Preweaning growth in lambs under intensive grazing and reproductive management systems in central Mexico

José de Lucas Tron; Luis Alberto Zarco Quintero; Everardo González Padilla; Jorge Tórtora  Pérez; Alejandro Villa Godoy; Carlos Vásquez Peláez

2003, Number 3

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Vet Mex 2003; 34 (3)

Preweaning growth in lambs under intensive grazing and reproductive management systems in central Mexico

Lucas TJ, Zarco QLA, González PE, Tórtora PJ, Villa GA, Vásquez PC

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Language: English/Spanish
References: 31
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ABSTRACT

To study factors affecting birth weight (BW), weight at 30 days and 60 d, data from 917 Columbia lambs were analyzed. Lambs were born in april (N-B) from yearly breeding, or in april-may (A-M), december-january (D-J) and august-september (A-S) from an every eight months breeding program (I-B). Ewes and lambs were grazed on irrigated grass-legume temperate pastures; lambs had access to creep feeding from 15 d of age. Fixed effects in the variance analysis were: ewe age; single or twin birth; sex and year or season of birth. Simple correlations were obtained between BW and weights at 30d and 60d and of these with ewe body condition. The BW (5.7 ± 0.06 kg) and weight at 30 d (15.0 ± 0.17 kg) in I-B were higher (P ‹ 0.05) than in N-B (5.5 ± 0.06 kg and 13.8 ± 0.17 kg), without difference at 60 d (21.5 ± 0.25 kg vs. 21.4 ± 0.24 kg, respectively). Single births and males were always heavier (P ‹ 0.05) from birth to 60 d. Year differences in N-B were not observed at birth or 60d (P › 0.05), but were at 30d (14.7 ± 0.22 kg vs. 13.2 ± 0.18 kg). I-B lambs born in D-J were always heavier (P ‹ 0.05): 6.2 ± 0.08 kg, 5.3 ± 0.10 kg and 5.5 ± 0.09 kg; 16.2 ± 0.22 kg, 14.8 ± 0.27 kg and 13.8 ± 0.25 kg; 22.2 ± 0.33 kg, 21.3 ± 0.39 kg and 20.8 ± 0.36 kg for BW, 30 d and 60 d in D-J, A-M and A-S, respectively. Correlations between weights were always positive (P ‹ 0.05), and only in N-B was there negative correlation between ewe body condition and weight (P ‹ 0.05).

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