OVINE KETOSIS. Ill.- THE EFFECT OF STARVATION ON THE BLOOD SUGAR AND KETONE BODY LEVELS OF WETHERS

The ketoses of preparturient ewes and lactating cows have long been associated with a reduced food intake coupled with a failure of the compensatory gluconeogenic mechanism controlled by the adrenal cortex (Dyer, Roberts, Blampied & Fincher, 1953). I n 1941, Groenewald, Graf, Bekker, Malan & Clark reported the production of typical pregnancy disease in heavily pregnant ewes by a sudden reduction in food intake, but subsequent attempts to repeat these resu lts both at Onderstepoort and elsewhere, have not been very successful. In order to clarify the role played by starvation per se, it was decided to assess its effect on non-pregnant sheep.