Calcium requirements of the young lamb. I. Effects of different intakes of dietary calcium on liveweight gain, bone development, and blood serum calcium levels
- 1 January 1973
- journal article
- research article
- Published by CSIRO Publishing in Australian Journal of Agricultural Research
- Vol. 24 (2) , 229-236
- https://doi.org/10.1071/ar9730229
Abstract
Four groups of male lambs were fed on liquid diets to give them four different calcium intakes (50, 250, 450, and 650 mg calcium/kg liveweight/day) from 5 to 70 days of age. Dry matter intake, liveweight gain, and serum calcium levels (but not food conversion efficiency) were reduced in those animals consuming 50 mg calcium/kg/day, but there were no significant differences between the lambs receiving 250, 450, or 650 mg/kg/day. Femur development in the lambs consuming 50 mg/kg/day was inadequate: the bone was brittle and tended to fracture. Although femurs taken from the animals receiving 250mg/kg/day were not fully developed, they appeared to be structurally sound. It is concluded that a calcium intake of 250 mg/kg/day is likely to be adequate for young lambs slaughtered for meat production at an early age.Keywords
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