The comparison of ewe udder morphology traits of Improved Valachian, Tsigai, Lacaune breeds and their crosses

Comparison of external udder measurements of the sheep breeds Improved Valachian, Tsigai, Lacaune and their crosses

Morphological udder traits have recently become of greater interest from farmers to researchers. In dairy ewes, the udder is very important due to its physiological and conformational characteristics. External udder traits were measured in ewes (Ovis aries L.) of nine genotypes (355 ewes) created of the basis of Improved Valachian (IV), Tsigai (T), and Lacaune (LC) breeds (six traits; 1185 data...

Genetic parameters for the size of udder cisterns in ewes diagnosed by ultraso- nography among breeds: Improved Valachian, Tsigai, Lacaune and their crosses

Comparison of East Friesian-crossbred and Lacaune-crossbred Ewe Lambs for Dairy Sheep Production First-year Results from a Multi-year Trial

East Friesian-sired F1 ewe lambs (n = 27) and Lacaune-sired F1 ewe lambs (n = 31) born in 1999 were compared for lamb production, lactation performance, and udder morphology traits in a dairy sheep production environment in 2000. The ewe lambs were the progeny of seven East Friesian and five Lacaune sires. A contemporary group of high percentage East Friesian ewe lambs (> 3/4 East Friesian, n =...

Factors affecting milk yield and ewe’s lactation curves estimated with test-day models

Test-day records of purebred Tsigai, Improved Valachian and Lacaune ewes were analysed with a general linear model in order to investigate the effects of flock-test day, lactation number, days in milk, litter size and month of lambing. In total, 121 576 (Tsigai), 247 902 (Improved Valachian) and 2 196 (Lacaune) test-day records gathered over the period 1995–2005 were included in the analyses. A...

The effect of stage of lactation on daily milk yield, and milk fat and protein content in Tsigai and Improved Valachian ewes

Tsigai and Improved Valachian are the most spread sheep breeds in Slovakia. Both are multi-purpose breeds (Krupová et al., 2009), well adapted to local climate and environment. Tsigai is one of the oldest native breeds in areas from 500 to 800 m above sea level, mostly in the semi-extensive production system (Krupová et al., 2009), while improved Valachian is mostly kept in mountains and foothi...