Hostname: page-component-cd9895bd7-jn8rn Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-12-26T05:13:10.309Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

The effects of breed, breeding system and other factors on lamb mortality: 1. Causes of death and effects on the incidence of losses

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  27 March 2009

G. Wiener ,
Carol Woolliams  and
N. S. M. Macleod
G. Wiener
Affiliation:
Agricultural Research Council Animal Breeding Research Organisation, King's Buildings, West Mains Road, Edinburgh, EH9 3JQ
Carol Woolliams
Affiliation:
Agricultural Research Council Animal Breeding Research Organisation, King's Buildings, West Mains Road, Edinburgh, EH9 3JQ
N. S. M. Macleod
Affiliation:
Veterinary Investigation Centre, East of Scotland College of Agriculture, Bush Estate, Penicuik, Midlothian, EH26 OQE
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Summary

The incidence of lamb mortality from birth to 8 months of age has been studied over a 6-year period in an upland, grassland flock of sheep comprising the Scottish Blackface, Cheviot and Welsh Mountain breeds and the crosses among these breeds. Each breed and cross-bred type was maintained at varying levels of inbreeding. Approximately half the lambs which died were stillborn or dead on the day of birth, nearly 40% died thereafter but before weaning and about 10% after weaning.

Post-mortem examinations on 586 of the 632 lambs which died from among the 2453 born attributed death on average to two causes per lamb. Approximately 11% of the causes were stillbirths or delayed births; 11% were cases of dystokia; congenital defects of various types accounted for about 10% of the causes; 25% made reference to weakly lamb, exposure or starvation; 14% to infectious diseases and 16% to noninfectious diseases. The extent to which causes of death occur together is examined.

Breeds differed in mortality rate with the Welsh the lowest and Cheviot the highest. Cross-breds were better than the average of the pure breeds but this advantage emerged only in the period between 3 days and. 6 weeks of age. Inbreeding, both of dam and of lamb, increased mortality. Lambs from dams which were crosses of inbred lines had the best survival. Litter size, type of rearing, parity of dam, sex of lamb and birth weight also had significant effects on mortality rate.

Type
Research Article
Information
The Journal of Agricultural Science , Volume 100 , Issue 3 , June 1983 , pp. 539 - 551
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 1983

