Hostname: page-component-8448b6f56d-tj2md Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-04-20T03:10:30.684Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Plane of nutrition during the rearing phase for replacement ewes of four genotypes: I – effects on growth and development, and on ovulation rate at first joining

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  24 August 2017

T. W. J. Keady  and
J. P. Hanrahan
T. W. J. Keady*
Affiliation:
Animal & Grassland Research & Innovation Centre, Teagasc, Mellows Campus, Athenry, Co. Galway H65 R718, Ireland
J. P. Hanrahan
Affiliation:
Animal & Grassland Research & Innovation Centre, Teagasc, Mellows Campus, Athenry, Co. Galway H65 R718, Ireland
*
†E-mail: tim.keady@teagasc.ie
Get access

Abstract

Plane of nutrition (PN) offered to ewe replacements during the rearing phase (8 to 17 months) affects BW at joining and may affect reproductive performance when joined at ~19 months. The effects of PN offered to ewe replacements during their first winter (winter_1) and second summer (summer_2) were evaluated over 3 consecutive years, using 287 spring-born ewe lambs, representing four genotypes (Belclare (Bel), Charmoise×Scottish Blackface (C×SBF), Bel×SBF (Bel×SBF), Bel×SBF that were heterozygous either FecGH or FecXG mutations that increase ovulation rate (OR) (BelMG×SBF)). During extended (deferred) grazing in winter_1 (November to March) the lambs were offered herbage DM allowances (HA) of 0.75 (L) or 1.75 (H) kg/day. During summer_2 (March to August) the replacements were set stocked to maintain sward heights of 4 (L) or 6 (H) cm, thus yielding a 2×2 factorial design for the nutrition treatments (71 to 73 animals/treatment). Increasing HA during winter_1, and residual sward height during summer_2, increased (P<0.001) BW and body size at joining (19 months) but had no effect (P>0.05) on OR. Mean BW at joining was 53.3, 56.8, 56.6 and 61.7 (SEM 0.74) kg for ewes offered the LL, LH, HL and HH treatments, respectively. Mean OR of C×SBF and BelMG×SBF differed (P<0.001) from that of Bel×SBF by −0.58 and +0.47, respectively. Correlations between linear measurements (LMs) of body size and BW at 7, 12 and 17 months were all positive and significant (P<0.001). The precision of the set of LMs as a predictor of BW at joining improved with age (R2 0.46, 0.54 and 0.74 at 7, 12 and 17 months) but BW at a given age was a better predictor at all age time points. Chest girth was the best predictor, among the LMs, of BW at joining and its explanatory power increased with age. Equations developed using LMs at 7, 12 or 17 months, to predict BW at joining exhibited biases of −2.1, −1.5 and +0.9 kg, respectively. It is concluded that whilst altering PN during the rearing phase changed BW by 16% it had no effect on OR. There was no interaction (P>0.05) between the PN offered during winter_1 and summer_2, or PN and ewe genotype for BW at joining or OR. LMs, either at 7, 12 or 17 months of age, are useful predictors of BW at joining.

Keywords

herbage allowancesward heightbody measurementsprediction equationscompensatory growth
Type
Research Article
Information
animal , Volume 12 , Issue 4 , April 2018 , pp. 713 - 721
Copyright
© The Animal Consortium 2017 

