Observations on mammary development in calves and lambs

Extract

The normal course of mammary development has been briefly described, in sheep from 2 months of foetal age to 4 months after birth; and in dairy cattle from the 3-month foetus to calves 6 months old. Observations were also made on a series of udders from ewes during their first pregnancy. A small group of beef calves and a number of freemartins of various ages were also examined.

Development was found to be closely similar in the two species, and in both, sex differences were marked.

Experimentally it was found that in males of either species castration at birth had little effect on mammary growth, while prolonged treatment with oestrogen gave rise to enlarged teats, dilated cisterns and ducts, and to a certain amount of secretion. Little gland tissue was formed in oestrogen-treated males, and there was no increase in the spreading of mammary tissue from the neighbourhood of the teat.

Females of the two species showed a striking difference in their response to experimental treatment. In sheep, removal of the ovaries at birth had no apparent effect on mammary development up to 4 months, while treatment with oestrogen stimulated gland formation in both spayed and intact lambs and also restricted the normal spread of mammary tissue into the udder. In cattle, on the other hand, heifers spayed at birth showed almost complete cessation of mammary development, while implants of oestrogen, in addition to inducing gland formation, promoted the spreading of tissue into the udder pad of the spayed animal.

Udder development of freemartins appeared to be similar to that of normal heifers from 5 months foetal age to about a month after birth, but thereafter was more like that of a spayed animal. Removal of the abnormal gonads shortly after birth had no effect, while oestrogen treatment induced development of teats, ducts and glands exactly as in a normal heifer.

Comparing small numbers of calves of the two types, it was found that heifers of the beef breed in general showed slightly poorer mammary development than dairy heifers that had been treated in the same way, with more connective tissue and numerous leucocytes in the mammary zone.