The French Lacaune dairy sheep breed: use in France and abroad in the last 40 years

Barillet, Francis F.; Marie, C.; Jacquin, M.; Lagriffoul, Gilles; Astruc, J. M.

doi:10.1016/s0301-6226(01)00237-8

Cited by 76 publications

(75 citation statements)

References 6 publications

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“…In Lacaune ewes, the whole milking period was not controlled and comparisons with previous studies are more difficult. However, our results were similar to those of Barillet et al (2001). The effects of melatonin on milk production in several ruminant species are contradictory.…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 69%

Does melatonin treatment during lactation influence milk production in Lacaune and Assaf ewes?

Abecia

Forcada

Palacín

et al. 2005

Span. j. agric. res.

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To determine whether treatment with melatonin during lactation harms milk production, two experiments were performed. In Experiment 1, 188 Lacaune ewes, lambed between September 12 and November 1 were used, and in Experiment 2, 124 Assaf ewes that lambed between November 14 and January 11. In Experiment 1, a first milk record was obtained on February 11, which was used to divide the animals into two groups, M and C. On March 11, a subcutaneous melatonin implant was administered to M animals (n = 93), and the rest (n = 95) corresponded to the Control Group (C). In Experiment 2, the first milk record was at weaning (January 5) and, on February 15, ewes were divided into M (n = 90) and C (n = 34). From that date until dry-off, monthly milk records were obtained. In both experiments, melatonin treatment significantly increased the number of lambs produced, and no detrimental effects on milk production were detected. In conclusion, the use of melatonin to improve reproduction in dairy sheep does not interfere with milk production. Moreover, an increase in the number of lambs produced, and the greater number of ewes that can be milked in the following period because of exogenous melatonin can provide economical benefits to farms.Additional key words: dairy sheep, fecundity, fertility, reproduction.Resumen ¿Afecta el tratamiento con melatonina durante el ordeño a la producción de leche en ovejas Lacaune y Assaf?Con objeto de determinar si el tratamiento con melatonina durante el ordeño afecta negativamente a la producción lechera, se llevaron a cabo dos experimentos. En el Experimento 1 se utilizaron 188 ovejas Lacaune, paridas entre el 12 de septiembre y el 1 de noviembre, mientras que en el Experimento 2 se usaron 124 ovejas Assaf paridas entre el 14 de noviembre y el 11 de enero. En el Experimento 1 se hizo un primer control lechero el 11 de febrero, que sirvió para dividir las ovejas en dos lotes: M y C. El 11 de marzo, los animales del Grupo M (n = 93) recibieron un implante subcutáneo de melatonina. El resto (n = 95) fue considerado como lote control (Grupo C). En el Experimento 2, el primer control se realizó al destete (5 de enero) y el 15 de febrero se implantó con melatonina al Grupo M (n = 90), siendo el resto el Grupo C (n = 34). Desde ese día y hasta el secado, se tomaron controles lecheros mensuales. En ambos experimentos, el tratamiento con melatonina incrementó significativamente el número de corderos nacidos, sin un detrimento de la producción de leche. En conclusión, el uso de implantes de melatonina para incrementar los parámetros reproductivos de ovejas lecheras durante el ordeño no interfiere con la producción de leche. Es más, el incremento del número de corderos producidos y el mayor número de ovejas que entrarán en ordeño tras el siguiente parto debido al tratamiento con melatonina proporcionan un importante beneficio a las explotaciones.Palabras clave adicionales: fecundidad, fertilidad, ovino lechero, reproducción.

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Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 69%

Does melatonin treatment during lactation influence milk production in Lacaune and Assaf ewes?

Abecia

Forcada

Palacín

et al. 2005

Span. j. agric. res.

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“…On the contrary, it was higher in comparison with Florina (Christodoulou et al, 1997) and Cine Type sheep (Karaca et al, 2000) classified as multipurpose breeds. Daily milk yield of Lacaune, although higher than daily milk yield of Tsigai and Improved Valachian, was lower than daily milk yield of comparable breeds reported in the literature -East Friesian (Hamann et al, 2004), Assaf (Pollot and Gootwine, 2004) and Lacaune (Barillet et al, 2001;Berger, 2004). The lower milk yield of Lacaune kept in Slovakia is probably a result of different feeding level and insufficient adaptability to different management and environmental conditions that do not allow the outstanding genetic potential to be manifested.…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 57%

Factors affecting milk yield and ewe's lactation curves estimated with test-day models

Oravcová¹,

Margetín²,

Peškovičová³

et al. 2006

Czech J. Anim. Sci.

