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    lip-marylambs mars wee ewe mar owns a wee ewe; ewe owns a snow over. mars moves cause ewe same sure moves. as mar comes on courses, so ewe comes on. -- a no-no! ewe amuses coursers, roar ewe on course! eux-eux-eux

    The effect of maternal nutrition during mid- to late- pregnancy on ewe and lamb behaviour and the association with lamb survival : a thesis presented in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Animal Science at Massey University, Palmerston North, New Zealand

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    Lambing percentage in New Zealand has increased by almost 30% in the last 20 years. This increase is associated with a greater percentage of twin- and triplet-born lambs which have lower survival rates than singletons. The behaviour of the ewe and her lambs has been associated with lamb survival, however, relevant data on the effect of ewe mid-pregnancy body condition score (BCS) and nutrition on ewe and lamb behaviour under New Zealand pastoral farming conditions is scarce. This research included seven experiments investigating the effects of feeding ewes, with a BCS of 2.0 to 3.0 at mid-pregnancy, either ad libitum or only sufficient to meet pregnancy maintenance requirements from mid- to very late-pregnancy, on ewe and lamb behaviour at 3 to 24 hours after birth. The association between behaviour and lamb survival was also investigated. Observations on ewe and lamb behavioural were conducted at tagging (3 to 18 hours after birth) and in a triangle pen test at approximately 12 or 24 hours after birth. The effects of ewe mid-pregnancy BCS and feeding on behaviour were somewhat inconsistent across experiments, possibly due to variations in the timing and length of feeding treatments. Feeding ewes ad libitum in comparison to pregnancy maintenance requirements did not consistently improve the maternal behaviour score (MBS) of the ewe. This is not surprising as neither of the feeding treatment groups were nutritionally restricting. There was some evidence to suggest that lambs born to ewes offered the pregnancy maintenance diet exhibited a greater need, possibly due to a weaker ewe-lamb bond than lambs born to ewes on the ad lib treatment. This need was characterised in twins, in chapter four, by greater low-pitched bleating rates and decreased time to contact, suck and follow the dam. Similar, but inconsistent results were reported in other chapters. Further, when investigating the relationship between behaviour and survival, it was found that twin-born lambs with the greater need (followed their dam more quickly) were more likely to die. The opposite relationship was found in triplet-born lambs, which may be a reflection of greater competition for milk within triplet-litters compared to twin-litters. Thus, in both twin- and triplet-born lambs following behaviour is an indicator of mortality. The practical use of this behaviour as a tool to predict lamb survival is limited

    A cohort study of the associations between udder conformation, milk somatic cell count, and lamb weight in suckler ewes

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    A cohort study of 67 suckler ewes from 1 farm was carried out from January to May 2010 to investigate associations between udder conformation, udder half milk somatic cell count (SCC), and lamb weight. Ewes and lambs were observed at lambing. Ewe health and teat condition and lamb health and weight were recorded on 4 to 5 further occasions at 14-d intervals. At each observation, a milk sample was collected from each udder half for somatic cell counting. Two weeks after lambing, ewe udder conformation and teat placement were scored. Low lamb weight was associated with ewe SCC >400,000 cells/mL (−0.73kg), a new teat lesion 14 d previously (−0.91kg), suboptimal teat position (−1.38kg), rearing in a multiple litter (−1.45kg), presence of diarrhea at the examination (−1.19kg), and rearing by a 9-yr-old ewe compared with a 6-yr-old ewe (−2.36kg). High lamb weight was associated with increasing lamb age (0.21kg/d), increasing birth weight (1.65kg/kg at birth), and increasing number of days the ewe was given supplementary feed before lambing (0.06kg/d). High udder half SCC was associated with pendulous udders (9.6% increase in SCC/cm of drop) and greater total cross-sectional area of the teats (7.2% increase of SCC/cm2). Low SCC were associated with a heavier mean litter weight (6.7% decrease in SCC/kg). Linear, quadratic, and cubic terms for days in lactation were also significant. We conclude that poor udder and teat conformation are associated with high levels of intramammary infection, as indicated by increased SCC and that both physical attributes of the udder and SCC are linked to lamb growth, suggesting that selection of suckler ewes with better udder and teat conformation would reduce intramammary infection and increase lamb growth rate

