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A note on the effects of clipping pregnant ewes at housing

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  02 September 2010

W. Rutter ,
T. R. Laird  and
P. J. Broadbent
W. Rutter
Affiliation:
North of Scotland College of Agriculture, Aberdeen
T. R. Laird
Affiliation:
North of Scotland College of Agriculture, Aberdeen
P. J. Broadbent
Affiliation:
North of Scotland College of Agriculture, Aberdeen
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Summary

Eighty pregnant ewes, housed in December approximately 14 weeks before lambing, were offered grass silage to appetite. The factors considered were breed (Greyface or North Country Cheviot), concentrate level during the final 7 weeks of pregnancy (‘normal’ or ‘high’) and clipping (clipped at housing or left undipped at housing). Silage intakes were affected by level of concentrate supplementation, the higher level tending to reduce intakes during the final weeks of pregnancy but no effect of clipping on silage intakes was detected. Level of concentrate had no effect on lambing performance, but ewes clipped at housing produced lambs which were 1 kg heavier (P<0·05) at birth than lambs from undipped ewes. Time of clipping had a significant effect on wool yields but no effect on wool grades.

Type
Research Article
Information
Animal Production , Volume 14 , Issue 1 , February 1972 , pp. 127 - 130
Copyright
Copyright © British Society of Animal Science 1972

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References

REFERENCES

Rutter, W., Laird, T. R. and Broadbent, P. J. 1971. The effects of clipping pregnant ewes at housing and of feeding different basal roughages. Anim. Prod. 13: 329–336.Google Scholar
Ternouth, J. H. and Beattie, A. W. 1970. A note on the voluntary food consumption and the sodium-potassium ratio of sheep after shearing. Anim. Prod. 12: 343–346.Google Scholar
Wheeler, J. L., Reardon, T. F. and Lambourne, L. J. 1963. The effect of pasture availability and shearing stress on the herbage intake of grazing sheep. Aust. J. agric. Res. 14: 364–362.CrossRefGoogle Scholar