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A note on the effect of nutrition during mid pregnancy on lamb production of primiparous ewes in high body condition at mating

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  02 September 2010

R. G. Gunn ,
A. J. F. Russel  and
E. Barthram
R. G. Gunn
Affiliation:
Hill Farming Research Organisation, Bush Estate, Penicuik, Midlothian EH26 0PY
A. J. F. Russel
Affiliation:
Hill Farming Research Organisation, Bush Estate, Penicuik, Midlothian EH26 0PY
E. Barthram
Affiliation:
Hill Farming Research Organisation, Bush Estate, Penicuik, Midlothian EH26 0PY
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Extract

Mid-Pregnancy nutrition has been shown to have both positive and negative effects on lamb birth weight in primiparous Scottish Blackface ewes. The direction of the effect depends on the level of body condition at mating, being negative in ewes in high body condition (Russel, Foot, White and Davies, 1981). In the same study, it was argued that the effect in younger ewes could be due to their greater sensitivity to both under- and over-nutrition during the earlier to mid stages of their first pregnancy than is evident in older ewes. Russel et al. (1981) also suggested that the level of mid-pregnancy nutrition is likely to have effects on other aspects of production such as embryonic loss, foetal mortality and even ewe mortality.

Type
Research Article
Information
Animal Production , Volume 43 , Issue 1 , August 1986 , pp. 175 - 177
Copyright
Copyright © British Society of Animal Science 1986

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References

REFERENCES

Russel, A. J. F. 1984. Means of assessing the adequacy of nutrition of pregnant ewes. Livestock Production Science 11: 429–436.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Russel, A. J. F., Foot, J. Z., White, I. R. and Davies, G. J. 1981. The effect of weight at mating and of nutrition during mid-pregnancy on the birth weight of lambs from primiparous ewes. Journal of Agricultural Science, Cambridge 97: 723–729.CrossRefGoogle Scholar