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Attainment of puberty by ewes in the first year of life is associated with improved reproductive performance at 2 years of age
•Ewes attaining puberty in their first year perform better at 2 years of age.•Selection of replacement ewes on this basis may be beneficial for flock performance.•The proportion of ewe lambs attaining puberty each year was highly variable.•This variability was not entirely explained by differences i...
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Published in: | Small ruminant research 2015-01, Vol.123 (1), p.118-123 |
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Main Authors: | , , , , , |
Format: | Article |
Language: | English |
Subjects: | |
Citations: | Items that this one cites Items that cite this one |
Online Access: | Get full text |
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Summary: | •Ewes attaining puberty in their first year perform better at 2 years of age.•Selection of replacement ewes on this basis may be beneficial for flock performance.•The proportion of ewe lambs attaining puberty each year was highly variable.•This variability was not entirely explained by differences in live weight.
This study was conducted to investigate the effect of attaining puberty in the first year of life on future reproductive performance in ewes. Records were collected from 2091 ewes born between 2005 and 2009. In the first breeding season of life, receptivity to the ram was monitored to determine whether ewe lambs attained puberty or not. Ewes were then mated in order to produce a lamb at 2, 3 and 4 years of age and the following traits were measured each year: ovulation rate (OR), number of foetuses present at scanning (NLS), number of lambs born (NLB) and live weight at various time points. The percentage of ewe lambs attaining puberty was highly variable between years (p |
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ISSN: | 0921-4488 1879-0941 |
DOI: | 10.1016/j.smallrumres.2014.11.006 |