The production and quality analysis of Latvian Darkhead breed lambs
2015
Barzdina, D., Latvia Univ. of Agriculture, Jelgava (Latvia). Faculty of Agriculture. Inst. of Agrobiotechnology | Kairisa, D., Latvia Univ. of Agriculture, Jelgava (Latvia). Faculty of Agriculture. Inst. of Agrobiotechnology
In Latvia, people predominantly breed Latvian Darkhead breed lambs with seasonal rutting between July and December. Due to economic reasons, part of the sheep breeders organize the lambing of ewes in spring months, when lambs are born in April, May, shortly before the beginning of the pasture season. The lambing season of ewes affect the development and growth of lambs, predominantly the increase in live weight per day. The aim of the study is to analyse the impact of lambing season of ewes on lamb growth rates during the lactation period. The farm being studied is situated in Latvia, in Northern Vidzeme and mostly breeding Latvian dark heads breed. This study uses the production results for farm-born lambs in 2013 and 2014. For the purposes of data analysis we established 3 groups, depending on the lambing season and lamb gender. By performing the variance analysis of the results obtained, we concluded that the age of ewes had a significant impact on the number and live weight of lambs at birth, and the fertility of ewes had a significant impact on breeding of lambs. The ewes of spring-born lambs were 3 years old on average and 2 lambs per ewe lambed were obtained on average, which differed significantly from winter and summer-born lamb groups. During the study, it was demonstrated that the number of lambs per litter affects the live weight of lambs at birth, the spring-born male (3.8 kg) and female (3.7 kg) lambs were significantly lighter than those born in winter and summer. During the lactation period, the highest increase in daily live weight was obtained from summer-born lambs of both genders. The male lambs reached 287.3 g and the female lambs – 269.0 g. According to the results obtained in the study, we conclude that the largest number of ewes lambed in spring, and they are most efficiently used during this season.
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