title: Effects of feeding ponderosa pine needles during pregnancy: comparative studies with bison, cattle, goats, and sheep.
abstract: Four experiments were conducted to determine the effect of feeding dried pine needles (Pinus ponderosa; PN) on the abortion rate of ruminants. In Exp. 1, cattle were fed 5.4 kg of PN daily for 21 d starting at 116, 167, 215, or 254 d of pregnancy. The PN did not cause abortions when started at 116 d; thereafter, the percentage of cows that aborted increased linearly, and the interval to abortion decreased linearly (both P < .01); all cows fed PN beginning at 254 d aborted. In Exp. 2, cattle were fed .7, 1.4, or 2.7 kg of PN for 21 d or 2.7 kg for 1 or 3 d. Sheep and goats were fed .8 and .5 kg of PN, respectively, starting at 121 d of pregnancy. The PN induced some abortions in cattle when fed for 1 (11%) or 3 (30%) d, but the abortion rate was greater (P < .01) when the PN were fed for longer periods of time (80, 90, and 100% aborted in 19, 17, and 10 d for .7-, 1.4-, and 2.7-kg doses, respectively). No goats or sheep aborted in response to PN feeding. Pregnancy rates during the next breeding season for cows that aborted in response to the PN were slightly higher than rates for control cows (94 vs 87%). In Exp. 3, buffalo (Bison bison) and cattle were fed 2.25 kg of PN from the same collection. Abortions were induced in all buffalo and cattle that were fed PN.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)
authors.affiliation: Fort Keogh Livestock and Range Research Laboratory, ARS, USDA, Miles City, MT 59301.
authors.forename: R E
authors.initials: RE
authors.lastname: Short
authors.forename: L F
authors.initials: LF
authors.lastname: James
authors.forename: K E
authors.initials: KE
authors.lastname: Panter
authors.forename: R B
authors.initials: RB
authors.lastname: Staigmiller
authors.forename: R A
authors.initials: RA
authors.lastname: Bellows
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Malcolm
authors.forename: S P
authors.initials: SP
authors.lastname: Ford
mesh_terms: D000034:Abortion, Veterinary / Q000209:etiology*; D000821:Animal Feed; D000818:Animals; D016164:Bison; D002417:Cattle; D002418:Cattle Diseases / Q000209:etiology; D004435:Eating; D005260:Female; D015511:Goat Diseases / Q000209:etiology; D006041:Goats; D041604:Pinus ponderosa; D010939:Plant Poisoning / Q000150:complications / Q000662:veterinary*; D011247:Pregnancy; D011897:Random Allocation; D012418:Ruminants; D012756:Sheep; D012757:Sheep Diseases / Q000209:etiology; D013997:Time Factors