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Test-day records of purebred Tsigai, Improved Valachian and Lacaune ewes were analysed with a general linear model in order to investigate the effects of flock-test day, lactation number, days in milk, litter size and month of lambing. In total, 121 576 (Tsigai), 247 902 (Improved Valachian) and 2 196 (Lacaune) test-day records gathered over the period [1995][1996][1997][1998][1999][2000][2001][2002][2003][2004][2005] were included in the analyses. Average daily milk yields were 0.604 ± 0.279 kg (Tsigai), 0.595 ± 0.243 kg (Improved Valachian) and 1.053 ± 0.475 kg (Lacaune). The significant (P < 0.05) or highly significant (P < 0.01) effects of flock-test day, lactation number (except for Lacaune), days in milk, litter size (except for Lacaune) and month of lambing (either fixed effects or covariates) tested by Fisher's tests were shown. The model explained about 50% of daily milk yield variability, with coefficients of determination as follows: 0.479 for Improved Valachian; 0.487 for Tsigai; 0.537 for Lacaune. Differences in estimated least-squares means were tested using multiple-range Scheffe's tests. A lower daily milk yield was found for the first lactation, single litter and lactations starting in March in comparison with daily milk yield for the second and third lactations (except for Lacaune), multiple litter and lactations starting in January and February (except for Improved Valachian). AliSchaeffer regression adopted for sheep was used for the fitting of lactation curve according to breed.

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“…This breed has become one of the world's high-yielding milk ovine breeds, with average daily milk yields of 1.59 l and a total milk yield of 270 l over a 165-day lactation period (Barillet et al, 2001). In Spain, our group has observed mean milk yields of 448 l/ewe in an intensively managed flock, with a mean lactation length of 238 days (Hernandez et al, 2011).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 77%

Accurate mathematical models to describe the lactation curve of Lacaune dairy sheep under intensive management

Elvira¹,

Hernández²,

Cuesta

et al. 2013

Animal

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Although the intensive production system of Lacaune dairy sheep is the only profitable method for producers outside of the French Roquefort area, little is known about this type of systems. This study evaluated yield records of 3677 Lacaune sheep under intensive management between 2005 and 2010 in order to describe the lactation curve of this breed and to investigate the suitability of different mathematical functions for modeling this curve. A total of 7873 complete lactations during a 40-week lactation period corresponding to 201 281 pieces of weekly yield data were used. First, five mathematical functions were evaluated on the basis of the residual mean square, determination coefficient, Durbin Watson and Runs Test values. The two better models were found to be Pollott Additive and fractional polynomial (FP). In the second part of the study, the milk yield, peak of milk yield, day of peak and persistency of the lactations were calculated with Pollot Additive and FP models and compared with the real data. The results indicate that both models gave an extremely accurate fit to Lacaune lactation curves in order to predict milk yields (P 5 0.871), with the FP model being the best choice to provide a good fit to an extensive amount of real data and applicable on farm without specific statistical software. On the other hand, the interpretation of the parameters of the Pollott Additive function helps to understand the biology of the udder of the Lacaune sheep. The characteristics of the Lacaune lactation curve and milk yield are affected by lactation number and length. The lactation curves obtained in the present study allow the early identification of ewes with low milk yield potential, which will help to optimize farm profitability.

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The French Lacaune dairy sheep breed: use in France and abroad in the last 40 years

Cited by 76 publications

References 6 publications

Does melatonin treatment during lactation influence milk production in Lacaune and Assaf ewes?

Does melatonin treatment during lactation influence milk production in Lacaune and Assaf ewes?

Factors affecting milk yield and ewe's lactation curves estimated with test-day models

Accurate mathematical models to describe the lactation curve of Lacaune dairy sheep under intensive management

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