Effects of Artificial Rearing of Milk Replacer on Growth and Development,Nutrient Digestion and Serum Indices of Hu Twin Lambs

This experiment was conducted to study the effects of artificial rearing of milk replacer on growth and development,nutrient digestion and serum indices of early weaner Hu twin lambs.Twenty-four pairs of newborn Hu male twin lambs were equally divided into two groups using paired experimental design,and one pair of twin lambs were allotted to one of the two groups,and each group contained 24 lambs.Lambs in different groups were reared with mother milk(MM group) and milk replacer(MR group),respectively.The feeding trial lasted for 90 days,lambs were weaned at 60 days of age,body weight was recorded and blood sample was collected every 10 days,and 3 pairs of twin lambs were randomly selected for slaughter.Two periods of digestion trials were undertaken at 46 to 55 and 76 to 85 days of age using 4 pairs of twin lambs,respectively.The results showed as follows: 1) the body weight of lambs in MR group was significantly lower than that in MM group at 20,30 and 40 days of age(P 0.05),but the difference was narrowed as aging,and there was no significant difference after 50 days of age(P 0.05).The average daily gain was significantly lower for lambs in MR group compared with that in MM group at 10 to 20 days of age(P0.05),while was significantly higher at 40 to 50 days of age(P0.05).There were no significant differences in other time periods,nor at 0 to 90 days of age.2) At 60 days of age,the percentage of rumen weight of total complex stomach weight in MR group was significantly higher than that in MM group(P0.05) while the percentages of omasum and abomasum were significantly lower(P0.05).At 90 days of age,no significant differences were observed in the weight or the percentage of total complex stomach weight of different stomachs,and only to found slightly higher of weight of rumen was found in MR group(P0.05); the percentage of live weight before slaughter(LW BS) for small intestine was significantly higher in MR group than that in MM group(P0.05); there was no significant differences in the weight and the percentage of LW BS for internal organs between groups(P0.05).3) Milk replacer had no significant effects on the apparent digestibility of regular nutrients(P0.05).4) Milk replacer had no significant effects on serum biochemical indices(total protein,cholesterol,glucose,triglyeride,albumin and urea nitrogen contents,alkaline phosphatase activity) and serum immunological indices(immunoglobulin G,immunoglobulin M,immunoglobulin A contents)(P 0.05),and the indices in MR group and MM group manifested similar trends.In conclusion,the artificial rearing system of milk replacer of early weaner lambs can achieve the same feeding effect as those fed mother milk.