Effect of temperament on milk production, somatic cell count, chemical composition and physical properties in Lacaune dairy sheep breed

Abstract

Effect of temperament on milk yield, lactation length, physico-chemical properties and somatic cell count of Lacaune ewes were evaluated. The investigation was carried out at a sheep farm in the county of Győr-Moson-Sopron. The temperament of 106 Lacaune ewes was measured by the temperament 5-point-scale test (1=very nervous, 5=very quiet) during milking. Furthermore, 42 ewes were randomly selected from a herd of 106 animals for the analysis of milk composition (fat, protein and lactose), pH, electrical conductivity as well as somatic cell count. It was found that the temperament had a significant effect on lactation length and lactation milk production, lactose, electrical conductivity and somatic cell count. Calm ewes had significantly longer lactation (4 score: 220.7 day; 5 score: 201.4 day) as well as higher milk production (4 score: 207.9 kg; 5 score: 193.3 kg) compared to more temperamental animals (2+3 scores: 166.5 day and 135.5 kg; P<0.05). The content of lactose was significantly lower (4.32) in the more temperamental group, while electrical conductivity was higher (4.81 mS cm ). Additionally, significant differences were found in milk somatic cell count among the temperament categories. Calmer ewes had a lower somatic cell count in milk (5.17 log cm -3 ) than more temperamental ones (5.67 log cm -3 ; P<0.05).

Effect of selected factors (body weight, age, parity, litter size and temperament) on the entrance order into the milking parlour of Lacaune ewes, and its relationship with milk production

“…Our results show that body weight, age, parity, litter size and temperament did not affect the percentages of milk fat or protein contents. These results concordance with those of Oravcová et al (2007), Othmane et al (2002) and Tóth et al (2017a).…”

“…Most of the ewes (n = 118, 82% from the total) in the present study belonged to the calm temperament category (scored 4 and 5). The distribution of temperament traits was quite similar in previous studies; Szentléleki et al (2015) found that 90% of the dairy cows were calm, while Tóth et al (2017a) proved 85% of the dairy sheep being calm.…”

“…The calm (score 5) ewes had the highest TMY, SMY and DMY in comparison to nervous ones. Previously several authors reported high differences between the TMY of animals with calm and nervous temperament (Murray et al, 2009;Pajor et al, 2010;Tóth et al, 2017a). Our results show that body weight, age, parity, litter size and temperament did not affect the percentages of milk fat or protein contents.…”

“…In addition, several studies reported previously that temperament was linked with the total milk yield in dairy sheep (Murray et al, 2009;Pajor et al, 2010;Tóth et al, 2017a). According to these results, calmer ewes produced more milk than nervous ones.…”

A Systematic Review of Genomic Regions and Candidate Genes Underlying Behavioral Traits in Farmed Mammals and Their Link with Human Disorders

“…This has been done to facilitate human–animal interactions and farming practices, especially in intensive production systems incorporating a multitude of technological equipment [ 3 , 5 , 6 ]. Studies have suggested the relationship between animal behavior and handler/farmer safety, overall welfare of the animals, workability, and production efficiency (e.g., average daily gain, carcass yield, longevity, milk yield, reproductive performance, and udder health [ 7 , 8 , 9 , 10 , 11 , 12 , 13 , 14 , 15 , 16 , 17 , 18 , 19 , 20 , 21 , 22 ]). Animal-handling activities are the third leading cause of morbidity in farms, causing from 12% to 24% of farm injuries [ 23 ].…”