From birth to colostrum: early steps leading to lamb survival

Nowak, Raymond; Poindron, Pascal

doi:10.1051/rnd:2006023

Cited by 252 publications

(180 citation statements)

References 81 publications

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“…In agreement with previous studies (Holst et al, 2002;Sawalha et al, 2007), results of this study indicate a quadratic relationship between lamb birth weight and mortality, with lighter and heavier lambs at highest risk of mortality, emphasising the importance of optimising, rather than maximising, birth weight (Everett-Hincks and Dodds, 2008). The optimum birth weight range has been suggested to lie between 3 and 5.5 kg (Dalton et al, 1980;Nowak and Poindron, 2006;Casellas et al, 2007) for both single-born and multiple-born lambs, which supports the findings from this study. The increased mortality risk of lighter lambs was observed throughout the study (i.e.…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 91%

Effects of sire breed on ewe dystocia, lamb survival and weaned lamb output in hill sheep systems

Speijers

Carson

Dawson

et al. 2010

Animal

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A study was carried out on six hill farms, located in the main hill regions of Northern Ireland, over three breeding seasons to investigate the effect of sire breed on ewe dystocia, lamb survival and weaned lamb output. On each farm, groups of 26 to 40 purebred Scottish Blackface ewes (n 5 3174) were crossed with Blackface, Swaledale, North Country Cheviot, Lleyn and Texel sires by natural service (year 1) and artificial insemination (years 2 and 3). Each of the mating groups was initially balanced for ewe age, live weight and condition score, and a total of 15 sires of each breed were used over the 3 years. In total, 2272 ewes were recorded at lambing, producing 3451 lambs, over the 3 years. Sire breed had a significant effect (P , 0.001) on lamb birth weight with Blackface and Swaledale the lowest and Texel the highest. The proportion of ewes with dystocia was higher with Texel sires compared with Lleyn, Swaledale and Blackface sires (P , 0.05). Ewes mated to Cheviot sires had more dystocia than those mated to Blackface and Swaledale sires (P , 0.05), while ewes mated to Lleyn sire breed had more dystocia (P , 0.05) than those mated to Blackface sire breed. Most of the incidence of dystocia was attributable to increased lamb birth weight (P , 0.001), and some to litter size (P , 0.05). Swaledale, Cheviot, Lleyn and Texel sire breeds increased the incidence of malpresentations (P , 0.05). Lamb live weight at weaning was higher with Texel-and Cheviot-and Lleyn-sired lambs compared with Blackface-and Swaledale-sired lambs (P , 0.01). The level of lamb mortality at birth was not affected by sire breed. However, lamb mortality at weaning was lower for Lleyn-sired lambs compared with the other lamb genotypes (P , 0.05). These results indicate that the use of sires from larger breeds, such as Lleyn and Texel, within the Blackface ewe flocks can increase lamb output, with no apparent detrimental effects on lamb mortality or ewe survival, but increased assistance at lambing will be required.

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Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 91%

Effects of sire breed on ewe dystocia, lamb survival and weaned lamb output in hill sheep systems

Speijers

Carson

Dawson

et al. 2010

Animal

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“…The extent of pre-weaning mortality is a complex issue. It is influenced by the lamb capability for survival, the ewe's maternal ability, and to management practices at lambing and during the rearing period (Nowak and Poindron, 2006;Sawalha et al, 2007). The fact that birth weight of lambs was similar among genotypes suggests that factors other than birth weight were involved in the deaths of lambs.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Growth and pre-weaning mortality of Katahdin lamb crosses

