Productive performance of lambs born in different seasons of the year.

Background: The seasonality in lamb supply challenges the development of sheep production. Increasing the duration of the breeding season, aimed at distributing births throughout the year, enables a constant supply of lambs. However, the birth season can influence their productive performance.

Reproductive performance of European-breed ewes in different seasons of the year under mid-latitude.

The study evaluated the reproductive performance of Ile de France, Texel, Suffolk and crossbred ewes in different seasons, considering season of mating, age, body condition score and breed. The herd was located at geographic coordinates -25.66114429 S, -49.

Corrigendum to "Sensitivity and specificity of the FAMACHA© system in Suffolk sheep and crossbred Boer goats" [Vet. Parasitol. 190 (2012) 114-119].

The authors reported an error in Table 2; the titles of the true-negative and true-positive columns are switched, and a corrected versionof Table 2 follows below.

FAMACHA© system assessment by previously trained sheep and goat farmers in Brazil.

The aim of this study was to evaluate the degree of adoption and the correct use of the FAMACHA© system amongst sheep and goat farmers trained in a previous hands-on course. A survey was carried out with 1375 people who received FAMACHA© training from July 2009 to May 2011 in Paraná State, Brazil. The survey was conducted from March 2012 to May 2013.

Assessment of a hands-on method for FAMACHA© system training.

The FAMACHA(©) system is a method for selective anthelmintic treatment comprising early detection of haemonchosis in sheep and goats. In order to evaluate the hands-on training methodology and the learning level of the participants, we analyzed data from 30 training events involving 47 training classes conducted in the State of Paraná, Brazil, from July/2009 to May/2011, during which period a total of 1004 participants did 20,080 FAMACHA(©) classifications. In the practical training sessions, each participant individually evaluated 20 animals with known haematocrit values.

Sensitivity and specificity of the FAMACHA(©) system in Suffolk sheep and crossbred Boer goats.

Sheep and goats are the species of farm animal with the highest growth rate in Paraná State. The main problems facing Paraná State flocks are gastrointestinal parasites and anthelmintic resistance. One of the newest resources used to slow down the development of anthelmintic resistance is the FAMACHA(©) system, a selective method useful for controlling gastrointestinal verminosis in small ruminants.