An investigation on the occurrence of peri-parturient rise in trichostrongylid nematode egg output in breeding ewes was carried out on a Ranch in the semi-arid area of Kajiado District in Kenya during the period May 1999-April 2000. During the study, 20 ewes randomly selected from the breeding stock and 20 un-mated female yearlings were monitored for faecal strongyle egg output every 3 weeks. A...

OBJECTIVE To evaluate the immunologic response of a killed tachyzoite vaccine against Neospora caninum and its effectiveness in preventing fetal loss associated with experimentally induced neosporosis in sheep. ANIMALS 30 Dorset ewes. PROCEDURE Ewes were randomly allocated to receive vaccination on days 1 and 60 of the study with a killed N caninum tachyzoite preparation in a commercially a...

Lambs born from feed-restricted or overfed ewes can be lighter at birth, whereas maternal Se supplementation can increase fetal size near term. We hypothesized that birth weight would be inversely related to feed efficiency and growth rates during postnatal development. To examine the effects of maternal dietary Se and nutrient restriction or excess on postnatal lamb growth, diet digestibility,...

Production data from 681 yearling ewes were evaluated for the effect of ewe breed and management system on fertility, prolificacy, lamb birth weight, lamb survival, lamb weaning weight, ewe fleece weight, and total lamb weight weaned per ewe exposed. Two hundred seven straightbred Targhee (T) and 474 1/4 Finn-1/4 Dorset-1/2 Targhee (FDT) crossbred ewes managed in a range or farm flock system we...

Fine-wool ewes received for 2 yr a complete pelleted basal diet (11% protein) or the basal diet fortified with 3.5% cottonseed meal (CSM; 12% protein) or gamma-irradiated (1 megarad) dried solids (SS; 12% protein) from primary (undigested) sewage (Las Cruces, New Mexico, municipal sewage). Five ewes fed each diet were sampled to determine Ag, Ca, Cd, Co, Cr, Cu, Fe, K, Mg, Mn, Na, Ni, P, Pb and...

Targhee ewes with single or twin lambs were used in four trials during early lactation through weaning to evaluate ewe milk production (MP), kilograms of lamb weaned, and forage intake by ewes and lambs. During Trial 1, ewes with lambs were individually penned, fed .45 kg of barley-ewe-1.d-1 and allowed ad libitum access to chopped alfalfa hay. Trials 2, 3, and 4 were conducted on three differe...

Electrocardiogram (ECG) electrodes and carotid arterial and superior vena caval (SVC) catheters were placed in eight nonpregnant ewes and 11 fetuses (109-129 days gestation) to measure heart rate, arterial presssure, P-R interval, left ventricular pre-ejection period (PEP), and left ventricular ejection time (LVET), before and after digoxin infusion into the SVC. After the ewes were killed, the...

Levels of prostaglandins F (PGF) in uterine tissues and in uterine and peripheral plasma from ewes with and without IUD's were examined. Mature ewes were laparotomized on day 2 of the estrous cycle. Fifteen ewes with a corpus luteum on only one ovary were assigned at random to either a treated group (10 ewes) which received an intrauterine device (IUD) in each uterine horn or to a control group...

Body condition scores (BCS) of ovariectomized estradiol-treated ewes were controlled to examine effects of suboptimum BCS on insulin-like growth factor (IGF)-I, IGF-binding proteins (IGFBPs), and LH in the anterior pituitary gland, hypophyseal stalk-median eminence (SME), and circulation. Serum LH increased in ewes with BCS (1 = emaciated, 9 = obese) > 3 (HIGH-BCS), but not in ewes with BCS </=...

Teladorsagiosis is a major production-limiting disease in ruminants in temperate regions throughout the world and one of the key interventions in the management of the disease is the prevention of pasture contamination with Teladorsagia circumcincta eggs by ewes during the periparturient relaxation in immunity which occurs in the period around lambing. Here, we describe the immunisation of twin...