Summary
This controlled trial examined whether feeding chicory–plantain silage and supplementing selenium yeast could modulate the inflammatory and production responses of early-lactating sheep to experimental mastitis caused by Streptococcus uberis. Although the intramammary infection model successfully induced subclinical mastitis with systemic inflammation, neither the alternative silage nor selenium supplementation significantly altered the ewes' response to infection, likely owing to insufficient concentrations of secondary compounds in the chicory–plantain silage.
UK applicability
The findings may be of limited direct relevance to UK dairy sheep systems, as the study used Polypay ewes (primarily North American breed) and concentrated on nutritional interventions at concentrations that proved ineffective. However, the negative result on selenium supplementation aligns with existing knowledge about selenium requirements in ruminants and may inform mineral nutrition strategies in British sheep dairy operations.
Key measures
Milk somatic cell count, milk yield, milk components, rectal temperature, feed intake, water intake, blood ceruloplasmin, haptoglobin, myeloperoxidase, paraoxonase, zinc, advanced oxidation protein products, hematocrit, pro-inflammatory cytokines
Outcomes reported
The study evaluated milk somatic cell count, milk yield, milk composition changes, systemic inflammatory markers (rectal temperature, feed/water intake, blood biomarkers), and immune response following experimental intramammary infection with Streptococcus uberis in lactating ewes. Outcomes were compared across two silage types (chicory–plantain versus grass) with and without selenium yeast supplementation.
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