ChileanJAR

Sixty Precocius Merino ewes were divided in two groups: one fed with wheat straw and other with senescent phalaris, both roughages chopped within a length of 3 to 5 cm. Each group was assigned treatments with different amounts of lupin grain: 0, 100, 200, 300 and 400 g/day in a factorial design (2 x 5). Liveweight (P.V.) and body condition (CC) were analyzed by analysis of variance. Grupal and individual intakewere analyzed through regressions, and the lastvariablewas also revised through factorial covariance to observe interactions. In treatment 1, grupal intake was Iinearly related to lupin intake (y =5.3379 + 0.0034x, r =0.934; P<0.001) and phalaris intake was related in quadratic terms (y = 5.5205 + 0.0079x - 0.000015x², r = 0.845; P<0.05). P.V. and CC loss were negatively related to lupin intake, differences in P.V. were observed from week 5 and in CC from week 3 (P<0.05). Ewes with 0 to 200 g/day of lupin lost P.V., those with 300 g/day were in maintenance and groups with 400 g/day gained body weight.