Humoral responses to a multivalent vaccine in age-matched lambs of different bodyweight and nutrition.

K-agglutination, pilus-enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) and outer membrane protein-ELISAs were used to assess humoral responses after vaccination with a commercial, multivalent, ovine foot rot vaccine (Dichelobacter nodosus whole cells) in three groups of nine-month-old lambs of markedly different bodyweight, nutritional history and dietary protein supply. Mean bodyweights of lambs in low (L), medium (M) and high (H) bodyweight/nutrition groups were 22, 32 and 48 kg, respectively, at the time of vaccination. Few significant differences in humoral responses to vaccine antigens were found between groups. However, lambs in group H tended to have lower levels of antibody to a greater number of component antigens than did lambs in the other groups. These results suggest that low bodyweight due to poor nutrition is unlikely to affect the response of sheep to multivalent foot rot vaccines.

Kinetics of nitrogen transfer across the rumen wall of sheep given a low-protein roughage.

1. The significance of blood urea-nitrogen transfer to the rumen was examined in sheep given alkali-treated wheat straw supplemented with 3.5 (diet A), 5.9 (diet B) and 11.6 (diet C) g urea-N/kg dry matter (DM). 2. Mean voluntary intakes of DM (g/d) were 897, 1149 and 1225 for diets A, B and C respectively, indicating significant (P less than 0.05) intake responses to urea supplementation. Digestion studies were conducted at 90% of voluntary intake. Dietary N intakes (g/d) were 7.1, 11.5 and 18.6 for diets A, B and C respectively. 3. Absorption of ammonia-N from the rumen (g/d) was 3.5, 6.7 and 8.9 for diets A, B and C respectively, with all dietary differences being significantly different (P less than 0.05). 4. Non-ammonia-N (NAN) leaving the abomasum (g/d) was 9.6, 12.7 and 14.8 for diets A, B and C respectively. Microbial N leaving the abomasum (g/d) was 6.8, 9.6 and 10.7 for diets A, B and C respectively. Hence, significantly (P less than 0.05) more N was provided to the intestines with increased urea supplementation. Net efficiencies of microbial protein synthesis (g N/kg organic matter apparently digested in the rumen), estimated from 15N incorporation, were 24.2, 23.7 and 25.3 for diets A, B and C respectively, and were not significantly different (P greater than 0.05). 5. Calculated proportions of microbial N derived from rumen NH3-N were 1.05, 0.95 and 0.91 for diets A, B and C respectively, reflecting the high proportion of total N as urea-N in the diets. Proportions of microbial N derived from blood urea-N were 0.31, 0.21 and 0.12 for diets A, B and C respectively, indicating a decreasing significance of blood urea as a source of microbial N as dietary urea increased (P less than 0.05). 6. Transfer of blood urea-N to the rumen (g/d) was 3.8, 4.7 and 2.6 for diets A, B and C respectively, being significantly (P less than 0.05) lower on diet C. Using an estimate of the salivary contribution of urea-N to the rumen, it was concluded that there was a significant though not large transfer of blood urea-N across the rumen wall on all diets. 7. Net transfer of blood urea-N to the rumen was estimated from a two-pool model and was +0.4 g/d for diet A, though this was not significantly different from zero.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 400 WORDS)