The Effect of Age of Dam and Birth Rank on the Reproductive Performance of Ewes as One- and Two-Year-Olds
| Autor: | Paul R. Kenyon, Steve T. Morris, Rene A. Corner-Thomas, E. J. Pettigrew, Rebecca Hickson, Emmanuelle Haslin, Hugh T. Blair |
|---|---|
| Jazyk: | angličtina |
| Rok vydání: | 2021 |
| Předmět: |
Litter (animal)
Offspring media_common.quotation_subject animal diseases birth rank Biology Article reproduction dam age Animal science parasitic diseases lcsh:Zoology Weaning lcsh:QL1-991 media_common lcsh:Veterinary medicine General Veterinary Domestic sheep reproduction respiratory system Breed breeding lcsh:SF600-1100 Animal Science and Zoology Flock Reproduction ewe lamb mature ewe |
| Zdroj: | Animals, Vol 11, Iss 770, p 770 (2021) Animals : an Open Access Journal from MDPI Animals Volume 11 Issue 3 |
| ISSN: | 2076-2615 |
| Popis: | Currently, 30–43% of New Zealand sheep farmers breed their ewe lambs, but few retain the offspring as replacements for their flock. No difference in lamb production as a yearling among singletons and twins born to ewe lambs and twins born to mature ewes has been reported, provided the ewe lambs had reached the 60–65% of their likely mature weight prior to breeding at seven to eight months of age. The aim of this experiment was to determine the lamb production from singletons and twins born to ewe lambs and twins born to mature ewes during their first two years of lambing. The experiment included 8-month-old ewes born as twins to mature ewes (M2, n = 135), singletons born to ewe lambs (L1, n = 135), and twins born to ewe lambs (L2, n = 88), bred during the same period to the same rams, over two years. The efficiency of lamb production (total litter weight at weaning divided by the pre-breeding weight of the ewe, for all ewes presented for breeding) after two years of production was not significantly different (p > 0.05) among the groups (0.40 ± 0.02, 0.39 ± 0.02, and 0.39 ± 0.03, for M2, L1, and L2, respectively). |
| Databáze: | OpenAIRE |
| Externí odkaz: |
|