Decreasing Mob Size at Lambing Increases the Survival of Triplet Lambs Born on Farms across Southern Australia

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dc.citation.issue12
dc.citation.volume13
dc.contributor.authorLockwood A
dc.contributor.authorAllington T
dc.contributor.authorBlumer SE
dc.contributor.authorBoshoff J
dc.contributor.authorClarke BE
dc.contributor.authorHancock SN
dc.contributor.authorKearney GA
dc.contributor.authorKenyon PR
dc.contributor.authorKrog J
dc.contributor.authorKubeil LJ
dc.contributor.authorRefshauge G
dc.contributor.authorTrompf JP
dc.contributor.authorThompson AN
dc.contributor.editorDailey R
dc.coverage.spatialSwitzerland
dc.date.accessioned2024-04-29T02:51:01Z
dc.date.accessioned2024-07-25T06:52:06Z
dc.date.available2023-06-09
dc.date.available2024-04-29T02:51:01Z
dc.date.available2024-07-25T06:52:06Z
dc.date.issued2023-06-09
dc.description.abstractIndustry consultation in Australia revealed that the potential impact of the mob size of ewes during lambing on the survival of triplet-born lambs was an important research priority. Previous research has demonstrated that smaller mob sizes at lambing improve the survival of single- and especially twin-born lambs, regardless of ewe stocking rate. Therefore, we hypothesised that lambing triplet-bearing ewes in smaller mobs, regardless of stocking rate, will increase the survival of their lambs. Research sites were established on 12 commercial sheep farms across southern Australia between 2019 and 2021. One farm used Merinos whilst the remainder of the farms used non-Merino breeds, consisting of composite ewes joined to composite or terminal sires. Three of the farms were used in two years of the experiment. Adult, triplet-bearing ewes were randomly allocated into one of two treatments, 'High' or 'Low' mob size, at an average of 135 days from the start of joining. Ewe and lamb survival were assessed between allocation to treatments and lamb marking. Lamb survival was significantly greater for lambs born in the Low (65.6%) compared with the High (56.6%) mob size treatments (p < 0.001). There was no effect of mob size at lambing on the mortality of triplet-bearing ewes. Analysis of the effect of the actual mob sizes showed that reducing the mob size at lambing by 10 triplet-bearing ewes increased the survival of their lambs to marking by 1.5% (p < 0.001). This study has shown that the survival of triplet-born lambs can be improved by lambing triplet-bearing ewes in smaller mobs regardless of stocking rate when ranging from 0.7-13 ewes/ha.
dc.description.confidentialfalse
dc.edition.editionJune 2023
dc.identifier.author-urlhttps://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/37370446
dc.identifier.citationLockwood A, Allington T, Blumer SE, Boshoff J, Clarke BE, Hancock SN, Kearney GA, Kenyon PR, Krog J, Kubeil LJ, Refshauge G, Trompf JP, Thompson AN. (2023). Decreasing Mob Size at Lambing Increases the Survival of Triplet Lambs Born on Farms across Southern Australia. Animals. 13. 12.
dc.identifier.doi10.3390/ani13121936
dc.identifier.eissn2076-2615
dc.identifier.elements-typejournal-article
dc.identifier.issn2076-2615
dc.identifier.number1936
dc.identifier.piiani13121936
dc.identifier.urihttps://mro.massey.ac.nz/handle/10179/71065
dc.languageEnglish
dc.publisherMDPI (Basel, Switzerland0
dc.publisher.urihttps://www.mdpi.com/2076-2615/13/12/1936
dc.relation.isPartOfAnimals
dc.rights(c) 2023 The Author/s
dc.rightsCC BY 4.0
dc.rights.urihttps://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
dc.subjectlamb survival
dc.subjectmaternal
dc.subjectMerino
dc.subjectmob size
dc.subjectnon-Merino
dc.subjecttriplet
dc.subjecttriplet-bearing ewes
dc.subjecttriplet-born lambs
dc.titleDecreasing Mob Size at Lambing Increases the Survival of Triplet Lambs Born on Farms across Southern Australia
dc.typeJournal article
pubs.elements-id462334
pubs.organisational-groupOther
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