Excessive oral administration of iron to sheep. 1. Digestibility of rations, results of fattening and carcass yields]

4 digestibility trials (4 male sheep per group) and 2 growth trials were carried out with 24 (V 1) and 32 (V 2) fattening lambs to investigate the effect of abundant oral Fe doses on the digestibility of crude nutrients in a ration of barley + dried green feed and on the results of fattening and carcass yields. Fe supplementation (less than 1400 mg per sheep/day) did not significantly change the digestibility coefficients of crude nutrients. Increasing Fe levels in the concentrates decreased the rates of liveweight increase and food consumption in both growth trials. Well-established statistical evidence was provided for the decline in absolute carcass yields resulting from the lower weight of the lambs at the end of the fattening period after Fe supplementation.     

Effects of female sex hormones on uterine motility and reactivity to oxytocin in goats.

Uterine motility was recorded for several weeks in 10 ovariectomised goats, using small intra-uterine balloons, to study the effects of female sex hormones on uterine activity and reactivity to oxytocin. Oestradiol stimulated uterine contractions and increased both the sensitivity and intra-uterine pressure response to oxytocin. When progesterone was administered in addition to oestradiol, spontaneous uterine motility became irregular with low amplitude contrations; the sensitivity and reactivity to oxytocin was significantly depressed.     

Changes in the ultrastructure of cardiac muscle in steers deprived of copper.

Young Friesian steers were fed for nine months on copper supplemented or depleted diets. Immediately after they had been killed, tissues were taken from the myocardium for examination by electron microscopy. Copper deficiency was associated with extensive changes in myofibrillar and mitochondrial morphology and distribution. It is suggested that the ultra-structural changes in the myocardium were specifically attributable to copper deficiency, the most likely underlying biochemical defect being lost of cytochrome oxidase activity.     

Plasma protein alterations in cattle suffering from acute peritonitis.

Modification of the normal plasma protein picture has been studied in plasma samples from cows suffering from spontaneously arisen (17 cases) or experimentally induced acute peritonitis (5 cases) using polyacrylamide electrophoresis. Considerable differences were found in the postalbumin region during peritonitis. One protein component increased in size, while another disappeared. Two weak components in normal samples were replaced by four discrete protein bands. These modifications were not detected in any of 10 plasma samples from cows suffering from other diseases than peritonitis or in any of 35 samples from clinically healthy animals. The modifications were visible 12-16 h after injection of the provoking agent and were remarkably alike from one case to the next.     

A comparison of the effects of two low‐calcium diets on egg production in the domestic fowl

1. Hens fed on a diet containing 0–05% calcium virtually ceased egg laying (production <4%) whereas those fed on a diet containing 0–5% Ca maintained production at between 20 and 30%.

2. After a return to a normal diet (3% Ca) egg weight, shell weight, ovarian characteristics and oviduct size were of a similar nature in the two groups, though the differences in egg weight, shell weight and shell calcium were significant at the 1 % level.

3. Bone weight and bone ash did not differ significantly between the groups but after a return to normal rations, bone weight and bone ash became higher in the group that had received the 0.05% Ca diet.

4. There were no clinical signs of bone demineralisation during the experiments.