Context Lamb survival can be compromised by twin-bearing ewes being unable to produce enough colostrum and immunoglobulins following parturition. Without sufficient colostrum production, newborn lambs are at risk of death due to starvation, mismothering, exposure and infection. These deaths can be reduced by altering the ewe’s nutrition in the final weeks of pregnancy. Starch, a glucose precursor, has increased colostrum production; however, the digestibility of starch can be increased with protein supplement, which may increase colostrum production. Aims Two separate experiments evaluated if protein supplementation, to a high-starch diet could improve colostrum production and immunoglobulin G (IgG) concentration in twin-bearing ewes. It was hypothesised that the addition of protein to a high-starch diet would have a cumulative effect on colostrum production and IgG. Methods Ewes in both experiments were randomly allocated to one of two treatments –control and protein (120 g/day canola meal) – with both treatments receiving 600 g/head.day barley grain. Feeding began from Day 130 of gestation until 2–10 days post-lambing. Key results Colostrum IgG concentration at 2–10 days old did not differ between treatments (P > 0.05) in both experiments. In Experiment 2, colostrum (3–7 h post-lambing) and milk production (2 days post-lambing) did not differ between treatments (P > 0.05), although metabolisable energy intake was affected by treatment (P = 0.018) with protein supplemented ewes consuming 12.91 ± 0.612 MJ ME/day and control ewes consuming 10.78 ± 0.854 MJ ME/day. Conclusions Supplementation of ewes with protein when consuming high-starch diets did not increase colostrum production nor the IgG concentration of colostrum in ewes with pre-lambing body condition scores above industry recommendations. Implications Supplementation of protein and starch combined has limited commercial viability and would not be recommended for late gestation ewes to increase colostrum production. However, supplementation of ewes on low-quality feed with canola meal can increase metabolisable energy intake, which may have other production benefits.

中文翻译：

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补充蛋白质和淀粉结合给身体状况良好的母羊可能不会改善母羊的初乳

背景 双胎母羊在分娩后无法产生足够的初乳和免疫球蛋白，这可能会影响羔羊的存活率。如果没有足够的初乳产量，新生羔羊将面临因饥饿、误母、暴露和感染而死亡的风险。通过在怀孕的最后几周改变母羊的营养，可以减少这些死亡。淀粉是一种葡萄糖前体，可增加初乳产量；然而，淀粉的消化率可以通过补充蛋白质来提高，这可能会增加初乳的产量。目的 两个独立的实验评估了在高淀粉饮食中补充蛋白质是否可以提高双胎母羊的初乳产量和免疫球蛋白 G (IgG) 浓度。假设在高淀粉饮食中添加蛋白质会对初乳的产生和 IgG 产生累积影响。方法 两个实验中的母羊被随机分配到两种处理中的一种——对照和蛋白质（120 克/天双低菜粕）——两种处理都接受 600 克/头.天的大麦粒。从妊娠第 130 天开始喂养，直到产羔后 2-10 天。主要结果 在两个实验中，2-10 天龄的初乳 IgG 浓度在处理之间没有差异（P > 0.05）。在实验 2 中，不同处理之间的初乳（产仔后 3-7 小时）和产奶量（产仔后 2 天）没有差异（P > 0.05），尽管可代谢能量摄入受到蛋白质处理的影响（P = 0.018）补充母羊消耗 12.91 ± 0.612 MJ ME/天，对照母羊消耗 10.78 ± 0.854 MJ ME/天。结论 母羊在食用高淀粉日粮时补充蛋白质不会增加初乳产量，也不会增加母羊产羔前身体状况评分高于行业建议的初乳 IgG 浓度。影响 蛋白质和淀粉相结合的补充剂的商业可行性有限，不推荐用于妊娠后期的母羊以增加初乳产量。然而，在低质量饲料中给母羊补充双低菜粕可以增加代谢能摄入，这可能还有其他生产效益。影响 蛋白质和淀粉相结合的补充剂的商业可行性有限，不推荐用于妊娠后期的母羊以增加初乳产量。然而，在低质量饲料中给母羊补充双低菜粕可以增加代谢能摄入，这可能还有其他生产效益。影响 蛋白质和淀粉相结合的补充剂的商业可行性有限，不推荐用于妊娠后期的母羊以增加初乳产量。然而，在低质量饲料中给母羊补充双低菜粕可以增加代谢能摄入，这可能还有其他生产效益。