Associations between lamb growth to weaning and dam udder and teat scores

Griffiths, K. J.; Ridler, Anne; Compton, Chris; Corner-Thomas, René A.; Kenyon, P. R.

doi:10.1080/00480169.2019.1596524

Cited by 14 publications

(8 citation statements)

References 16 publications

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“…However these scores do not provide an indication of future performance, therefore further investigation into the impact of the present season's score on future seasons' lamb survival is required. These results should also be considered in association with the results of our companion paper examining relationships between udder traits and lamb growth rates to weaning (Griffiths et al 2019).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 65%

Investigating associations between lamb survival to weaning and dam udder and teat scores

Griffiths

Ridler

Compton

et al. 2019

New Zealand Veterinary Journal

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Aims: To examine a range of udder and teat traits in Romney ewes and to describe the frequency with which different scores occur, and to investigate associations between lamb survival to weaning and ewe udder and teat scores. Methods: Mixed-age, mature Romney ewes (n = 1,009) were enrolled from a commercial sheep flock located in the Wellington region of New Zealand in January 2017. A range of udder and teat traits were scored in all ewes, using visual assessment and palpation, at pre-mating (February), pre-lambing (October), docking (November) and weaning (January 2018). During the lambing period each newborn lamb was matched to its dam, with lamb mortalities recorded until weaning. Associations between udder and teat scores and lamb survival to weaning were examined using multivariable models for each udder-scoring time. Results: Records from 981 ewes and 1,822 live-born lambs were included in analyses, with 252 (13.8%) lambs recorded dead between birth and weaning. Lambs born to ewes with pre-mating udder scores of lump or hard had 4.9 (95% CI = 2.6-9.6, p = 0.003) and 3.0 (95% CI = 1.5-6.1, p < 0.001) increased odds of failure to survive to weaning, respectively, compared with lambs whose dams had normal udder scores. Lambs born to ewes with mastitis at docking or weaning had 3.0 (95% CI = 1.5-5.9, p = 0.001) and 3.9 (95% CI = 1.3-11.6, p = 0.013) increased odds of failure to survive to weaning, respectively, compared with lambs whose dams did not have mastitis. Offspring of dams with asymmetrical udders at docking or weaning had 3.3 (95% CI = 2.2-4.9, p < 0.001) and 2.5 (95% CI = 1.5-4.0, p < 0.001) increased odds of failure to survive, respectively, compared with lambs whose dams had symmetrical udders. Conclusion and Clinical Relevance: Pre-mating udder palpation scores of hard or lump were associated with increased odds of lambs not surviving to weaning compared with normal scores, and could be used to identify ewes that are likely to be unsuitable for retaining in the breeding flock. Farmers could also use clinical mastitis scores and udder symmetry scores at docking or weaning to identify ewes whose lambs had greater odds of failure to survive to weaning. However these scores do not provide an indication of future performance, therefore further investigation into the impact of the present season's score on future seasons' lamb survival is required.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 65%

Investigating associations between lamb survival to weaning and dam udder and teat scores

Griffiths

Ridler

Compton

et al. 2019

New Zealand Veterinary Journal

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“…It can be then suggested that the S. epidermidis overload during suckling may affect the development of rats in the long term. In this regard, a study by Griffiths et al reported lower growth rates in the offspring of dams with clinical mastitis at weaning ( 31 ) however this finding is not in agreement with the increase observed at 42 days.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 82%

Staphylococcus epidermidis’ Overload During Suckling Impacts the Immune Development in Rats

et al. 2022

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Mastitis is an inflammation of the mammary gland occurring in 3–33% of the breastfeeding mothers. The majority of mastitis cases have an infectious etiology. More than 75% of infectious mastitis are caused by Staphylococcus epidermidis and Staphylococcus aureus and involves breast milk microbiota alteration, which, may have an impact in lactating infant. The aim of this study was to analyze in rats during the suckling period and later in life the impact of a high and a low overload of Staphylococcus epidermidis, similarly as it occurs during the clinical and the subclinical mastitis, respectively. From days 2 to 21 of life, suckling rats were daily supplemented with low (Ls group) or high (Hs group) dose of S. epidermidis. Body weight and fecal humidity were periodically recorded. On days 21 and 42 of life, morphometry, hematological variables, intestinal gene expression, immunoglobulin (Ig) and cytokine profile and spleen cells’ phenotype were measured. Although no differences were found in body weight, Ls and Hs groups showed higher body length and lower fecal humidity. Both doses induced small changes in lymphocytes subpopulations, reduced the plasma levels of Ig and delayed the Th1/Th2 balance causing a bias toward the Th2 response. No changes were found in cytokine concentration. The low dose affected the Tc cells intestinal homing pattern whereas the high dose had an impact on the hematological variables causing leukocytosis and lymphocytosis and also influenced the intestinal barrier maturation. In conclusion, both interventions with Staphylococcus epidermidis overload during suckling, affects the immune system development in short and long term.

