Abstract #633

# 633
An investigation in to the interaction between ewe BCS and litter weights at key times of the production cycle.
Francis P. Campion*1, Fiona M. McGovern1, Philip Creighton2, Alan G. Fahey1, Tommy M. Boland1, 1University College Dublin, Dublin, Ireland, 2Teagasc Athenry, Co. Galway, Ireland.

Ewe body reserve accumulation and mobilization is an essential part of the production cycle. The interaction between breed, ewe body condition score (BCS) and animal performance is an area that warrants investigation. Using 3 commercial flocks which are part of a national progeny testing scheme, BCS data was collected from twin bearing ewes at mating, mid-pregnancy, mid-lactation (~d 40 of lactation) and weaning (~d 100 postpartum). This data was then combined with ewe breed, maternal age, and litter weight at birth (BW), d 40 of lactation (D40) and weaning (WE) data. The objective of this study was to investigate if litter weight from birth to weaning of twin bearing ewes was influenced by ewe BCS. Lamb weights collected from each lamb at BW, D40 and WE were summed to calculate litter weight. Regression coefficients were estimated using PROC MIXED (SAS v9.4). The model included the fixed effects of flock, breed, time point and maternal age, and previous years litter size along with the continuous variables of lambing date and lambing difficulty, and BW, D40 or WE. Variables with a P-value > 0.10 were removed from the final model. Initially a correlation analysis was carried out on BCS and weight. Mid-lactation BCS and weaning BCS had a correlation of 0.63; all other time points had correlations less than 0.40. There was strong correlation between D40 and WE litter weight (0.80) but not between BW and D40 (0.40) or BW and WE (0.23) litter weights. Changes in BW and WE litter weight were influenced by mid-pregnancy BCS (P < 0.05) and there was a tendency toward a relationship between D40 litter weight and BCS at mid-pregnancy and weaning (P < 0.10). There was no relationship between litter weight at any stage during the first 14 weeks of life and mating or mid-lactation BCS (P > 0.10). Farm, ewe maternal age and breed, time point and breed by time point interaction all had a significant effect on the relationship between BCS and litter weight (P < 0.05). These findings show that mid pregnancy BCS is the key BCS measurement linked to litter weight of twin bearing ewes at birth and weaning.

Key Words: BCS, litter weight, lamb