Space availability is essential to grant the welfare of animals. To determine the effect of space availability on movement and space use in pregnant ewes (Ovis aries), 54 individuals were studied during the last 11 weeks of gestation. Three treatments were tested (1, 2, and 3 m2/ewe; 6 ewes/group). Ewes' positions were collected for 15 minutes using continuous scan samplings two days/week. Tota...

Puberty: For the gilt and filly, the first corpus luteum (CL) appears to have a normal lifespan. For both species, first CL usually is associated with estrus but can form in the absence of estrus. For the ewe and cow, a transient (1 to 4 d, ewe; 3 to 10 d, cow) rise and fall of ovarian derived progesterone (P4) is detected in peripheral blood (80% of ewes; 50% of heifers) prior to first "normal...

Thirty 6-yr-old Targhee ewes were randomly allotted to one of five supplemental treatments to evaluate supplementation effects on liver and fecal Zn and Cu concentrations and serum alkaline phosphatase activity: 1) control, 2) Zn complex, 3) Zn and Cu (ZnCu) complex, 4) Zn sulfate, and 5) ZnCu sulfates. Supplements were administered daily in gelatin capsules for 56 d. Liver biopsies and serum s...

Two experiments were conducted to determine if propylthiouracil (PTU)-induced thyroid suppression immediately before onset of anestrus would extend the breeding season in mature ewes. In Exp. 1, twice-weekly serum concentrations of progesterone indicated that all ewes were cyclic before initiation of treatment. Beginning on d 0 (January 17), ewes received 0 (n = 4), 20 (n = 5), or 40 (n = 5) mg...

In the context of increasing urbanization and climate change globally, urban energy systems (UES) planning needs adequate consideration change, particularly to ensure supply during extreme weather events (EWE) such as heatwaves, floods, typhoons. Here we propose a two-layer modeling framework for UES considering impact EWE. An application typical coastal city Xiamen, China reveals that deployin...

78 Ghezel and 76 Mehraban sheep were used to evaluate the effect of fat-tail docking on reproductive performance. Within two days after birth the tails of 32 Ghezel female lambs and 28 Mehraban female lambs were docked using a tight rubber ring. The lambs were allowed to reproduce for three lambing opportunities and their reproductive performances were evaluated. The effect of docking on the fe...

The number of lambs sold per ewe mated in the breeding flock has a considerable impact on sheep operation profitability. This depends primarily on fertility, prolificacy (# of lambs), and lamb survival, mothering ability, milk production of the ewe and lamb growth rate. Optimal reproduction does vary by environment and management system – some sheep operations don’t want a lambing rate over 200...

The aim of this study was to determine the effects of restricted feeding before puberty on growth performance and mammary gland development in replacement ewe lambs. At weaning, 72 Dorset ewe lambs were assigned to one of the three diets: an ad libitum control diet with medium-quality forage (MQF; diet A-MQF); a restricted diet with the same forage as A, but less feed concentrate (diet R-MQF); ...

The aim of this study was to evaluate the effects of premating ewe weight and age on ewe reproductive performance, lamb growth and survival in Central Anatolian Merino (CAM) sheep. The trial included 4935 ewes and 5548 lambs from 23 breeder flocks in Eskişehir Province. The live weights (LWs) and ages of the ewes were recorded 1 week before the mating season. The number of lambs born, fertility...