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“…Effect of treatment (Control n = 24 vs. Heavy n = 24) on the least square means (95% confidence limits) of udder palpation, the percentage (95% CL) of asymmetric udders and least square means ± SE of udder height, circumference, volume during pregnancy (P107), early lactation (L29) and weaning (L100) The difference observed in udder palpation score was seen only during pregnancy and was relatively small suggesting the udders had a score that was considered 'normal' (Griffiths et al 2019). The lack of difference in lamb growth and morphological traits between treatment groups suggests that greater liveweight gains prior to puberty had no impact on mammary gland morphological development and on the growth of their lambs.…”

Section: In Vitro Gas Production Of Hydroponic Green Forage From Corn Oat and Barley Seedmentioning

confidence: 98%

“…Udder scoring, morphology, live weights of ewe lambs, and subsequently their progeny were undertaken at 107 days of pregnancy (P107), 29 days of lactation (L29) and at weaning (L100). The scores were adapted from Griffiths et al (2019) and included udder and teat palpations, udder depth score and udder symmetry. Udder palpation scores 1, 2, 3 were diffuse soft, diffuse firm and soft consistency with nodule(s) and scores 4 and 5 being firm with nodule(s) and diffuse hard consistency.…”

Section: In Vitro Gas Production Of Hydroponic Green Forage From Corn Oat and Barley Seedmentioning

confidence: 99%

Abstracts from the Proceedings of the 33rd Biennial Conference of the Australian Association of Animal Sciences

2021

Anim. Prod. Sci.

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During the career of Professor Eric Underwood, the feeding of livestock was closely linked to the availability of local resources. He solved problems by making the connections between the nutrient content of soil and livestock health, but while his research had global impact, I am sure he didn't foresee either the scale of the global feed trade or the environmental impact that livestock systems would have on the world 50 years on from his retirement in 1970.The livestock industry in 2020 is very different from what it was in 1970: global meat production is ~336 million tonnes per year (FAOSTAT averaged over 2016, 17 and 18) compared to the 92 million tonnes produced globally 50 years before. In Australia, the proportional contribution (by weight) of sheep and goat meat to total meat production has decreased from 35 to 16% over that time period and the annual import (mainly from Argentina) of soybean cake in 2016-18 averaged 743,000 tonnes out of a total of 895,000 tonnes of imported feed. Thus, even with Australia's land mass, feeding its livestock sector has a long-range footprint.As we know, livestock production also has global impact through the emission of greenhouse gases (GHGs) into the atmosphere -the relationship also influenced by diet. Gerber et al. (2013) published an extensive assessment of the global contribution of emissions of GHGs from the livestock sector in 2013: beef and cattle milk production accounted for 41 and 20% of the emissions, while pig meat and poultry meat and eggs contributed 9 and 8% respectively. The expansion of pasture and feed crops into forests accounted for 9%.Awareness of the negative environmental impacts of livestock production systems started to become an important topic for research in the 1990s, as policies to limit the environmental impact of agriculture were introduced (e.g. Nitrate Vulnerable Zones in the European Union). The publication of Livestock's Long Shadow in 2006 raised global awareness of the long-range environmental impacts of livestock production systems and since then millions of dollars have been invested in quantifying those impacts. Looking at agricultural production simply through an environmental lens is not sufficient though, since global agreement to the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development with 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). These goals are to be delivered as a package and include 'zero hunger' and 'economic growth', both goals to which livestock production makes a significant contribution (Mehrabi et al. 2020).Research questions thus need to address the potential consequences on all goals, of pathways for making progress towards individual goals. Eric Underwood solved animal health problems through his research, providing solutions based on nutritional knowledge. In the last 50 years animal science has added greatly to that knowledge and supported the development and implementation of technologies which have facilitated the 3.5-fold increase in global meat production. Agriculture and trade policies have also played a significant ro...

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Associations between lamb growth to weaning and dam udder and teat scores

Cited by 14 publications

References 16 publications

Investigating associations between lamb survival to weaning and dam udder and teat scores

Investigating associations between lamb survival to weaning and dam udder and teat scores

Staphylococcus epidermidis’ Overload During Suckling Impacts the Immune Development in Rats

Abstracts from the Proceedings of the 33rd Biennial Conference of the Australian Association of Animal Sciences

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