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Bekedam, M. (1974). A crossbreeding experiment with Texel and Flemish sheep, preliminary results. In Proceedings of the Working Symposium on Breed Evaluation and Crossing Experiments with Farm Animals, Zeist, pp. 407–419. Research Institute for Animal Husbandry ‘Sohoonoord’, Zeist, Netherlands.Google Scholar
Dalton, D. C, Knight, T. W. & Johnson, D. L. (1980). Lamb survival in sheep breeds on New Zealand hill country. New Zealand Journal of Agricultural Research 23, 167–173.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Dennis, S. M. (1970). Perinatal lamb mortality in a purebred Southdown flock. Journal of Animal Science 31, 76–79.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Dickerson, G. E., Glimp, H. A. & Gregory, K. E. (1975). Genetic resources for efficient meat production in sheep: pre-weaning viability and growth of Finn sheep and domestic crossbred lambs. Journal of Animal Science 41, 43–45.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Doney, J. M. (1957). Effects of inbreeding on four families of Peppin Merinos. Australian Journal of Agricultural Research 8, 299–311.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Doney, J. M. (1966). Inbreeding depression in grazing Blackface sheep. Animal Production 8, 261–266.Google Scholar
Galal, E. S. E., Afifi, E. A., El-Kimary, I. S., Ahmad, I. A. & Shawar, A. F. (1981). Lamb survival as affected by inbreeding and cross-breeding. Journal of Agricultural Science, Cambridge 96, 1–5.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Gunn, R. G. & Robinson, J. F. (1963). Lamb mortality in Scottish hill flocks. Animal Production 5, 67–76.Google Scholar
Hight, G. K. & Jury, K. E. (1969). Lamb mortality in hill country flocks. Proceedings of the New Zealand Society of Animal Production 29, 219–232.Google Scholar
Johnston, W. S. (1978). Causes and prevention of early lamb losses. College Digest, 1978, North of Scotland College of Agriculture, pp. 32–36. Dundee: Harley and Cox.Google Scholar
Lax, J. & Brown, G. H. (1968). The influence of maternal handicap, inbreeding and ewe's body weight at 15–16 months of age on reproduction rate in Australian Merinos. Australian Journal of Agricultural Research 19, 433–442.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Leech, F. B., Vessey, M. P. & Menzies, D. W. (1964). An analysis of the results of post-mortem examinations of sheep. November 1959–October 1961. In Animal Diseases Surveys: Report No.3. Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food. London: H.M.S.O.Google Scholar
McFarlane, D. (1965). Perinatal lamb losses. I. An autopsy method for the investigation of perinatal losses. New Zealand Veterinary Journal 13, 116–135.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
McGuirk, B. J. (1967). Breeding for lamb production. Wool Technology and Sheep Breeding 14, 73–75.Google Scholar
Macleod, N. S. M., Wiener, G. & Barlow, R. (1972). Factors involved in middle ear infection (Otitis Media) in lambs. Veterinary Record 91, 360–362.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Nitter, G. (1978). Breed utilisation for meat production in sheep. Animal Breeding Abstracts 46, 131–143.Google Scholar
Prud'hon, M., Denoy, I. & Desvignes, A. (1968). [Results of a six year breeding of ‘Mérinos d'Aries’ ewes (domaine du merle). III. Lamb mortality.] Annales de Zootechnie 17, 159–168.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Purser, A. F. & Young, G. B. (1959). Lamb survival in two hill flocks. Animal Production 1, 85–91.Google Scholar
Purser, A. F. & Young, G. B. (1964). Mortality among twin and single lambs. Animal Production 6, 321–329.Google Scholar
Safford, J. W. & Hoversland, A. S. (1960). A study of lamb mortality in a Western range flock. I. Autopsy findings on 1051 lambs. Journal of Animal Science 19, 265–273.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Saunders, R. W. (1977). Perinatal lamb mortality associated with lowland grassland systems. In Perinatal Losses in Lambs. A collection of papers from a symposium at Stirling University, 02 1975. Publication of the East of Scotland College of Agriculture.Google Scholar
Slee, J., Griffiths, R. G. & Samson, D. E. (1980). Hypothermia in newborn lambs induced by experimental immersion in a water bath and by natural exposure outdoors. Research in Veterinary Science 28, 275–280.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Speedy, A. W., Linklater, K. A., Mackenzie, C. G., Macmillan, D. R. & Blance, E. W. (1977). A survey of perinatal mortality in upland sheep flocks in South-East Scotland. In Perinatal Losses in Lambs. A collection of papers from a symposium at Stirling University, 02 1975. Publication of the East of Scotland College of Agriculture.Google Scholar
Stamp, J. T. (1967). Perinatal loss in lambs with particular reference to diagnosis. Veterinary Record 81, 530–537.Google Scholar
Wiener, G. (1966). Genetic and other factors in the occurrence of swayback in Bheep. Journal of Comparative Pathology 76, 435–447.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Wiener, G., Deeble, F. K., Broadbent, J. S. & Talbot, M. (1973). Breed variation in lambing performance and lamb mortality in commercial sheep flocks. Animal Production 17, 229–243.Google Scholar
Wiener, G. & Hayter, S. (1975). Maternal performance in sheep as affected by breed, crossbreeding and other factors. Animal Production 20, 19–30.Google Scholar
Wiener, G., Hayter, S., Field, A. C. & Macleod, N. S. M. (1974). Copper levels in liver and brain of dead lambs in relation to breed, age at death and cause of death. Journal of Comparative Pathology 84, 27–38.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed