Effect of plane of nutrition of 1-and 2-year-old ewes in early and mid-pregnancy on ewe reproduction and offspring performance up to weaning

Camila Munoz, Alistair Carson, M.A. Mccoy, Lynne Dawson, Niamh O'Connell, A.W. Gordon

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

25 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

The objective of the present study was to determine the effect of plane of nutrition in early pregnancy (EP) and mid-pregnancy (W), on the productive performance of 1- and 2-year-old ewes and their offspring. Over 2 successive years, between days 0 and 39 after synchronized mating (EP), 1- (n=117) and 2- (n=52) year-old ewes were allowed 60% (low, L-EP), 100% (medium, M-EP) or 200% (high, H-EP) of requirements for maintenance (M). Between days 40 and 90 (MP), 1-year-old ewes were allowed 140% (M-MP) or 200% (H-MP), while 2-year-old ewes were allowed 80% (M-MP) or 140% (H-MP) of their M requirement. After day 90, all ewes were fed to meet requirements for late pregnancy. Increasing the plane of nutrition between days 0 and 39 resulted in increases in live weight (LW) (PM-EP>LEP), differences that in 1-year-old ewes were sustained to lambing (P0.05). These ewes exhibited more positive maternal behaviours (e.g. increased grooming frequency and duration, P
Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)657-669
Number of pages13
JournalAnimal
Volume3
Issue number5
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - May 2009

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • Animal Science and Zoology

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