .

Abstract

The Australian dairy sheep industry is small and mostly based on a natural grass grazing system, which can limit productivity. The current study tested different plant oil-infused and rumen protected polyunsaturated fats and their interactions with sire breeds to improve lactation traits and body condition scores (BCS) of ewes grazing low quality pastures. It was hypothesised that supplementing lactating ewe's diets with plant-derived polyunsaturated oils would improve milk production and composition without compromising BCS. Sixty ewes (n = 10/treatment) in mid-lactation, balanced by sire breed, parity, milk yield, body condition score, and liveweight, were supplemented with: (1) control: wheat-based pellets without oil inclusion; wheat-based pellets including; (2) canola oil (CO); (3) rice bran oil (RBO); (4) flaxseed oil (FSO); (5); safflower oil (SFO); and (6) rumen protected marine oil containing eicosapentaenoic acid and docosahexaenoic acid (RPO). Except for the control group, all supplementary diets included the same level of 50 mL/kg DM of oil and all diets were isocaloric and isonitrogenous. Experimental animals were grazed in the same paddock with ad libitum access to pasture, hay, and water during the 10-week study. RPO was the most effective diet that enhanced milk, fat, and protein yields by approximately 30%, 13%, and 31%, respectively (p < 0.0001). A significant increase in milk production was also observed with CO, RBO, and SFO treatments (p < 0.0001). Breed significantly influenced animal performance with higher milk yields recorded for crossbred Awassi × East Friesian (AW × EF) (578 g/day) vs. purebred Awassi (452 g/day) (p < 0.0001). This study provides empirical evidence for the use of rumen-protected and plant-derived oil-infused pellets as supplements under low quality pasture grazing conditions to improve the production performance of purebred Awassi and crossbred AW × EF ewes.

Keywords: PUFA; body condition score; canola; flaxseed; oils; rice bran; safflower; sheep milk composition; supplementation.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no conflict of interest. The funders had no role in the design of the study; collection, analyses, or interpretation of data; in the writing of the manuscript, or in the decision to publish the results.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Weekly trends in body condition score (a) and milk yield (b). Canola oil (CO), rice bran oil (RBO), flaxseed oil (FSO), safflower oil (SFO), rumen-protected oil (RPO).
Figure 2
Figure 2
Weekly trends in milk fat (a) and milk protein (b) concentration. Canola oil (CO), rice bran oil (RBO), flaxseed oil (FSO), safflower oil (SFO), rumen-protected oil (RPO).
Figure 3
Figure 3
Supplementary diet and breed interactions on (a) milk yield; (b) milk fat; and (c) milk protein. Canola oil (CO), rice bran oil (RBO), flaxseed oil (FSO), safflower oil (SFO), rumen-protected oil (RPO).
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