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Annett, RW, Carson, AF, Dawson, LER, Irwin, D and Kilpatrick, DJ 2011. Effects of breed and age on the performance of crossbred hill ewes sourced from Scottish Blackface dams. Animal 5, 356–366.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Bradford, GE, Weir, WC and Torell, DT 1961. The effect of environment from weaning to first breeding on lifetime production of ewes. Journal of Animal Science 20, 281–287.Google Scholar
Cam, MA, Olfaz, M and Soydan, E 2010. Body measurements reflect body weights and carcass yields in Karayaka sheep. Asian Journal of Animal and Veterinary Advances 5, 120–127.Google Scholar
Esplin, AC, Madsen, MA and Philips, RW 1940. Effects of feeding ewe lambs during their first winter. Bulletin number 292, Utah Agricultural Experiment Station, Logan, Utah, USA.Google Scholar
Givens, DI, Everington, JM and Adamson, AH 1990. The nutritive value of spring-grown herbage produced on farms throughout England and Wales over 4 years. III. The prediction of energy values from various laboratory measurements. Animal Feed Science and Technology 27, 185–196.Google Scholar
Gunn, RG 1972. Growth and lifetime production of Scottish Blackface hill ewes in relation to the level of feeding during rearing. Animal Production 14, 343–349.Google Scholar
Gunn, RG 1983. The influence of nutrition on the reproductive performance of ewes. In Sheep production (ed. W. Haresign), pp. 99–110. Butterworths, London, England.Google Scholar
Hanrahan, JP 1982. Selection for increased ovulation rate, litter size and embryo survival. In Proceedings of the 2nd World Congress on Genetics Applied to Livestock Production, V, pp. 294–307. Madrid, Spain.Google Scholar
Hanrahan, JP 1990. The relationship between ewe body weight, condition score and reproductive performance. Research Note Number 6/90 for Teagasc Advisors, Teagasc, Carlow, Ireland.Google Scholar
Hanrahan, JP 1994. Evaluation of crossbred ewe types: ovulation rate and prolificacy. In Proceedings of the Irish Research Forum, Dublin, Ireland, pp. 21–22.Google Scholar
Hanrahan, JP 1997. Belclare breed. Belclare Research Centre Research Report, Teagasc, Carlow, Ireland, p. 23.Google Scholar
Hanrahan, JP, Gregan, SM, Mulsant, P, Mullen, M, Davis, GH, Powell, R and Galloway, SM 2004. Mutations in the genes for oocyte-derived growth factors GDF9 and BMP15 are associated with both increased ovulation rate and sterility in Cambridge and Belclare Sheep (Ovis aries). Biology of Reproduction 70, 900–909.Google Scholar
Hanrahan, JP and Keady, TWJ 2014. First-cross ewes from Scottish Blackface dams: an evaluation of progeny sired by three lowland breeds. Advance in Animal Biosciences 5, 23.Google Scholar
Hanrahan, JP and O’Malley, L 1999. Hill sheep production system. End of Project Reports: Sheep Series No 4, Teagasc, Carlow, Ireland.Google Scholar
Heinrichs, AJ, Rogers, GW and Cooper, JB 1992. Predicting body weight and wither height in Holstein heifers using body measurements. Journal of Dairy Science 75, 3576–3581.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Keady, TWJ and Hanrahan, JP 2009a. The effects of allowance and frequency of allocation of deferred herbage, and grass silage feed value, when offered to ewes in mid gestation on ewe and lamb performance and subsequent herbage yield. Animal 3, 879–890.Google Scholar
Keady, TWJ and Hanrahan, JP 2009b. Effects of shearing at housing, grass silage feed value and extended grazing herbage allowance on ewe and subsequent lamb performance. Animal 3, 143–151.Google Scholar
Keady, TWJ and Hanrahan, JP 2010. The effects of allowance of deferred herbage and concentrate supplementation when offered to ewe lambs, and system of allocation when offered to ewes in late gestation, on animal performance. Grass Forage Science 65, 227–236.Google Scholar
Keady, TWJ and Hanrahan, JP 2012. The effects of allowance and frequency of allocation of autumn-saved pasture, when offered to spring lambing ewes in mid pregnancy, on ewe and lamb performance and subsequent herbage yield. Livestock Science 143, 15–23.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
King, JWB, Watson, JH and Young, GB 1959. Genotype-environment interaction in the wintering of lambs. Journal of Agricultural Science 53, 156–171.Google Scholar
Pálsson, H and Vergés, JB 1952. Effects of the plane of nutrition on growth and the development of carcass quality in lambs Part II. Effects on lambs of 30 lb. carcass weight. Journal of Agricultural Science 42, 93–146.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Purser, AF and Roberts, RC 1964. The effect of treatment during first winter on the subsequent performance of Scottish Blackface ewes. Animal Production 6, 273–284.Google Scholar
Rook, JA, Dhanoa, MS and Gill, M 1990. Prediction of the voluntary intake of grass silages by beef cattle. 3. Precision of alternative prediction models. Animal Production 50, 455–466.Google Scholar
Russel, AJF, Doney, JM and Gunn, RG 1969. Subjective assessment of body fat in live sheep. Journal of Agricultural Science 72, 451–454.Google Scholar
Ryan, WJ 1990. Compensatory growth in cattle and sheep. Nutritional Abstracts and Reviews 60, 653–664.Google Scholar
SAS Institute Inc. 2011. SAS/STAT®, User‘s Guide, Version 9.3. SAS Institute Inc., Cary, NC, USA.Google Scholar
Steen, RWJ 1986. The effect of plane of nutrition and type of diet offered to yearling Friesian steers during a winter store period on subsequent performance. Animal Production 42, 29–38.Google Scholar
Van Soest PJ, 1976. Laboratory methods for evaluating the energy value of feedstuffs. In Feed and Energy Sources for Livestock (ed. H Swan and D Lewis), pp 83–94. Butterworths, London, UK.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Wilson, PN and Osbourn, DF 1960. Compensatory growth after undernutrition in mammals and birds. Biological Reviews 35, 324–363.Google Scholar