The effect of lupin grain and freshly cut lucerne supplements on the ad libitum intake of mature, weathered herbage (Lolium rigidum and Trifolium subterraneum) by fourteen Border Leicester x Merino ewes was examined. There were seven treatments: in six, each supplement was fed separately at three rates between 190 and 750 g ewe-1 day-1. and in one, no supplement was fed. There were two replicates : one of ewes with high, and the other with low, ad libitum intake. Treatments were imposed for three weeks, and for analysis, data for an individual ewe were related to data collected during two periods of three weeks before and after the experimental period. Apparent digestibilities of DM of herbage, lucerne, and lupins were 50, 60 and 88%, respectively, and were not affected by different rates of supplement fed. Ad libitum intake of herbage at 0 and 200 g ewe-l day-1 of supplement intake was similar. At supplements above 200 g ewe-1 day-1, intake of herbage decreased by 40 and 61 g DM for each 100 g DM increase in supplement consumed by high and low intake ewes, respectively. Liveweights increased by 100 g for every 250 g DM of supplement consumed. It was concluded that the effect of feeding ewes lupin grain on consumption and digestion of roughage was unlikely, by itself, to be responsible for improvements in reproduction observed in ewes fed a supplement of lupin grain.
Four groups, each of about 40 Border Leicester x Merino ewes due to lamb in May, 1978, were held on bare ground and hand-fed poor quality hay, either alone or with oat, wheat or lupin grain at 270 g dry matter/head.d, from two weeks before until six weeks after lambing. A fifth group of ewes grazed separately on green pasture. After hand-feeding ceased in July 1978, ewes from all five groups grazed together and were re-joined with rams in November-December. Increases in wool production (90-230 g greasy fleece), milk production (9-23 ml/h) and growth of lambs (20-4 1 g/d) resulted from feeding supplements to the hay-fed ewes. Ewes fed oats and lupins performed best and, compared with those fed wheat, produced fewer fleeces with major faults (8 and 12% vs 29%, respectively) and less milk (58 and 62 ml/h vs 49 ml/h, respectively). At the end of hand-feeding, the ewes were 18-23 kg lighter than those that had been at pasture, but by the time joining took place in November-December, the difference was only 4-8 kg. Ewes fed hay alone mated 8-12 d later and lambed 5-9 d later (May 1979) than ewes in all other groups. Also, 6% of the ewes fed lupins or allowed to graze pasture during lambing in 1978 were barren in 1979, compared with 25% of barren ewes in all other treatments. It was concluded that wheat, in contrast to lupins and oats, was an inadequate supplement for lambing ewes consuming only low quality roughage.
The liveweight gains, lambing performances and wool production of Border Leicester x Merino ewes grazed on sweet narrow-leafed lupin (Lupinus angustifolius) stubbles during mating in midsummer were compared with those grazed on annual pasture. Treatments and conditions varied during the 5 years of study. In years 1-3, the stubbles were stocked at rates of between 20 and 40/ha, in year 4, at 11 ewes/ha, and in year 5 at 24 ewes/ha. In the last year there was an additional pasture treatment when the ewes on dry pasture were divided, one half were given 400 g lupin grain/sheep daily and the remainder, none. Available dry matter on the pastures varied from 1.1 to 5.0 t/ha and lupin grain in the stubbles varied from 230 to 420 kg/ha. Vasectomised rams were joined with the ewes 1 week before they were put onto the lupin stubbles and, after 2 weeks, were exchanged for entire rams which remained with ewes for 17-33 days. As the stocking rates on stubbles increased there were decreases in liveweight gains, ewes lambing and lambs born per ewe joined. During the 5 years, ewes grazed on stubbles at less than 25/ha gained more weight (176 g/day more), had more lambs (0<26/ewe mated), while more of them lambed (0.07/ewe mated) than did ewes on pasture alone (P < 0.05). The ewes fed lupin grain at pasture in year 5 received less grain than those on the stubbles and their production was intermediate to those on pasture alone and stubbles. At the lowest stocking rate of ewes grazing stubbles (20/ha) average wool production increased by about 37% (years 2-3) and 58% (year 5) compared with ewes grazing pasture. We conclude that lambing percentages from a midsummer mating can be increased when crossbred ewes graze sweet lupin stubbles during mating.
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