Variations in immunoglobulin concentrations in Finnish x Dorset Horn lambs.
The serum immunoglobulin concentrations in two-day-old Finnish x Dorset Horn lambs, which were born and nursed indoors, were high and unrelated to littersize, except when young ewes had large litters, or when ewes lambed twice in a year. The results contrast sharply with those from Merino and Blackface lambs, examined previously, whose mean concentrations were much lower, and generally fell substantially with increasing litter-size. The superiority of the Finnish x Dorset Horn sheep in this respect is attributed to the ability of the lambs to suck particularly vigorously, shortly after birth, especially when large litters are compared, and to a higher rate of colostrum production by the ewes. The correlations between the immunoglobulin concentrations in the lambs and their growth and survival were significant but slight.
D000367:Age Factors; D000818:Animals; D000831:Animals, Newborn / Q000276:immunology; D003126:Colostrum / Q000276:immunology; D005260:Female; D007136:Immunoglobulins / Q000032:analysis*; D008098:Litter Size; D008297:Male; D011247:Pregnancy; D012737:Sex Factors; D012756:Sheep / Q000254:growth & development / Q000276:immunology*
D007136:Immunoglobulins