
TY  - JOUR
A1  - Peirce, AW 
T1  - The effect of intake of carotene on reproduction in sheep.
JF  - Australian Journal of Agricultural Research
JO  - Aust. J.  Agric. Res.
Y1  - 1954
VL  - 5
IS  - 3
SP  - 470
EP  - 483
KW  - 
UR  - https://doi.org/10.1071/AR9540470 
N2  - Ewes aged initially 3-7 years were kept in pens for periods of 3-4 years on diets which supplied only about 10 &#181;g carotene per kg body weight per day but were adequate in other respects; supplements of carotene ranging from 25 to 200 &#181;g per kg body weight per day were added during the five gestation periods of the experiments. Signs of vitamin A deficiency such as night-blindness and low concentrations of vitamin A in the blood did not appear until the sheep had been receiving the deficient diets for at least 16 months. The levels of vitamin A in the blood rose during periods of supplementation by amounts proportional to the intakes, but the increases brought about by a carotene concentrate were smaller than those with equivalent amounts of carotene as lucerne meal. Reproduction was satisfactory when the intake of carotene was 50 &#181;g or more per kg body weight per day, and when at least 80 per cent. of this carotene was supplied as lucerne meal. 
ER  -

