Abstract

The purpose of the study was to evaluate and compare mineral concentrations of 7 minerals in 3 classes of grazing sheep. Blood mineral concentrations were determined in 3 classes of sheep consuming the same pastures in the province of Punjab, Pakistan. Blood plasma was obtained 8 times after an interval of 20 days during the dry and wet seasons (4 times per season) from 10 of each of lactating, non-lactating and male sheep. Prominent effects of seasons and animal class were observed in plasma Ca for all classes. Plasma Ca concentrations of all sheep classes were higher in the dry season than those in the wet season. Plasma Mg concentrations in lactating sheep were slightly lower than those of other two classes of sheep during both seasons. Seasonal influence in all cases was prominent with regard to Mg concentration. Significant differences were found for plasma Cu. Higher plasma Cu was found in lactating sheep than in male or non-lactating sheep during both seasons. For Fe, there were seasonal differences with lower concentrations in the dry season. Lactating sheep had the highest plasma Fe during the dry season of all sheep classes. Plasma Zn concentrations were affected by season and animal class. During wet season, plasma Zn was lower than in dry season in all classes of sheep. Plasma Mn was affected by season and sheep class. In dry season, plasma Mn in all classes of animals was higher than in wet season, with lactating animals having the high concentrations followed by non-lactating and male animals. Plasma Se was higher during the dry season than that during the wet season in all classes of animals. Plasma Se was higher in male sheep followed by non-lactating and lactating sheep during both seasons. Overall, mineral status, except for Ca and Mg, during different seasons and in different animal classes was considered adequate. The adequacy of the mineral status was, in part, due to the provided supplementary mineral mixture. Therefore, mineral supplementation is continually needed to maintain adequate plasma mineral concentrations and overall productivity of sheep.

Author Details

Authors

• Z.I. Khan¹
• A. Hussain²
• M. Ashraf²
• L.R. McDowell³

Departments

• ¹ Department of Biological Sciences, University of Sargodha, Pakistan,
• ² Department of Botany, University of Agriculture, Faisalabad, Pakistan and
• ³ Department of Animal Sciences, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL, USA

Address

Z.I. Khan, MD
Department of Botany, University of Agriculture, Faisalabad-Pakistan, 38040 Faisalabad, Pakistan
Email: [email protected]

Citation