Supplementation With Soy Hull During Late Gestation and Lactation on Parasite Indicators in Hair Sheep Ewes
TLDR Soy hull supplementation did not affect sheep gastrointestinal parasite infection compared to corn-based supplements.
The study evaluated the effect of soy hull supplementation on gastrointestinal nematode (GIN) infection in hair sheep ewes. 36 pregnant ewes were divided into two groups, one receiving corn/soybean (CS) supplementation and the other receiving soy hull (SH) supplementation during the last trimester of pregnancy. The study found that the type of supplement had no effect on the ewes' body condition scores. However, ewes supplemented with CS had a higher packed cell volume (PCV) at weaning than those supplemented with SH (33.0 ± 0.7% and 30.8 ± 0.7%, respectively). Fecal egg counts (FEC) were similar between CS and SH supplemented ewes prepartum and at weaning, but CS ewes tended to have reduced FEC postpartum compared to SH ewes. The study concluded that substituting SH for a traditional corn-based supplement had no influence on GIN infection, suggesting that agro-byproduct supplementation should be further explored for use in sustainable, forage-based sheep production systems.
