The influence of dietary sulphur loading on metabolism and health in young sheep fed low fibre and high starch diet

The purpose of the experiment was to evaluate the long-term effect of a low roughage diet (7-8 % CF) with or without sulphur (S) supplementation (elemental and sodium sulphate 1:1) on basal dietary components, Zn, Cu and S availability, rumen metabolism and health in growing sheep. The control diet contained 0.2 % and the supplemented diet 0.8 % of S on a DM basis. The experi- ment lasted 12 weeks. The intake of the diet with 0.8 % of S resulted in an increase in rumen acetic acid concentration. Rumen lactic acid concentrations in S-supplemented versus control sheep were higher in the first and lower in the third month, and decreased at the end of the third month of the exper- iment in both groups. Blood plasma pyruvate was lower at the end of the experiment in S-supplemented sheep than in control sheep. In the 5th week of the experiment, the high S diet depressed basal nutri- tional components as well as Zn and Cu availability. After 12 weeks of feeding of this diet, polioen- cephalomalacia had developed in all sheep. © Inra/Elsevier, Paris