Table 2.
Post-weaning growth rate, final weights, organ and digestive tract weight of wethers born to ewes consuming endophyte-infected (E+) or endophyte-free (E−) fescue during MID (d 35-85) and/or LATE (d 86-parturition) gestation.
| Maternal Fescue Treatment 1 | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| E−/E− | E+/E− | E−/E+ | E+/E+ | SE | |
| Lambs Weaned | 11 | 10 | 11 | 11 | |
| Lambs Finished2 | 11 | 10 | 10 | 11 | |
| Performance | |||||
| Days on feed, d | 171.4 | 161.1 | 161.0 | 160.6 | 17.34 |
| Dry matter intake (DMI), kg/d | 1.09 | 1.12 | 1.15 | 1.15 | 0.123 |
| Average daily gain (ADG), g/d | 164.3 d | 176.8 c | 165.2 d | 178.4 c | 22.78 |
| Gain:feed | 0.15 | 0.16 | 0.15 | 0.16 | 0.020 |
| Endpoint 2 | 1.67 | 1.49 | 1.65 | 1.74 | 0.474 |
| Weights | |||||
| Final shrunk body weight (BW), kg | 53.03 | 53.59 | 52.75 | 53.71 | 4.583 |
| Empty BW, kg | 44.30 | 44.58 | 44.32 | 45.70 | 3.572 |
| Pelt, kg | 9.12 | 9.13 | 8.82 | 9.54 | 0.854 |
| Gut fill, kg | 8.73 | 9.01 | 9.37 | 88.10 | 1.238 |
| Organs | |||||
| Heart, g | 258.8 | 276.9 | 280.6 | 242.9 | 66.05 |
| Lungs, g | 567.7 | 643.7 | 632.0 | 652.7 | 210.8 |
| Kidneys, g | 122.8 | 122.6 | 114.9 | 116.6 | 16.14 |
| Liver, g | 733.0 | 723.8 | 707.7 | 746.9 | 92.15 |
| Spleen, g | 86.6 | 90.4 | 77.5 | 95.0 | 26.70 |
| Pancreas, g | 70.3 | 72.8 | 71.2 | 67.9 | 12.32 |
| Thymus, g | 48.4 | 48.4 | 64.8 | 64.3 | 42.64 |
| Brain, g | 104.4 | 99.0 | 102.0 | 100.1 | 9.28 |
| Digestive Tract | |||||
| Rumen, g | 861.3 | 879.9 | 822.9 | 886.2 | 139.4 |
| Reticulum, g | 101.2 | 104.2 | 101.2 | 100.6 | 18.62 |
| Omasum, g | 115.9 | 106.1 | 111.4 | 103.9 | 33.92 |
| Abomasum, g | 214.3 | 230.3 | 221.3 | 206.6 | 53.10 |
| Small intestine, g | 596.8 | 686.7 | 624.6 | 683.9 | 199.1 |
| Proximal jejunum 3, g | 18.18 a | 13.47 b | 16.12 a | 14.33 b | 3.972 |
| Large intestine, g | 582.4 | 610.5 | 612.5 | 620.2 | 111.6 |
1 Fescue seed treatment: ewe lambs born to ewes were fed endophyte-free (E−) or endophyte-infected (E+) tall fescue seed during MID gestation (d35 to 85) and/or LATE gestation (d 86 to parturition). 2 Endpoint code: 1 = weight (56.70 kg), 2 = days (185 d postweaning). One wether (E−/E+) broke his rear leg and was euthanized during the finishing study. 3 Proximal jejunum: 30.5 cm section of the jejunum was removed cleaned and weighed. a,b Means in the same row with uncommon superscripts differ (p < 0.05). c,d Means in the same row with uncommon superscripts differ (p < 0.10).