Ewe maternal behavior score to estimate lamb survival and performance during lactation
Mortality of perinatal lambs and low weight at weaning cause huge liabilities to farmers. Current study describes maternal-filial behavior and evaluates the use of maternal behavior score (MBS) to estimate the behavior of ewes and lambs soon after birth, and correlate it with lamb mortality and perf...
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Published in | Acta scientiarum. Animal sciences Vol. 38; no. 3; pp. 327 - 332 |
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Main Authors | , , , , , |
Format | Journal Article |
Language | English Portuguese |
Published |
Maringa
Editora da Universidade Estadual de Maringá - EDUEM
2016
Editora da Universidade Estadual de Maringá (Eduem) |
Subjects | |
Online Access | Get full text |
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Summary: | Mortality of perinatal lambs and low weight at weaning cause huge liabilities to farmers. Current study describes maternal-filial behavior and evaluates the use of maternal behavior score (MBS) to estimate the behavior of ewes and lambs soon after birth, and correlate it with lamb mortality and performance during lactation. Thirty-seven Corriedale ewes were used in a completely randomized design. MBS was assessed up to 24 hours after birth, taking into consideration the distance of the ewe from the lamb at the approach of a person. Maternal behavior, placental weight, weight gain of the lambs until weaning and their survival rate were also evaluated until two hours after lambing. More than 90% of the ewes had adequate maternal behavior, with parental care, even though ewes were very sensitive to the presence of people. There was no significant correlation between MBS and maternal behavior, lamb mortality rate and live weight gain. Under these conditions, MBS was not a useful tool to estimate maternal behavior and performance of lambs. |
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ISSN: | 1806-2636 1807-8672 1807-8672 |
DOI: | 10.4025/actascianimsci.v38i3.29923 |