The effect of herbage availability, pregnancy stage and rank on the rate of liveweight loss during fasting in ewes

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dc.citation.issue6
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.available2021-06
dc.date.issued2021-06-01
dc.description.abstractSheep liveweight and liveweight change are vital tools both for commercial and research farm management. However, they can be unreliable when collection procedures are not standardized or when there are varying time delays between sheep removal from grazing and weighing. This study had two stages with different objectives: (1) A liveweight loss study to determine the effect of herbage availability (Low and High) on the rate of liveweight loss of ewes at different pregnancy stages (approximately 100 days of pregnancy: P100 and 130 days: P130) and ranks (single and twin); (2) A follow-up liveweight loss study to develop and validate correction equations for delayed liveweights by applying them to data sets collected under commercial conditions. Results from each stage showed that the rate of liveweight loss varied by herbage availability and stage of pregnancy (p < 0.05) but not pregnancy-rank (p > 0.05). Further, the rate of liveweight loss differed by farm (p < 0.05). Applying liveweight correction equations increased the accuracy of without delay liveweight estimates in P100 ewes by 56% and 45% for single-bearing and twin-bearing ewes, respectively, when offered the Low-level diet. In ewes offered the High-level diet, accuracies of without delay liveweight estimates were increased by 53% and 67% for single-bearing and twin-bearing ewes, respectively. Among P130 ewes, accuracy was increased by 43% and 37% for single-bearing and twin-bearing ewes, respectively, when offered the Low herbage level and by 60% and 50% for single-bearing and twin-bearing ewes, respectively, when offered the High herbage level. In conclusion, a short-term delay of up to 8 hours prior to weighing, which is 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 consequences for management practices and research results; thus, liveweight data should be collected without delay. However, when this is not feasible, delayed ewe liveweights should be corrected and, in the absence of locally devised correction equations, the ones generated in the current study could be applied on farms with similar management conditions and herbage type.
dc.description.publication-statusPublished
dc.identifierhttp://gateway.webofknowledge.com/gateway/Gateway.cgi?GWVersion=2&SrcApp=PARTNER_APP&SrcAuth=LinksAMR&KeyUT=WOS:000665563300001&DestLinkType=FullRecord&DestApp=ALL_WOS&UsrCustomerID=c5bb3b2499afac691c2e3c1a83ef6fef
dc.identifierARTN 543
dc.identifier.citationAGRICULTURE-BASEL, 2021, 11 (6)
dc.identifier.doi10.3390/agriculture11060543
dc.identifier.eissn2077-0472
dc.identifier.elements-id447137
dc.identifier.harvestedMassey_Dark
dc.relation.isPartOfAGRICULTURE-BASEL
dc.rights(c)The Author(s) CC BY 4.0
dc.subjectaccuracy
dc.subjectmeasurement
dc.subjectwithout delay
dc.subjectliveweight
dc.subject.anzsrc0701 Agriculture, Land and Farm Management
dc.titleThe effect of herbage availability, pregnancy stage and rank on the rate of liveweight loss during fasting in ewes
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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