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Timing of parturition in intensively managed ewes

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  20 November 2017

Linda M Mitchell*
Affiliation:
The Scottish Agricultural College, 581 King Street, Aberdeen, AB9 1UD
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Extract

Many shepherds hold the view that the majority of lambings occur at night, particularly in the period just before dawn. Systematic studies of the timing of parturition in extensively managed ewes demonstrate a circadian pattern but reports differ with regard to the timing of peak incidence. Wallace (1949) found that peak incidence occurred between 00.00 and 04.00 hours confirming the traditional view. However George (1969) found that peak incidence for Dorset Horn ewes occurred during daylight hours.

Under intensive management ewes are typically housed in artificially illuminated pens for the entire lambing period and are under continual observation. The objective of the present study was to investigate diurnal variations in the timing of parturition in ewes under such conditions.

Type
Sheep & Goats
Copyright
Copyright © The British Society of Animal Science 1995

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References

Burgess, S (1994) Lambing patterns. The Sheep Farmer (April 1994), 15.Google Scholar
George, J.M. (1969) Variation in the time of parturition of Merino and Dorset Horn ewes. Journal of Agricultural Science, Cambridge 73, 295 299.10.1017/S0021859600014519CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Wallace, L.R. (1949) Observations of lambing behaviour in ewes. Proceedings of the New Zealand Society of Animal Production 9, 85 96.Google Scholar