Feeding twin-bearing Merino ewes above the metabolisable energy requirements for maintenance during late gestation increases the duration of parturition of the first-born lamb

Amy L. Munn; William H. E. J. van Wettere; Alyce M. F. Swinbourne; Alice C. Weaver

doi:10.1071/AN24158

RESEARCH ARTICLE (Open Access)

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Feeding twin-bearing Merino ewes above the metabolisable energy requirements for maintenance during late gestation increases the duration of parturition of the first-born lamb

Amy L. Munn

^A ^* , William H. E. J. van Wettere ^A , Alyce M. F. Swinbourne ^B and Alice C. Weaver ^B

+ Author Affiliations

- Author Affiliations

^A Davies Livestock Research Centre, The University of Adelaide, Roseworthy, SA 5371, Australia.

^B Turretfield Research Centre, South Australian Research and Development Institute, Rosedale, SA 5350, Australia.

^* Correspondence to: amy.munn@adelaide.edu.au

Handling Editor: Robin Jacob

Animal Production Science 64, AN24158 https://doi.org/10.1071/AN24158

Submitted: 7 September 2023 Accepted: 13 September 2024 Published: 3 October 2024

© 2024 The Author(s) (or their employer(s)). Published by CSIRO Publishing. This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License (CC BY-NC-ND)

Abstract

Context

In Australia, approximately 53% of lamb deaths are caused by dystocia. One of the main welfare concerns in the sheep industry is under- and overfeeding ewes, which may be contributing to cases of dystocia.

Aims

This pilot study aimed to investigate how increasing energy intake affects the duration of parturition and predictors of lamb survival.

Methods

On Day 100 of gestation (dG), 20 twin-bearing and 10 singleton Merino ewes were selected and allocated to three treatment groups; (1) singleton ewes fed at 1.0× maintenance levels (n = 10); (2) twin-bearing ewes fed at 1.0× maintenance levels (n = 10) or (3) twin-bearing ewes fed at 1.25× maintenance (n = 10). Ewes were housed indoors in individual pens. Urine and blood were sampled from ewes on dG 130, 140, then daily from dG 145 through to parturition, and blood was sampled at the onset of parturition and 30 min post-partum. Urine was analysed for pH and blood was analysed for metabolic parameters, mineral concentration and acid–base balance. Predictors of lamb survival from birth to 24 h consisted of weight, rectal temperature, blood glucose and lactate, and body morphology.

Key results

Serum calcium in late gestation and blood base excess pre-parturition were higher in Singletons 1M compared with Twins 1M (P < 0.05). The Twins 1.25M group took longer to give birth to the first-born lamb (104.4 ± 21.1 min) compared with the Twins 1M group (44.1 ± 6.6 min; P = 0.015). There were no differences in the predictors of lamb survival measures between the twin-bearing groups (P > 0.05).

Conclusions

Ewes from the Twins 1.25M group took significantly longer to give birth to the first-born lamb. There were no other significant findings between the twin-bearing groups, including lamb liveweight, however, lambs born to ewes from the Twins 1.25 group were numerically heavier, which may explain the increase in parturition length.

Implications

Feeding ewes above maintenance did not provide any production benefits to metabolic health or any other physiological parameters. Producers should avoid overfeeding ewes during late gestation.

Keywords: calcium, glucose, ketone bodies, maternal supplementation, Merino, nutrition, parturition, sheep.

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