Assessment of Milk Replacer Supplementation on Growth Performance and Mortality in Pre-weaned Lambs under Field Conditions in Guntur District of Andhra Pradesh
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Authors
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R. Kasi Sowjanya Lakshmi
sree venkateswara veterinary university
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M. Yugandhar Kumar
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Shaik N. Meera
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K.R. Sri Ranga
Keywords:
Growth performance, Milk replacer, Mortality, Pre-weaning lambs, Sheep farmingAbstract
Lamb mortality and poor growth rates are the major constrain in sheep farming of Andhra Pradesh where Nellore and Macharla lambs often fail to reach their genetic growth potential due to inadequate maternal milk and limited feed resources. To address this, nutritional interventions such as milk replacer feeding have emerged as practical strategies to supplement maternal milk, improve survivability, and enhance growth in lambs. With this perspective, Krishi Vigyan Kendra, Guntur, under the Indian Council of Agricultural Research – Agricultural Technology Application Research Institute (ICAR–ATARI), Zone X sponsored Impactful Interventions programme, conducted a field study to evaluate the effect of milk replacer supplementation on pre-weaning lamb performance. A total of 84 lambs aged 2-3 weeks from 12 flocks with an initial body weight of 4 ± 0.5 kg divided into two groups: Control group (CON) without supplementation and milk replacer (MR) group supplemented with formulated milk replacer procured from the ICAR–National Institute of Animal Nutrition and Physiology (ICAR–NIANP). The MR group lambs were fed with 50-70 grams per day per lamb from 2-14 weeks of age along with maternal milk and ad libitum green fodder. The trail conducted for 14 weeks with regular recording of body weights and mortality. Results revealed that MR lambs attained average body weight of 18.2 kg compared to 13.8 kg in CON group by the end of 16 weeks of age. The MR group recorded significantly (P=0.028) higher average daily gain (133 g/day) compared to CON group (94 g/day), while the mortality was markedly reduced to 7.14% versus 21.4% in non-supplemented lambs. The economic analysis revealed 44% higher net return and cost benefit ratio of 3.44 in MR group. These findings demonstrate that milk replacer supplementation during the pre-weaning period is a farmer-friendly, cost-effective strategy to enhance lamb survival, growth, and overall productivity in smallholder sheep farming systems.
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