Journal
NEW ZEALAND JOURNAL OF AGRICULTURAL RESEARCH
Volume 62, Issue 4, Pages 399-437Publisher
TAYLOR & FRANCIS LTD
DOI: 10.1080/00288233.2019.1616568
Keywords
Lamb; sheep; triplet; birth weight; survival; ewe; growth
Categories
Funding
- Meat and Livestock Australia
- Murdoch University
- Massey University
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Triplet-bearing ewes and their lambs have the potential to improve flock productivity however, the lack of robust information on optimal nutrition and management is limiting their performance. In comparison to twins, the triplet lamb is; lighter, more metabolically challenged, has lower body temperature, and receives less colostrum and milk which combined results in lower survival rates and weaning weights. While scientifically based management guidelines are available for singletons and twins, guidelines are generally lacking for triplets. Although there is some knowledge on the impacts of nutrition, further studies are required to examine the impacts of varying feeding regimens in pregnancy and lactation, across the body condition range. Characterising the impacts of shelter and other paddock factors, stocking rate, mob size and human intervention would also be of benefit. Future studies must be large enough to allow for evaluation of lamb survival and litter birth weight variation.
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