J Anim Physiol Anim Nutr. 2018;102:e299–e308. wileyonlinelibrary.com/journal/jpn | e299 © 2017 Blackwell Verlag GmbH Received: 13 July 2016 | Accepted: 9 April 2017 DOI: 10.1111/jpn.12742 ORIGINAL ARTICLE Effects of maternal treatment with β-hydroxy- β-metylbutyrate and 2-oxoglutaric acid on femur development in offspring of minks of the standard dark brown type E. Tomaszewska 1 | P. Dobrowolski 2 | I. Świetlicka 3 | S. Muszyński 3 | K. Kostro 4 | A. Jakubczak 5 | I. Taszkun 6 | A. Żmuda 4 | K. Rycerz 7 | T. Blicharski 8 | J. Jaworska-Adamu 7 1 Department of Animal Physiology, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, University of Life Sciences in Lublin, Lublin, Poland 2 Department of Comparative Anatomy and Anthropology, Maria Curie-Skłodowska University, Lublin, Poland 3 Department of Physics, Faculty of Production Engineering, University of Life Sciences in Lublin, Lublin, Poland 4 Department of Epizootiology and Clinic of Infectious Diseases, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, University of Life Sciences, Lublin, Poland 5 Department of Biological Basis of Animal Production, Faculty of Biology and Animal Breeding, University of Life Sciences in Lublin, Lublin, Poland 6 Sub-department of Clinical Diagnostics and Veterinary Dermatology, Department and Clinic of Internal Medicine, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, University of Life Sciences in Lublin, Lublin, Poland 7 Department of Animal Anatomy and Histology, University of Life Sciences in Lublin, Lublin, Poland 8 Chair and Department of Rehabilitation and Orthopaedics, Medical University in Lublin, Lublin, Poland Correspondence E. Tomaszewska, Department of Animal Physiology, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, University of Life Sciences in Lublin, Lublin, Poland. Email: ewaRST@interia.pl Funding information Ministry of Science and Higher Education, Poland, Grant/Award Number: WKB/DS/5, BS-01-1200-0000, TKF/DS/4 Summary The aim of the study was to evaluate the effect of the diet, mother type and sex of the offspring on the mechanical and geometric parameters of long bones as well as bone tissue density in minks. Primiparous and multiparous dams were supplemented with β-hydroxy β-methylbutyrate (a metabolite of leucine, at the daily dosage of 0.02 g/kg of body weight) and/or 2-oxoglutaric acid (a precursor of glutamine, at the daily dos- age of 0.4 g/kg of body weight) during gestation. The diet did not influence bone tis- sue density and the length of the humerus. An increase in the length of the femur was noted in male offspring delivered by multiparous dams. The diet resulted in an increase in the weight of the humerus in males from multiparous dams and a decrease in off- spring from primiparous dams. Heavier femora were noted in male offspring delivered by both types of dams. The maximum elastic strength of the humerus was higher in the offspring delivered by multiparous than primiparous dams, irrespective of the off- spring sex. The diet resulted in reduction in the ultimate strength of the femur in the male offspring delivered by primiparous dams. Only females born by multiparous dams, irrespective of the diet, showed a significant increase in the cross-sectional area of the humerus, while a significant decline was noted in males delivered by multipa- rous dams and in all the offspring delivered by primiparous dams. An increase in the cross-sectional area of the femur was noted in the offspring delivered by multiparous dams, while reduction was observed in the offspring delivered by primiparous dams. These results have shown for the first time that the presence of β-hydroxy-β- methylbutyrate or 2-oxoglutaric acid in the diet of pregnant primiparous or multipa- rous dams unambiguously affects the geometry and mechanical properties of offspring’s long bones. KEYWORDS β-hydroxy β-methylbutyrate, 2-oxoglutaric acid, bone, mink