Selenium and Vit. E as Related to Growth and White Muscle Disease in Lambs.

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Abstract
Four lots of 12 each pregnant ewes were fed duning pregnancy on diets of Ladino clover hay and oats found conducive to white muscle disease. Lot 4 ewes received 0.1 ppm Se added to their total ration intake as Na2SeO3. Lambs from lot 2 ewes received 1.40 mg Se intramuscularly and lambs from lot 3 received 2,000 International Units vitamin E orally at birth. Both ewes and lambs in lot 1 were untreated. All 3 treatments prevented gross symptoms of white muscle disease in the lambs as judged by autopsy at 6 weeks. Growth of both lots of lambs receiving Se (either directly, or through their dams) was significantly greater at 6 weeks than that of the untreated lambs, however growth of lambs receiving vitamin E at birth was not significantly greater than that of the controls. Growth response of lambs receiving Se prenatally was greater than that to Se injected postnatally.