A benign cartilaginous tumor, chondroma, occurred in a 3.5 year-old ewe that was presented to the Veterinary Teaching Hospital, College of Agriculture and Veterinary Medicine, Qassim University. The tumor mass was in the form of a massive hard swelling at the right shoulder region. The ewe was not able to bear weight on the right forelimb that was abducted laterally. Exploration of that swellin...

A 3-yr study was conducted to comprehensively evaluate Columbia, Suffolk, USMARCComposite (Composite), and Texel breeds as terminal sires in an extensive rangeland production system. The objective was to estimate breed-of-ram effects on ewe fertility, prolifi cacy, and dystocia, and sire breed effects on lamb survival and growth until weaning at approximately 132 d of age. Data were from 22 Col...

A 3-yr study was conducted to comprehensively evaluate Columbia, Suffolk, USMARC-Composite (Composite), and Texel breeds as terminal sires in an extensive rangeland production system. The objective was to estimate breed-of-ram effects on ewe fertility, prolificacy, and dystocia, and sire breed effects on lamb survival and growth until weaning at approximately 132 d of age. Data were from 22 Col...

The present study evaluated the effect of controlled ryegrass-white clover herbage availability from day 128 until day 142 of pregnancy in comparison to unrestricted availability, on the performance of twin-bearing ewes of varying body condition score (BCS; 2.0, 2.5, or 3.0) and their lambs. It was hypothesised that under conditions of controlled herbage availability, the performance of lambs b...

The intelligibility of sentences recorded from the uterus of a pregnant ewe and from the near-term fetal sheep inner ear was judged by 30 listeners. Sentences were presented to the ewe at 95 and 105 dB SPL while sequential recordings of sound with a hydrophone and a cochlear microphonic (CM) with electrodes were made. Recordings were randomized and presented to listeners to judge the intelligib...

Twenty-eight Comisana dry ewes were utilised to evaluate the effect of shearing (14 shorn and 14 unshorn ewes) and supplemental level (100 and 300g of concentrate) on intake of barley stubble. Shorn ewes showed a small increase in dry matter intake (at the end of August: 1.32 vs. 1.10kg/day; p<0.01). Intake of barley stubble decreased as supplement level increased (mean: 1.18 vs. 1.29; p<0.01)....

Sheep production systems need to become more carbon efficient meet growing public demands on climate change. Some of the ways postulated achieve this is implement new technologies and management strategies such as precision livestock farming (PLF), increased use high genetic merit animals with estimated breeding values through artificial insemination (AI) where practical, prolific breeds. Howev...

Staphylococcus aureus is a major etiological agent of mastitis in ruminants. We report here the genome sequences of two ovine strains that were isolated from gangrenous (strain O11) and subclinical (strain O46) ewe mastitis. Both strains belong to the same clonal complex. Despite this close genotypic relationship, the two isolates were shown to reproducibly induce highly divergent types of infe...

The objectives of the present study were to determine the effects of six different antibiotics in controlling the growth of semen contaminating bacteria and if these antibiotics have any adverse effect on Awassi ram spermatozoa. Semen samples from six mature Awassi rams were used in this study. A total number of 120 ejaculates were collected from the rams using an artificial vagina once a week....

The aim of this review is to discuss sensory recognition (olfaction, vision, vocalisation, hearing and direct contact) in relation to the ewe-lamb bond, and the relevance of this information for animal management, considering that sensory recognition between ewes and their offspring is a key element of lamb welfare. In some parental care strategies, parents promote recognition of their own youn...