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Ewe performance, colostrum yield and serum progesterone concentration of single, twin and triplet bearing ewes fed silage

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  24 November 2017

T. F. Crosby  and
J. V. O'Doherty
T. F. Crosby
Affiliation:
University College Dublin, Lyons, Newcastle, Co.Dublin, Ireland.
J. V. O'Doherty
Affiliation:
University College Dublin, Lyons, Newcastle, Co.Dublin, Ireland.
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Extract

There are conflicting data in the literature on the effects of litter size on colostrum production. Shubber et al.,(1979a) reported highest colostrum production in triplet bearing ewes compared with ewes carrying singles or twins. Other researchers (Hall et al.,1989; Shubber et al.,1979b) agree that ewes producing twins yield most colostrum. Hall et al., (1989) also reported that progesterone concentrations before and after parturition increased with litter size and Hartmann et al.,(1973) found that progesterone withdrawl is a prerequisite for lactogenesis and the onset of copious milk secretion. The objective of this experiment was to evaluate the performance of single, twin and triplet bearing ewes in relation to ewe performance, progesterone concentration, quantity and quality of colostrum.

Single (Tl, n=35), twin (T2, n=25) and triplet (T3, n=29) bearing oestrous synchronised ewes of mixed lowland breeds (mainly Suffolk cross, greyface and halfbred), were selected following winter shearing and pregnancy scanning in December.

Type
Small Ruminant Production
Information
Proceedings of the British Society of Animal Production (1972) , Volume 1993: Winter meeting , March 1993 , pp. 115
Copyright
Copyright © The British Society of Animal Production 1993

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References

References:

Hall, D.G., , Egan, A.R., Foot, J.R., and Parr, R,A. (1989). Proc Aust Soc. Anim. Prod.Vol. 18 Google Scholar
Hartmann, P.E., Trevethan, P. & Shelton, J.N. (1973) J. of Endocrinology, 59: 249–259 Google Scholar
Shubber, A. H & Doxey, D.L Black, W,J,M. & Fitzsimons, J. (1979b) Res. in Vet. Science 27; 280–285 CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Shubber, A. H & Doxey, D.L. (1979a) Res .in Vet. Sci. 27; 283–285 CrossRefGoogle Scholar