Muhammad Rizwan Khan, Muhammad Zaman Zahid, Warda Gill, Junaid Nadeem, Muhammad Azhar, Huma Kalsoom, Amna Fayyaz, Muhammad Mujahid Khalid, Muhammad Abdur Rahman, Ammara Aslam, Ali Haider, Aftab Ahmed, Kiran Saleem, Mubarik Mehmood, Abdur Rahman
SUMMARY
The purpose of this study was to establish and implement a successful hand-rearing protocol for Punjab urial (Ovis vignei punjabiensis) lambs. This study involved three nutritional protocols applied to three groups of urial lambs, comprising three lambs in each group. In the first protocol, lambs were fed sheep milk, diluted tetra milk pack, fresh lucerne, and parched gram at different age levels. In the second protocol, milk was started at 25% of body weight, which was then gradually reduced until weaning at 13 weeks of age. Lucerne hay was also introduced on the 5th day of age. The third protocol involved feeding tetra-packed milk from the 7th day of age at 30% of body weight, which was gradually reduced to 3% until weaning at 13 weeks of age. Lucerne hay-based pelleted total mixed ration was also fed at 1.8% of body weight, which increased to 4% of body weight until weaning. Weekly weight gain, average daily gain, daily feed intake, and weekly feed conversion ratio of animals were recorded. Prophylactic treatment for helminths and health issues such as diarrhea and lameness was effectively managed. Unfortunately, animals died at one month of age due to diarrhea and digestive issues in the first protocol. However, all animals survived, albeit with poor growth performance, in the second protocol. In the third protocol, all animals survived with better growth performance. This study proved the role of balanced nutrition, regular growth monitoring, and early veterinary intervention in the survival of zoo animals.
Keywords: Urial, Hand-rearing, Wildlife, Conservation