The effect of herbage availability and season of year on the rate of liveweight loss during weighing of fasting ewe lambs

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dc.citation.issue2
dc.citation.volume11
dc.contributor.authorSemakula J
dc.contributor.authorCorner-Thomas RA
dc.contributor.authorMorris ST
dc.contributor.authorBlair HT
dc.contributor.authorKenyon PR
dc.date.available2021-02
dc.date.issued2021-02-01
dc.description.abstractSheep (Ovis aries) liveweight and liveweight change can contain errors when collection procedures are not standardized, or when there are varying time delays between removal from grazing and weighing. A two-stage study was conducted to determine the effect of herbage availability and season of year on the rate of liveweight loss during fasting and to develop and validate correction equations applied to sets of delayed liveweights collected under commercial conditions. Results showed that ewe lambs offered the Low herbage availability lost up to 1.7 kg and those offered the Medium or High herbage availability lost 2.4 kg during 8 h of delayed weighing without access to feed or drinking water. The rate of liveweight loss varied by season, herbage availability and farm (p < 0.05). Applying correction equations on matching liveweight data collected under similar conditions, provided more accurate estimates (33-55%) of without delay liveweight than using the delayed liveweight. In conclusion, a short-term delay prior to weighing commonly associated with practical handling operations significantly reduced the liveweight recorded for individual sheep. Using delayed liveweights on commercial farms and in research can have significant consequences for management practices and research results globally, therefore, liveweight data should be collected without delay. However, when this is not feasible delayed liveweights should be corrected, and in the absence of locally formulated correction equations, the ones presented in this paper could be used.
dc.description.publication-statusPublished
dc.identifierhttp://gateway.webofknowledge.com/gateway/Gateway.cgi?GWVersion=2&SrcApp=PARTNER_APP&SrcAuth=LinksAMR&KeyUT=WOS:000621973900001&DestLinkType=FullRecord&DestApp=ALL_WOS&UsrCustomerID=c5bb3b2499afac691c2e3c1a83ef6fef
dc.identifierARTN 150
dc.identifier.citationAGRICULTURE-BASEL, 2021, 11 (2)
dc.identifier.doi10.3390/agriculture11020150
dc.identifier.eissn2077-0472
dc.identifier.elements-id441555
dc.identifier.harvestedMassey_Dark
dc.relation.isPartOfAGRICULTURE-BASEL
dc.rights© 2021 by the authors. CC BY 4.0
dc.subjectaccuracy
dc.subjectcorrection equations
dc.subjectgut-fill
dc.subjectliveweight
dc.subjectliveweight loss
dc.subject.anzsrc0701 Agriculture, Land and Farm Management
dc.titleThe effect of herbage availability and season of year on the rate of liveweight loss during weighing of fasting ewe lambs
dc.typeJournal article
pubs.notesNot known
pubs.organisational-group/Massey University
pubs.organisational-group/Massey University/College of Sciences
pubs.organisational-group/Massey University/College of Sciences/School of Agriculture & Environment
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