Prevention and Cure of Muscular Stiffness (“Stiff-Lamb” Disease) in Lambs

Abstract

The results of the experiments reported here indicate that the lack of vitamin E in the ration of the lambs may be the cause of the stiff-lamb disease. In the trials conducted in 1933‒44 the disease was prevented by feeding an oil solution of mixed tocopherols to the ewes and to the lambs or by feeding an oil solution of d, l-alpha-tocopherol acetate to the lambs after birth. Six of 7 stiff lambs recovered following the subcutaneous injection of a water solution of the disodium salt of d, l-alpha-tocopherol phosphoric acid ester, while 5 of 6 untreated stiff lambs died. Earlier work showed that the number of stiff lambs was reduced markedly when liberal quantities of wheat bran were substituted for part of the oats and barley in a ration which also included cull beans and alfalfa hay. The inclusion of liberal amounts of wheat germ meal in the rations fed to the ewes and its use in the creep feed almost entirely prevented the disease from occurring. Copyright © . .