Hostname: page-component-78c5997874-dh8gc Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-11-03T05:34:34.206Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

The effects of the timing of management actions on the performance of a grassland sheep flock

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  27 March 2009

A. W. Speedy ,
W. J. M. Black  and
J. Fitzsimons
A. W. Speedy
Affiliation:
The Edinburgh School of Agriculture, West Mains Road, Edinburgh, EH9 3JG
W. J. M. Black
Affiliation:
The Edinburgh School of Agriculture, West Mains Road, Edinburgh, EH9 3JG
J. Fitzsimons
Affiliation:
The Edinburgh School of Agriculture, West Mains Road, Edinburgh, EH9 3JG
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Summary

A production system is defined which involves the production of lambs from crossbred ewes kept in a cool, temperate grassland environment at an altitude of 250–300 m. Within the production system, an investigation was carried out on the effect of the timing of weaning, pre-mating treatment (flushing) and concentrate feeding before lambing in a flock of 180 Border Leicester (♂) × Scottish Blackface (♀) ewes maintained for a production span of four lamb crops. Weaning treatment had no significant effects on changes in live weight or body condition score. Pre-mating treatment affected live weight and condition at mating. It did not affect the number of lambs born but had a significant effect on the subsequent birth weight of twin lambs in the 1st year it was applied but not thereafter. The timing of introduction and total quantity of concentrate feed affected the birth weight of lambs from ewes at their first lambing (24 months old) but not subsequently. There were no long-term effects of treatment on ewe survival or on the production characters measured. The results are discussed in relation to the seasonal patterns of grass supply and the normal limits of commercial practice. In this study, when grass and forage were in reasonable supply, pre-mating management and concentrate feeding were not critical to ewe performance. Only in circumstances of an unusual grass shortage and also in young ewes did these factors have significant effects on performance.

Type
Research Article
Information
The Journal of Agricultural Science , Volume 102 , Issue 2 , April 1984 , pp. 275 - 283
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 1984

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

Agricultural Research Council (1980). Nutrient Requirements of Ruminant Livestock. Slough: Commonwealth Agricultural Bureaux.Google Scholar
Barton, G. M. (1975). The effect of variation in physical production factors on the profitability of upland sheep production. Report to the Meat and Livestock Commission on a study carried out in the Economics Department of East of Scotland College of Agriculture. Meat and Livestock Commission, Queensway House, Bletchley, Milton Keynes, MK2 2EF.Google Scholar
Bennett, D., Axelson, A. & Chapman, H. W. (1964). The effect of nutritional restriction during early pregnancy on number of lambs born. Proceedings of the Australian Society of Animal Production 5, 70–81.Google Scholar
Coop, I. E. (1966). Effect of flushing on reproductive performance of ewes. Journal of Agricultural Science, Cambridge 67, 305–323.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Curet, L. B. (1973). The effect of protein deprivation on foetal size and sex ratio. In Foetal and Neonatal Physiology (ed. Comline, K. S., Goding, J. R., Cross, K. W., Davies, G. S. and Nathanielz, P. W.), pp. 342–346. Cambridge University Press.Google Scholar
Doney, J. M. & Gunn, R. G. (1973). Progress in studies on the reproductive performance of hill sheep. Hill Farming Research Organisation, Sixth Report 1971–1973, pp. 69–73.Google Scholar
Everitt, G. C. (1964). Maternal undernutricion and retarded foetal development in Merino sheep. Nature, London 201, 1341–1342.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Everitt, G. C. (1966). Maternal food consumption and foetal growth in Merino sheep. Proceedings of the Australian Society of Animal Production 6, 91–101.Google Scholar
Gunn, R. G. & Doney, J. M. (1975). The interaction of nutrition and body condition at mating on ovulation rate and early embryo mortality in Scottish Blackface ewes. Journal of Agricultural Science, Cambridge 85, 465–470.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Meat and Livestock Commission (1978). Sheep Facts: A Manual of Economic Standards. Meat and Livestock Commision, Queensway House, Bletchley, Milton Keynes, MK2 2EF.Google Scholar
Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food (1975). Energy allowances and feeding systems for ruminants. Technical Bulletin 33. London: H.M.S.O.Google Scholar
Peart, J. N. (1968). Lactation studies with Blackface ewes and their lambs. Journal of Agricultural Science, Cambridge 70, 87–94.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Reid, D. & Castle, M. E. (1965). The response of grassclover and pure-grass leys to irrigation and fertilizer nitrogen treatment. II. Clover and fertilizer nitrogen on ovine foetal growth. Journal of Agricultural Science, Cambridge 65, 109–119.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Robinson, J. J. (1977). The influence of maternal nutrition on ovine foetal growth. Proceedings of the Nutrition Society 36, 9–16.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Wallace, L. R. (1948). The growth of lambs before and after birth in relation to the level of nutrition. Parts I and III. Journal of Agricultural Science, Cambridge 38, 92–153; 367–401.CrossRefGoogle Scholar