Mellado

Macías

Avendaño

et al. 2016

Rev Colomb Cienc Pecu

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SummaryBackground: Katahdin breed sheep is highly disseminated in Mexico. This breed and its crosses have recently gained attention among sheep producers. However, research with crosses between Katahdin and other meat breeds is limited. Objective: to evaluate the genetic and non-genetic factors affecting growth and mortality rate of crossbred lambs from Katahdin ewes fecundated with breeds specialized for meat production. Methods: crossbred lambs (n = 152) from Katahdin ewes sired with Hampshire (KH; n = 43), Texel (KT; n = 53) or Charolais (KCH; n = 56) were evaluated under intensive management conditions. The effects of genotype and non-genetic factors on birth weight, weaning weight, pre-weaning daily weight gain, and mortality rate were determined. Results: breed differences were not detected for birth weight (4 ± 1.1, 4.3 ± 0.9 and 4 ± 1.1 Kg for KCH, KH, KT, respectively), nor for the 60-d weaning weight (20.2 ± 4.3, 20.9 ± 4.3, 18.2 ± 4.2 Kg for KCH, KH, KT, respectively). Weight of lambs did not differ significantly between sexes, but it decreased (p<0.05) with increased litter size (weaning weight at 60 days for single, twins and triplets was 24.5 ± 2.6, 19.2 ± 3.5, and 14.3 ± 3.8 Kg, respectively). Pre-weaning mortality of KH lambs was 13.3% and it was significantly lower than that of the other genotypes (24.5 and 39.3% for KT and KCH, respectively). Conclusion: inclusion of Charolais, Hampshire or Texel rams in Katahdin flocks results in similar lamb weaning weight, but Hampshire-sired progeny excels regarding pre-weaning survival.

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“…The limited number of animals in each class of animals, especially to study the possible relations between behaviour at parturition and performance in the two-choice test of discrimination, did not permit a full investigation of Terrazas, Robledo, Serafín, Soto, Herná ndez and Poindron these possible interactions. Nonetheless, given the importance of colostrum ingestion for filial bonding in sheep (Nowak and Poindron, 2006) and the impact of nutrition on initial colostrum production (Banchero et al, 2006), undernutrition during pregnancy is likely to have more marked consequences in multiple-bearing than in singlebearing mothers. Therefore, future studies should focus more on the effects of undernutrition and strategic feeding in multiple-bearing does, as they are the most likely to be affected in terms of both production and welfare.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Differential effects of undernutrition during pregnancy on the behaviour of does and their kids at parturition and on the establishment of mutual recognition

Terrazas

Robledo

Serafín

et al. 2009

Animal

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We investigated whether undernutrition during the second half of pregnancy impaired the behaviour of does and their kids at parturition and early mutual recognition. Twenty-two control and 22 underfed mixed-breed, multiparous dairy goats were used, together with their respective kids (control,n= 31: nine singles, 16 twins and six triplets; underfed,n= 32: 11 singles, 18 twins and three triplets). Undernutrition involved limiting protein and energy intake at 70% of the nutritional requirements for maintenance and foetal growth from day 70 of pregnancy until birth. The behaviour of mothers and their two first-born kids was observed for 90 min from the birth of each kid. Maternal olfactory recognition of the kid was assessed at 4 hpost partumby testing selective nursing behaviour. Non-olfactory recognition was assessed at 8 h in a two-choice test excluding olfactory cues. In kids, preference for the mother was assessed in a two-choice test at either 12 or 24 hpost partum. Bodyweight of does and kids were lower in the underfed group up to 2 weekspost partum. At parturition, licking, maternal bleating frequency and latency to nursing did not differ between nutritional groups. Control kids were faster than underfed kids to stand, search for and reach the udder, but underfed kids bleated more and tended to spend more time at the udder. Both control and underfed does accepted their own kid and rejected the alien in the selectivity test at 4 h. In contrast, at 8 hpost partum, only control goats showed a significant preference for their own kid in the non-olfactory recognition test. Both control and underfed kids showed a preference for their own mother at 12 and 24 h and undernutrition during pregnancy had little influence on the performance of kids. However, 12 h-old underfed kids tended to be less active than control kids and visited their own mothers less than control kids. There were no significant correlations between the behaviour of the mother or of the kid at parturition and their performance in the discrimination tests. Overall, undernutrition in the second half of pregnancy appears to be more detrimental for the behaviour of the mother than for the kid. Furthermore, it has more impact on the establishment of maternal non-olfactory recognition than on maternal care at parturition or the establishment of maternal selectivity.

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From birth to colostrum: early steps leading to lamb survival

Cited by 252 publications

References 81 publications

Effects of sire breed on ewe dystocia, lamb survival and weaned lamb output in hill sheep systems

Effects of sire breed on ewe dystocia, lamb survival and weaned lamb output in hill sheep systems

Growth and pre-weaning mortality of Katahdin lamb crosses

Differential effects of undernutrition during pregnancy on the behaviour of does and their kids at parturition and on the establishment of mutual recognition

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