Yerba Mate (Ilex paraguarensis) as a novel feed supplement for growing lambs

E Po; K Horsburgh; HW Raadsma; P Celi

Journal article

Yerba Mate (Ilex paraguarensis) as a novel feed supplement for growing lambs

E Po, K Horsburgh, HW Raadsma, P Celi

Small Ruminant Research | ELSEVIER SCIENCE BV | Published : 2012

DOI: 10.1016/j.smallrumres.2012.05.016

Abstract

Yerba Mate (Ilex paraguarensis), a plant known for its high antioxidant content, was fed to 20 of 40 lambs for 8 weeks. Lambs were randomly divided into two groups: one group (n=20) was fed the control diet and one group (n=20) was fed the control diet with 2.5% Yerba Mate. Lambs were group housed by treatment and fed ad libitum through automatic feeders that recorded individual food intake. Lambs received the dietary treatments for a total of 8 weeks and were monitored for live weight (LW), average daily growth rate (ADG), food conversion rate (FCR) and feed intake. Blood samples (8mL) were taken from all lambs, on weeks 0, 2, 4, 6, and 8 and plasma analysed for total antioxidant capacity (..

View full abstract

University of Melbourne Researchers

Pietro Celi Author

Grants

Funding Acknowledgements

This work was supported by the Faculty of Veterinary Science (University of Sydney) and by the Australian Wool Education Trust (AWET). We are grateful to David Palmer for assistance in animal husbandry, and Karen Williams for laboratory support. We also acknowledge Weston Animal Nutrition for providing the pellet and Mr. Geoff Conlon for providing the Yerba Mate.