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The Effect of Fat-Free Diets on Lambs and Goats

Cornell University

Abstract

Weanling lambs were fed a fat-free diet for seven months without showing any skin lesions or other symptoms typical of a fat deficiency. Although analysis of rumen contents from these sheep indicated the presence of traces of linoleic and linolenic acids, the concentration of these acids declined as the experiment progressed. No arachidonic acid was detected in the rumen contents of sheep receiving fat-free or corn oil diets.

Several bacteria were isolated from the rumen of a cow consuming a natural diet and grown on fat-free media. None of these bacteria were found to synthesize any of the "essential fatty acids".

A second experiment was undertaken to determine if two-day old lambs and goats require a dietary source of fat. Lambs which received a fat-free synthetic milk became weak and died within three to seven weeks while controls were raised successfully on the same milk with 2 percent added lard. Kids receiving fat-free diets showed symptoms identical to those displayed by lambs but died within one to three weeks. Other kids survived on a milk containing as little as 0.25 percent lard or 0.36 percent linoleic acid but not on a milk containing 0.05 percent lard.

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				G. Hughes and R.A. Stewart Linoleic Acid : An Essential Nutrient: Its Content in Infant Formulas and Precooked Cereals Clinical Pediatrics, October 1, 1963; 2(10): 555 - 561. [PDF]