Use of Soy Hull as a Supplement During Late Gestation and Lactation for Landrace Hair Sheep Ewes in a Forage-Based System
TLDR Soy hull supplement does not affect sheep and lamb growth or reproductive performance compared to corn-based supplements.
The study evaluated the use of soy hull as a supplement during late gestation and lactation for Barbados Blackbelly (BB) and St. Croix (STX) hair sheep ewes in a forage-based system. The study involved 36 pregnant ewes, which were supplemented with either a corn/soybean (CS) or soy hull (SH) starting the last trimester of pregnancy. The results showed that the type of supplement had no effect on ewe prepartum, postpartum, and weaning body weight (BW), late gestation and lactation average daily gain (ADG), lambing performance, litter birth and weaning weights, and lamb birth and weaning weights. However, there was a supplement type by breed interaction for the number of lambs weaned, with STX ewes receiving SH having a larger litter size at weaning than ewes receiving CS. The study concluded that substituting SH for a more traditional corn-based supplement did not affect ewe growth, reproductive performance, and lamb performance, suggesting that agro-byproduct supplementation should be explored further for use in sustainable, forage-based sheep production systems.
