IMPROVING DOE NUTRITION IMMEDIATELY PRIOR TO KIDDING INCREASES KID SURVIVAL

摘要

The survival of kids in the immediate post-natal period is affected by many different factors, including birth weight and type, sex, the supply of colostrum and milk available to the kid, and environmental stresses at the time of kidding. Norton et al(1984) found that while milk production was increased when pregnant does were fed supplements 1 month before and 1 month after kidding, pre-kidding supplementation alone had no significant effects on either milk production or kid birth weights. Kid survival was not measured in these studies. Recent studies by Milton et al (2002) with pregnant ewes have found that pre-lambing maize supplements increased colostrum production and improved the subsequent survival of lambs. It is well known that, while Australian goats are prolific breeders, producing high proportions of twins, the survival of these twins is often poor. This paper reports the effects of pre-kidding supplementation of Australian cashmere does on the post-natal survival of kids.