Use of kaolinite clay to promote productivity of Ouled-Djellal ewes in periparturient period

In order to promote animal performance in difficult areas, and to find an alternative to antibiotics for ruminants, twelve adult ewes of the Ouled-Djellal breed in 5th mo of gestation were alloted equally in two experimental boxes to quantify the effect of kaolinite clay on the dynamics of the body condition of ewes, lamb growth and milk production up to 70 days post-parturition. The experiment was conducted at the demonstration farm of the Technical Institute of Breedings of Ain M'lila Algeria. Oat hay dominated the basic ration with a limited distribution of barley straw. The control group (C0) received a complement with a control concentrate (without kaolinite), however, the other group (CL) received the same concentrate added with 5% of kaolinite. The data collected were subjected to statistical treatment based on the T test of Student and U test of Mann Whitney to visualize the differences existing between the variables studied using the STATISTICA V.6 program. The statistical analysis showed that the sheep of both groups had similar curve of body weight and body reserves dynamics from the 5 th mo of pregnancy until 1st mo of suckling. Regarding milk production, milk quality was detected unchangeable in the presence of kaolinite clay, moreover, ewes of CL groupe produced significantly more of milk (+29.4% ; p<0.05) than those of control. Besides, the lambs mothered with kaolinite had faster growth with significant highest average daily gain compared to those of the control (+74% ; p<0.05), consequently, they were significantly heavier (+41% ; p<0.05) at 4 wk and at 70 days postlambing (+57% ; p<0.05) compared to those of control. Our results showed that the kaolinite clay can effectively have a role of additive growth promoter, however, to draw the maximum benefis from it, it is preferable to lead other in-vivo studies, preceeded by other in-vitro studies to characterize its effect on the dynamics of the ruminal ecosystem and animal performance with increasing doses.