I. Two experiments involving 106 lambs were conducted to study the functioning of the oesophageal groove reflex in lambs sucking from either individual feeders or from a bulk dispenser. The effects on the performance of lambs given either a high-protein or a lowprotein creep feed in conjunction with either a ewe’s milk substitute, Ewelac, or a homogenate of calcium caseinate, Casilan, were stud...

BACKGROUND Anaplasma phagocytophilum infection in domestic ruminants is widespread in the coastal areas of southern Norway. The bacteria may persist in mammalian hosts. Several genetic variants of A. phagocytophilum exist. In the present study, we investigate whether superinfection occurs in the acute and persistent phase of the infection. METHODS Five-month-old lambs of the Norwegian Dala br...

To investigate the extent to which enteric methane (CH4) emissions from growing lambs are explained by simple body weight and diet characteristics, a 2 × 2 Latin square changeover design experiment was carried out using two sheep breeds and two fresh pasture types. Weaned lambs of two contrasting breed types were used: Welsh Mountain (WM, a small, hardy hill breed) and Welsh Mule × Texel (TexX,...

Twenty eight Ossimi male lambs, with an average live body weight 4.75 kg and 7 days age were randomly assigned to two feeding groups each of 14 animals to study the effect of pre-weaning diet on lamb's rumen development. Both the two groups suckled their dams until being weaned at 12 weeks of age (natural weaning). The first group depended completely on dam's milk as a solely available feed (co...

In the current study, soluble proteins prepared from 200 mature Echinococcus granulosus and protoscolices of sheep hydatid cysts were applied to immunize sheep and mice respectively. The samples were mechanically homogenized in a blender, sonicated and the final yield was maintained at -20 degrees C until analysis. Hydatid fluid was isolated from liver or lung of sheep under sterile conditions....

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 =...

The cause of chronic lung disease of early infancy, often called bronchopulmonary dysplasia (BPD), remains unclear, partly because large-animal models that reliably reproduce BPD have not been available. We developed a model of BPD in lambs that are delivered prematurely and ventilated for 3 to 4 wk after birth to determine whether the histopathology of chronic lung injury in premature lambs mi...

Merino lambs born in September and October 1964 were weaned at 4, 6 and 11 weeks of age, at average liveweights of 9 kg, 12 kg, and 19 kg respectively, on to a pasture of phalaris and white clover. The lambs remaining with their mothers for 11 weeks showed the earliest onset of an appreciable worm infection which reached a peak in December about one month after weaning. Similar levels of infect...

Congenital malformations of the branchial arches, clefts and grooves have not been previously reported in sheep. These defects may be due to infectious agents (especially viruses), toxins or genetic abnormalities. Defects were reported in two of a set of quadruplet lambs born prematurely to an eight-tooth Mutton Merino ewe. The lambs weighed between 2.0 kg and 2.5 kg; this is below the normal e...

Lamb growth, survival and carcass characteristics were compared for progeny of either 1/2-Suffolk, 1/2-Rambouillet (Western) ewes or 1/2-Suffolk, 1/4-Rambouillet, 1/4-Finnsheep (1/4-Finn) ewes produced over 3 yr in three different management systems. System 1 lambs were born in late fall and fed to slaughter on a concentrate diet. System 2 lambs were born in January and February and grazed pure...