Management of Body Condition Score between Pregnancy Scanning and Lamb Marking Impacts the Survival of Triplet-Bearing Ewes and Their Lambs
Abstract
:Simple Summary
Abstract
1. Introduction
2. Materials and Methods
2.1. Sites and Experimental Design
2.2. Animal and Paddock Measurements
2.3. Pasture Measurements
2.4. Weather Conditions during Lambing
2.5. Statistical Analysis
3. Results
3.1. Ewe Body Condition Score
3.2. Effects of Treatment and Ewe Breed on Lamb Survival to Marking
3.3. Effects of BCS at Lambing and BCS Change between Pregnancy Scanning and Pre-Lambing on Lamb Survival to Marking
3.4. Effects of Treatment and Ewe Breed on Ewe Mortality to Marking
3.5. Effect of BCS Change between Pregnancy Scanning and Pre-Lambing on Ewe Mortality to Marking
3.6. Effect of BCS Change between Pregnancy Scanning and Pre-Lambing on the Probability of the Ewe Lactating at Marking
4. Discussion
5. Conclusions
Author Contributions
Funding
Institutional Review Board Statement
Informed Consent Statement
Data Availability Statement
Acknowledgments
Conflicts of Interest
References
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Breed | BCS Treatment | Total Ewes | n Sites | n Mobs | Mob Size | Stocking Rate | Shelter 1 |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Maternal | High | 1135 | 12 | 28 | 42 | 4.1 | 16 |
(21–98) | (2.5–7.5) | (0–60) | |||||
Low | 1019 | 23 | 43 | 4.4 | 13 | ||
(21–99) | (2.9–8.3) | (0–75) | |||||
Merino | High | 545 | 7 | 22 | 25 | 3.5 | 18 |
(11–50) | (0.1–9.5) | (0–50) | |||||
Low | 551 | 22 | 25 | 3.5 | 17 | ||
(12–51) | (0.1–9.1) | (1–50) |
Timepoint 1 | Maternal | Merino | |||
---|---|---|---|---|---|
High BCS | Low BCS | High BCS | Low BCS | ||
FOO | Pre-lambing | 1541 | 1492 | 1412 | 1423 |
Marking | 1798 | 1813 | 1875 | 1784 | |
Legume | Pre-lambing | 29.4 | 30.1 | 36.6 | 33.1 |
Marking | 33.2 | 29.9 | 36.0 | 36.7 |
Maternal | Merino | l.s.d. between Breeds | l.s.d. within Breeds | p-Value 1 | |||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
High BCS | Low BCS | High BCS | Low BCS | ||||
Scanning to pre-lambing | 0.26 | −0.25 | 0.01 | −0.43 | 0.29 | 0.06 | 0.094 |
Pre-lambing to marking | −0.44 | −0.07 | −0.34 | −0.06 | 0.24 | 0.09 | 0.134 |
High BCS | Low BCS | l.s.d. 1 between Breeds | l.s.d. 1 within Breeds | p-Value 1 | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Ewe mortality | |||||
Maternal | 14.3 (6.1%) | 12.7 (4.8%) | 5.1 | 4.7 | <0.01 |
Merino | 11.8 (4.2%) | 19.7 (11.4%) | |||
Lamb survival | |||||
Maternal | 56.2 | 59.3 | 7.2 | 4.1 | <0.001 |
Merino | 53.4 | 47.1 |
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Haslin, E.; Allington, T.; Blumer, S.E.; Boshoff, J.; Clarke, B.E.; Hancock, S.N.; Kearney, G.A.; Kenyon, P.R.; Krog, J.; Kubeil, L.J.; et al. Management of Body Condition Score between Pregnancy Scanning and Lamb Marking Impacts the Survival of Triplet-Bearing Ewes and Their Lambs. Animals 2023, 13, 2057. https://doi.org/10.3390/ani13132057
Haslin E, Allington T, Blumer SE, Boshoff J, Clarke BE, Hancock SN, Kearney GA, Kenyon PR, Krog J, Kubeil LJ, et al. Management of Body Condition Score between Pregnancy Scanning and Lamb Marking Impacts the Survival of Triplet-Bearing Ewes and Their Lambs. Animals. 2023; 13(13):2057. https://doi.org/10.3390/ani13132057
Chicago/Turabian StyleHaslin, Emmanuelle, Travis Allington, Sarah E. Blumer, Johan Boshoff, Bronwyn E. Clarke, Serina N. Hancock, Gavin A. Kearney, Paul R. Kenyon, Jarryd Krog, Lyndon J. Kubeil, and et al. 2023. "Management of Body Condition Score between Pregnancy Scanning and Lamb Marking Impacts the Survival of Triplet-Bearing Ewes and Their Lambs" Animals 13, no. 13: 2057. https://doi.org/10.3390/ani13132057