    A cohort study of the associations between udder conformation, milk somatic cell count, and lamb weight in suckler ewes

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    A cohort study of 67 suckler ewes from 1 farm was carried out from January to May 2010 to investigate associations between udder conformation, udder half milk somatic cell count (SCC), and lamb weight. Ewes and lambs were observed at lambing. Ewe health and teat condition and lamb health and weight were recorded on 4 to 5 further occasions at 14-d intervals. At each observation, a milk sample was collected from each udder half for somatic cell counting. Two weeks after lambing, ewe udder conformation and teat placement were scored. Low lamb weight was associated with ewe SCC >400,000 cells/mL (−0.73kg), a new teat lesion 14 d previously (−0.91kg), suboptimal teat position (−1.38kg), rearing in a multiple litter (−1.45kg), presence of diarrhea at the examination (−1.19kg), and rearing by a 9-yr-old ewe compared with a 6-yr-old ewe (−2.36kg). High lamb weight was associated with increasing lamb age (0.21kg/d), increasing birth weight (1.65kg/kg at birth), and increasing number of days the ewe was given supplementary feed before lambing (0.06kg/d). High udder half SCC was associated with pendulous udders (9.6% increase in SCC/cm of drop) and greater total cross-sectional area of the teats (7.2% increase of SCC/cm2). Low SCC were associated with a heavier mean litter weight (6.7% decrease in SCC/kg). Linear, quadratic, and cubic terms for days in lactation were also significant. We conclude that poor udder and teat conformation are associated with high levels of intramammary infection, as indicated by increased SCC and that both physical attributes of the udder and SCC are linked to lamb growth, suggesting that selection of suckler ewes with better udder and teat conformation would reduce intramammary infection and increase lamb growth rate

    Focus in Ewe

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    Focus in Ewe

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    International audience—In this paper, a strides detection algorithm is proposed using inertial sensors worn on the ankle. This innovative approach based on geometric patterns can detect both normal walking strides and atypical strides such as small steps, side steps and backward walking that existing methods struggle to detect. It is also robust in critical situations, when for example the wearer is sitting and moving the ankle, while most algorithms in the literature would wrongly detect strides

    The use of feed blocks as supplementation for the upland hill flock: (2) Cost effective lamb production

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    This report was presented at the UK Organic Research 2002 Conference of the Colloquium of Organic Researchers (COR).Under EU organic livestock regulations introduced in 2000, new restrictions were placed on the use of bought-in feedstuffs in hill systems. These reduced the non-organic annual percentage previously allowed in LFAs from 20% to 10% of annual dry matter intake. A further stepping down of these allowances may be introduced ahead of a complete ban in 2005. Bought-in feed supplements must therefore, be used strategically and offer “best value for money” in terms of ewe performance and lamb growth. The economic cost of supplementing the diet of twin-rearing ewes post lambing with either an approved non-organic feed block + half ration of commercial concentrate mix (B+CCM) or full ration commercial concentrate mix (CCM) was investigated. Lambs reared by ewes receiving the B+CCM diet had a greater liveweight gain than those reared by ewes receiving the CCM diet per kg of ewe supplementary feed. The costs in terms of kg lamb liveweight were lower for the B+CCM ewes than the CCM ewe

    Effect of heavier live weight of ewe lambs at breeding on reproductive performance, mammary gland development and subsequent live weight : a thesis presented in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Animal Science, Massey University, Palmerston North, New Zealand

