Impact of body condition on postpartum features in morada nova sheep

Abstract

This study evaluated the impact of nutritional status of Morada Nova sheep at lambing on the reproductive and productive performance and on the survival of lambs in early weaning system. Nineteen, Morada Nova sheep were assigned to two groups according to body condition score (BCS) at lambing: low BCS (n = 11) and high BCS (n=8) with body condition respectively of (mean ± SD) 2.0 ± 0.3 e 2.9 ± 0.1. From birth until lamb weaning (45 days), sheep were weighed weekly and checked the BCS, loin subcutaneous fat thickness, loin depth, hematological profile, milk composition and production, and every three days, we measured the uterine diameter. Lamb weightings were performed up to one week after weaning (52 days). The lower availability of muscle and fat reserves in the low BCS group negatively affected milk production and consequently performance of suckling lambs. However, the results indicated that the uterine involution process, the reproductive parameters including prolificacy, rate of multiple births, number of white blood cells, milk quality, body weight of lambs at birth and mortality rates were not affected by the body condition. The results allowed to describe the responsiveness to opposite nutritional status of Morada Nova sheep, showing their characteristics of adaptation.