Energy exchanges of pregnant and lactating ewes

Abstract

At intervals throughout gestation, the energy, carbon, and nitrogen exchanges of four Merino ewes were determined with the aid of closed-circuit indirect calorimetry. Six similar but non-pregnant animals were studied at the same time. The food consisted of equal parts of lucerne and wheaten hay; half the sheep in each group were given a constant 600 g/day and half 900 g/day, and the non-pregnant ewes were fasted on one occasion. Free fatty acids, glucose, and ketones in the blood were also determined during the final stages of pregnancy. Balance measurements were continued during lactation, the ewes being given 1200 g food/day for the first month and 900 g for the second.

The digestibility of the food was not affected by pregnancy or lactation, but urinary nitrogen loss decreased as pregnancy advanced and was least during lactation.

Although a constant amount of food was eaten, the heat production of each pregnant animal increased throughout gestation. The heat increment of pregnancy at term was 90 kca1/24 hr/kg foetal tissue. The most direct measurements of oxygen uptake by the foetus in utero indicate much lower levels of heat production per kilogram of tissue; it is concluded that these are underestimates. The metabolic rate was unusually high immediately before parturition, and in two cases decreased to near non-pregnant levels 24 hr after lambing.

The total energy retention of the ewes became smaller as pregnancy advanced, and in two cases was negative at term. Metabolizable energy was used for reproduction with a gross efficiency of 15–22% and a net efficiency of 13%. The metabolizable energy used per kilogram of foetus was approximately 10% of the maintenance requirement of the ewe herself. Daily energy utilization by the conceptus at term probably accounted for 70% of the glucogenic substances available from the food. There was no evidence of increased gluconeogenesis from protein by the pregnant ewe.

The nutrition of the ewe during gestation affected lactation mainly in the first week or two. The data indicate that nitrogen intake rather than energy intake limited milk production. Irrespective of the amount of energy in the milk, the heat increment due to feeding was 20% smaller for lactating than for dry fatteningewes. It is suggested that efficient use of acetate by the mammary gland permits more efficient lipogenesis by other tissues.