The experiment measured lamb responses to supplementation of the pregnant ewe diet with vitamin E above requirement. Crossbred ewes were mated with either Suffolk or Texel rams. Twin-bearing ewes were randomly allocated (approximately 21 months of age at allocation) to one of four treatment groups (20 ewes per group, 10 mated with Suffolk and 10 with Texel rams). Treatments imposed were 50, 100...

Ewes from lines selected for high and low reproductive rate and a control line bred and selected randomly were endoscopically examined 3 to 5 d after breeding to determine ovulation rates in the fall of 1985, 1986 and 1987. Fertility (ewes lambing per ewe exposed), lambing rate (lambs born per ewe exposed) and litter size (lambs born per ewe lambing) were evaluated at lambing in the spring of e...

The objective of these experiments was to determine if a change in the ratio of acetate to propionate (A:P ratio) in hepatic portal blood, draining the gastrointestinal tract, can alter the metabolism of progesterone by the liver. Experiment 1; 4 crossbred, ewe lambs (BW 45.5 + 2.5 kg) were fed for maintenance and given a once daily oral bolus (0.146 Mcal/d) of acetate (0.7 moles) or propionate...

the effect of crossbreeding between ghezel and mehraban on growth performance and carcass characteristics was studied for two consecutive years using 162 purebred and crossbred lambs. the four groups of lambs involved in the study were purebred mehraban (mm), purebred ghezel (gg), crossbred ghezel ram×mehraban ewe (gm) and crossbred mehraban ram×ghezel ewe (mg). the lambs were fed with grazing ...

Twenty-one pregnant ewe lambs (nine superovulated and 12 non-superovulated) were used to study the effects of superovulation (injecting 700 IU PMSG at the end of diestrus) on maternal serum progesterone concentrations, uterine and fetal weights at weeks 7 and 15 of pregnancy. In the ewes sacrificed at week 7 of pregnancy, superovulation increased the mean number of corpora lutea (P<0.01), fetus...

characteristic of the udder, milk traits and their relationship were investigated in 32 awassi ewes raised in a commercial flock. commencing one month after lambing milk yield was recorded at monthly intervals until the ewes were dried. also, the udder traits were measured, including udder width, udder circumference, udder length, distance between teats and length and diameter of both teats. re...

This study examined the effects of melatonin and level of nutrition on embryo yield during anestrous and breeding season. Adult Rasa Aragonesa ewes were assigned randomly to one of the four treatment groups in two experiments using a 2x2x2 factorial design. Individuals were treated (+MEL) or not treated (-MEL) with a subcutaneous implant of melatonin for 42d (Melovine, CEVA) and fed 1.5 (contro...

The present study investigated the effect of maternal vitamin E and fatty acid supplementation on lamb antioxidant status. Forty-eight ewes were fed one of four concentrate diets supplemented with a basal (50 mg/kg) or supranutritional (500 mg/kg) level of vitamin E plus a source of either saturated fat (Megalac; Volac Ltd, Royston, Hertfordshire, UK) or long-chain PUFA (fish oil) from 6 weeks ...

Parental care promotes offspring survival and, for livestock species, this care is provided solely by the mother. Maternal behaviour in the sheep has been exceptionally well-studied compared with other species and many of the underpinning biological processes leading to the expression of maternal care are known. In this review the current state of play with regard to the biology of maternal car...