Body composition studies with the milk-fed lamb. II. The effect of the age of the lamb and the protein content of the diet on the chemical composition of the body and its organs

Abstract

SUMMARY: Eighteen male cross-bred lambs (aged 2–5 days) in two equal groups were given artificial milk diets of either low- or high-protein content; subgroups of three lambs were slaughtered after 2, 4 and 6 weeks on experiment. The composition of the change in empty body weight (E.B.W.), and the chemical composition of the change in weight of the separate compartments and organs, were determined by the comparative slaughter method.Lambs given the high-protein diet made significant gains in weight and in all chemical components in all periods. The composition of their E.B.W. was closely related to E.B.W. regardless of age. Lambs given the low-protein diet made only small gains in weight in 6 weeks, of which 76% was fat. The chemical composition of their E.B.W. was closely related to E.B.W. within each age group. The net gain of protein of these lambs in 6 weeks represented only 1% of the total weight gain, and over 50% of the protein gain was in wool. The skin and blood lost protein during the first 2 weeks, and failed to recover this loss during the remaining 4 weeks. Other organs lost protein initially but recovered this loss between 2 and 6 weeks.It was concluded that the initial loss of protein represented the labile protein reserves of the lamb, and the subsequent recovery was an adaptation to the low-protein diet. Furthermore, the results with both diets indicated that the skin and blood were the most inefficient of the organs in the body in utilizing the available N during a period of protein deficiency, or during a period of abundance in the dietary supply of N.