Original scientific paper

BLOOD ACID-BASE BALANCE IN GROWING LAMBS

Josip Novoselec orcid.org/0000-0001-9763-3522 ; Poljoprivredni fakultet Sveučilišta u Osijeku, Osijek, Hrvatska
Zvonko Antunović ; Poljoprivredni fakultet Sveučilišta u Osijeku, Osijek, Hrvatska
Marcela Šperanda ; Poljoprivredni fakultet Sveučilišta u Osijeku, Osijek, Hrvatska
Željka Klir ; Poljoprivredni fakultet Sveučilišta u Osijeku, Osijek, Hrvatska
Mislav Đidara ; Poljoprivredni fakultet Sveučilišta u Osijeku, Osijek, Hrvatska

Abstract

The aim of this study was to investigate the changes of blood acid base indicators in growing lambs. The research was conducted on the same 10 lambs of Merinolandschaf breed, average age of 23 and 63 days. The lambs were selected evenly by sex (50% ♀: ♂ 50%), were healthy and in good physical condition. Apart from sucking their mothers, lambs had a ration consisting of feed mixture, barley and alfalfa hay, as well as water available ad libitum. In the blood of lambs pH, Hct, gases (pCO2, pO2), electrolytes (Ca, Na+, K+, Cl-and HCO3-), oxygen saturation (O2 - sat.) were determined, and z- value, BEfw , BECl-, BEalb, anion gap (AG) and the strong ion difference (SID) calculate. Most indicators of acid-base balance were within the reference range, except for slight variations in the concentration of Ca, Cl-, pCO2, O2- sat. These changes are a sign of intense metabolic processes and adaptation of lambs to a different structure of ration in which share of solid feed increases. Determination indicators of acid-base balance in the blood of lambs, especially in the stressful period of transition from suckling to solid feed allow an insight into the lambs’ supply of nutrients, indicating the quality of the ration, and lambs’health status.

Keywords

age; acid-base balance; blood; lambs; nutrition

Hrčak ID:

121530

URI

https://hrcak.srce.hr/121530

Publication date:

19.5.2014.

Article data in other languages: croatian

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