ENERGY REQUIREMENTS OF THE PREGNANT EWE

Two experiments were conducted to determine the energy requirements during late pregnancy of twin-bearing ewes of the Greyface (Border Leicester x Scottish Blackface) breed in an extensive system. Sixty ewes were used in each experiment and the energy allowances fed during the last 8 weeks of pregnancy were 7.9, 11,1 and 14.3 MJ ME/day in Experiment 1, and 6.5, 9.8 and 11.9 MJ ME/day in Experiment 2. Ewe bodyweight changes, Iamb birthweights and growth rates* blood FFA levels and, in Experiment 2, ewe milk yields and voluntary intakes in early lactation were measured. The results showed that an energy allowance of 9.8 MJ ME/day, which is equivalent to 0.42 MJ ME/kg WO*75 was adequate to meet the energy requirements of twin-bearing ewes in late preg nancy in respect of the criteria studied.