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...

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...

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...

Birth and weaning weights were studied for purebred Finnsheep, Suffolk, Targhee and Minnesota 100; F1 Finnsheep crosses; F2: and standard breed and Finnsheep backcrosses. Finnsheep lambs were the smallest of all lambs at birth, but ranked second among purebreds in 70-day weaning weight (Suffolks, 21.0 kg vs Finnsheep, 17.6 kg). Ewe body weight, grease fleece production and total adjusted weight...

We investigated the utility of time-lapse photography to provide population estimates and lamb : ewe ratios of mountain sheep populations. We compared 2 methods of time-lapse data analysis: group sampling and frame sampling. We failed to reject the null hypothesis that population estimates and lamb : ewe ratios from time-lapse and direct observation sampling were the same.

Female reproductive trait were studied in four pure breeds (the Finnsheep, Suffolk, Targhee and Minnesota 100), the F1 crosses between Finnsheep rams and females of the other three breeds and F2 and backcross ewes. Precocity of sexual development, defined as the percentage of ewe lambs lambing at 12 months of age, was measured in 709 ewe lambs in 4 years. Lambing and weaning rates were measured...