Heritability estimates and genetic and phenotypic correlations of skin thickness and skin temperature with key production traits in FocusPrime, Texel, Romney and Highlander sheep.

Skin thickness was found to be moderately heritable and genetically associated with lamb survival in a previous study on Romney sheep. The aims of this study were to estimate the heritabilities of skin thickness and skin temperature at around five and 11 months of age, and determine genetic and phenotypic correlations between them and with production traits such as fat depth, loin-eye muscle depth and width, live weights at weaning, scanning, and 12 months, and 12-month fleece weight, in FocusPrime (n=2,088), Texel (n=732), Romney (n=825) and Highlander (n=1,801) sheep breeds. Heritability estimates of skin thickness at 5-month old were moderate in FocusPrime (0.

Where do all the ewes go? Ewe culling and mortality in 34 sheep flocks in New Zealand.

Aims: To describe rates of and reasons for culling and mortality of ewes between breeding and mid-lactation on New Zealand sheep farms; to investigate associations of these variables with farm demographic variables; and to describe rates of and reasons for culling of ewes at weaning.

Methods: Participants were a convenience sample of 34 farms from across New Zealand. Demographic data were initially collected for each farm via a questionnaire administered in-person to the flock owner or manager.

Isolation of Aerobic Bacterial Species Associated with Palpable Udder Defects in Non-Dairy Ewes.

The objectives of these studies were to identify associations between udder half defects (hard or lump) and bacteria isolated from milk or mammary tissue swabs, to compare with samples from normal udder halves at different physiological time points and to compare bacterial species isolated via milk and swabs of mammary tissue from within the same udder halves. A total of 1054 samples were aseptically collected from each udder half of 199 non-dairy breed (Romney) ewes from three different studies (Study A, = 77; Study B, = 74; and Study C, = 48). Conventional bacterial culture and MALDI-ToF mass spectrometry were used for bacterial identification.

High Concentrate Supplementation during Late Pregnancy and Lambing Reduced Mortality of Triplet-Bearing Maternal Ewes.

Low survival of triplet-bearing ewes and their lambs represents lost production and a welfare issue. The effects of feed-on-offer (FOO; low: 1205 vs. high: 1980 kg DM/ha) and concentrate supplementation (low: 50 vs.

Effect of Acacia mearnsii forage or tannin extract on rumen dry matter and crude protein degradation.

This study investigated rumen degradation kinetics of dry matter (DM) and crude protein (CP) in compound feed with different tannin extract inclusions and Acacia mearnsi forage (AMF) relative to dairy feeds (perennial ryegrass+white clover mixture pasture, maize silage, lucerne hay and Themeda triandra hay). The compound feed had 0.75%, 1.