Journal
NEW ZEALAND JOURNAL OF AGRICULTURAL RESEARCH
Volume 63, Issue 2, Pages 246-259Publisher
TAYLOR & FRANCIS LTD
DOI: 10.1080/00288233.2019.1570945
Keywords
Merino; non-Merino; density; Australia; New Zealand
Categories
Funding
- Meat and Livestock Australia [B.LMS 0050]
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Higher stocking rates of lambing ewes have been associated with poorer ewe-lamb behaviour and lamb survival. This study tested the hypothesis that increasing the mob size and stocking rate of lambing ewes on commercial farms will reduce the survival of their lambs. Data were collected from 66 producers in Australia for Experiment one and 22 producers in New Zealand for Experiment two. Survival of single- and twin-born lambs decreased by 1.4% and 3.5% per extra 100 ewes in the mob, regardless of breed, in Experiment one. The survival of Merino lambs in Experiment two decreased by 0.9% per extra 100 ewes in the mob, regardless of birth type. Increasing stocking rate by 1 ewe/ha also decreased lamb survival by 0.7% in Experiment one. However, this was not evident in Experiment two. These findings highlight the scope to optimise ewe mob size and stocking rate at lambing to improve lamb survival.
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