Wool growth and sulfur amino acid entry rate in sheep fed roughage based diets supplemented with bentonite and sulfur amino acids

Abstract

In two experiments, sheep were offered a roughage-based diet supplemented with either cysteine or bentonite as a solid, or bentonite, cysteine or methionine added to their drinking water. Supplementation with cysteine as a solid had no effect on wool growth, while supplementation via drinking water had no effect on wool growth or cysteine entry rate into the blood. Supplementation with methionine via drinking water increased the entry rate of methionine into blood by 69% (P< 0.05) as measured by a continuous infusion of [35S]-methionine. This coincided with subsequent increases in wool growth of 16% (P< 0.05) compared to sheep fed a basal diet alone. Compared with the basal diet alone, supplementation with 30 g/day bentonite as a dry powder or 60 g/day as a suspension in drinking water increased wool growth by 19 and 20% respectively. Bentonite given as sole supplement did not increase the entry rate of either cysteine or methionine into the blood of sheep. When bentonite and sulfur amino acids were complexed or mixed, wool growth was not increased above that for bentonite or the amino acid alone.