Effect of Breed of Sire, Level of Postweaning Nutrition and Type of Birth (Single vs. Twin) on Lambing Performance at 12 Months of Age

Abstract

One of the potential area to increase efficiency of sheep production, and thereby net return, is through an increase in the reproductive efficiency of the ewe. The practice of breeding ewes as lambs and thereby getting an additional lamb crop during a ewe\u27s lifetime offers one possibility to increase the lifetime production of the ewe. Proper growth and development of replacment ewe lambs is necessary if this practice is to become a working reality. A study was designed and initiated in the fall of 1970 to evaluate the effect of breed of sire, level of pre- and postweaning nutrition, age at first breeding and type of birth on subsequent reproductive performance of the ewe. The lambing performance at 12 months of age for the first two sets of lambs from this study will be reported in this paper