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    Table 3.1 (=Kenyon et al., 2014b Table 1) was removed for copyright reasons. Figure 1.2 is re-used under a Creative Commons CC-BY-NC-ND 4.0 license.Breeding ewe lambs at seven to eight months of age can increase farm profitability and ewe lifetime performance. In New Zealand, 30 to 40% of ewe lambs are bred each year with a minimum recommended pre-breeding live weight of 40 kg. Ewe lamb reproductive performance increases with breeding live weight, therefore, some farmers aim to breed ewe lambs heavier than 40 kg. Increasing ewe-lamb growth rates prior to puberty, to achieve a heavier breeding live weight could, however, impair ewe lamb mammary gland development and lactational performance. Currently, little is known about the impact of breeding heavier ewe lambs on their subsequent performance, live weight, and efficiency. The aim of this thesis was to investigate the effect of breeding heavier ewe lambs on their reproductive performance, mammary gland development and live weight over their first three breeding seasons. Ewe lambs were managed from weaning to breeding and achieved an average live weight of 47.9 ± 0.38 or 44.9 ± 0.49 kg at breeding. A growth rate of 150 g/d prior to the first breeding did not affect ewe lamb mammary gland development to the weaning of their second litter, as measured using ultrasonography. Positive relationships were found between ewe lamb mammary ultrasound measures at one year of age and the growth of their progeny to weaning. The associations between ultrasound measurements and growth of the progeny indicate that ultrasound scanning has the potential to be used as a selection technique for heavier lamb live weight at weaning. Although the live weight difference between treatments was limited to three kilograms, compared with lighter ewes, heavier ewe lambs at their first breeding showed greater fertility rate, litter size and lambing percentage but did not differ in the second and third breeding seasons. Over the first three breeding seasons, heavier ewe lambs had greater lamb production than their lighter counterparts. Ewe lamb live weight treatment had no effect on progeny performance to weaning, nor ewe efficiency over the three-year period. A positive association was found between ewe lamb breeding live weight and their mature live weight at 39 months of age. Farmers should aim to breed their ewe lambs at heavier live weights to maximise their reproductive performance as a ewe lamb and, if well managed, they can achieve increased ewe performance over the first three breeding seasons, although there would be no impact on efficiency. Before firm recommendations can be made to farmers, lifetime performance and longevity of the heavier ewe lambs at breeding needs to be examined

    Is Malaysia exempted from impossible trinity: empirical evidence from 1991-2009

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    This paper examines Bank Negara Malaysia’s (BNM) monetary policy autonomy in 1991-2009, a period of volatile capital flows, during which BNM operated under several exchange regimes: managed floating; fixed exchange rates; and fixed exchange rates with selective capital controls. Using a modified version of the Brissimis, Gibson and Tsakalotos (2002) model, the paper’s empirical estimates show that the same-period offset coefficients are significantly less than unity under all regimes, indicating that the Malaysian central bank possesses some short-run control over monetary policy (even under fixed exchange rates). Although the long-run offset coefficient continues to be less than unity under managed floating, it is not significantly less than unity under fixed exchange rates. These results show that Malaysia is not exempted from the impossible trinity except in the very short-run. Perhaps one of the reasons Malaysia abandoned its US dollar exchange rate peg on 20 July 2005 to move back to managed floating is to increase its monetary policy independence. One implication of the Malaysian monetary policy experience is that managed floating with active sterilization may be a viable strategy for emerging market economies to deal with volatile capital flows.Offset Coefficient, Sterilization Coefficient, Monetary Autonomy, Impossible Trinity

    The Ethnic Factor in International Politics: Constructing the Role of the Nawuri in the Pan-Ewe Nationalist Movement

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    This paper examines the German colonial project in Alfai in Northern Ghana as well as the roles the Nawuri played in the political activism of the 1940s and 1950s that sought to define the administrative status of the two Trust Territories of former German Togoland. Described as the “Togoland Question” or the “Ewe Problem”, the political activism has been labeled an Ewe affair, and examined largely within the framework of the pan-Ewe nationalists seeking to project an Ewe identity and establish an Ewe-dominated state. This study shifts focus to the roles that the Nawuri, a non-Ewe ethnic group, played in the pan-Ewe nationalist movement, and argues that the pan-Ewe nationalist movement was not entirely an Ewe affair; Nawuri association with and participation in its activities were conspicuous. Keywords: Alfai, British, Ghana, Gold Coast, German, Gonja, Kanankulaiwura, Kete-Krachi, nationalist, Nawuri, Nawuriwura, Northern Territories, Trust Territories, Togo, Togoland Questio
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