Effects of plane of nutrition and selenium supplementation of ewes in early and mid-pregnancy on meat quality of offspring

Abstract

Nutritional status in early and mid-pregnancy can affect subsequent offspring productivity. For example, plane of nutrition in early and mid-pregnancy has been shown to have a significant effect on carcass characteristics, with male offspring of dams offered a low plane diet in early pregnancy having poorer carcass conformation and greater fat depths over the muscle L. dorsi than lambs of dams offered medium or high plane diets (Muñoz et al. 2008a). Supplementation with selenium (Se) during this period had positive effects on measures of lamb viability and survival (Muñoz et al. 2008b). The aim of the current study was to investigate the effect of plane of nutrition and selenium supplementation of ewes in early and mid-pregnancy on the meat quality of the male offspring.