Assessing dairy potential of western white-faced ewes.
Two experiments were conducted to examine the milk producing ability of Western White-Faced sheep and to identify traits that correlate well with milk production. In Exp. 1, 31 Targhee ewes were milked and five samples were taken during 107-d lactations in which the ewes nursed twin lambs. Milk yield and composition, lamb weights, ewe weights, wool growth, and udder size also were measured. In Exp. 2, 24 ewes (Rambouillet x Finn-Dorset) were separated from their lambs at 7 wk and milked twice per day for eight more weeks, during which milk yield and composition, feed consumption, udder width, and ewe weights were measured. Results from Exp. 1 showed that lamb 30-d weights, ewe weights at breeding time, and udder width at peak lactation were highly correlated with suckled milk yield (r = .81, .75 and .66, respectively). Results from Exp. 2 indicated that lamb weights and ewe weights were not useful for predicting milk yield in dairy ewes, but feed intake and udder width were (r = .74 and .86, respectively). Single-day milk yield measurements were excellent estimators of total lactation yield in both experiments. Milk yields averaged 1,714 g/d in the suckled ewes and 477 g/d in the dairy ewes.
Reynolds
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Dept. of Anim. Sci., University of California, Davis 95616.
Brown
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DL
D000818:Animals; D000833:Animals, Suckling / Q000254:growth & development*; D001947:Breeding; D004435:Eating; D005260:Female; D007774:Lactation; D008098:Litter Size; D008321:Mammary Glands, Animal / Q000033:anatomy & histology; D008892:Milk / Q000737:chemistry / Q000378:metabolism; D012044:Regression Analysis; D012756:Sheep / Q000254:growth & development / Q000502:physiology*; D015430:Weight Gain; D014935:Wool / Q000254:growth & development