The effects of weather on milk production in dairy sheep vary by month of lambing and lactation phase

Abecia, J. A.; García, Ángel Galindo; Castillo, L. S.; Palacios, Carlos

doi:10.31893/2318-1265jabb.v5n2p56-63

Cited by 7 publications

(4 citation statements)

References 20 publications

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“…In addition, winter births favor milk production compared to spring births. It has been shown that climate can have adverse effects on milk production and milk quality 81 , 82 . The high temperatures of the Mediterranean climate negatively affect milk production, so the breeding season would be a fundamental aspect.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Early Dalmatian farmers specialized in sheep husbandry

Sierra

Balasse

Radović

et al. 2023

Sci Rep

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The spread of farming in the central and western Mediterranean took place rapidly, linked to the Impressa Ware. The Impressa Ware originated somewhere in the southern Adriatic and spread westwards across the Mediterranean. These early farmers had an economy based on cereal agriculture and caprine husbandry, but there is still little information on how this agropastoral system functioned. This study aims to unravel the farming practices of the early Dalmatian farmers linked to the Impressa culture by using an integrated analysis, combining archaeozoology, palaeoproteomics and stable isotopes, applied to the faunal assemblages of Tinj-Podlivade and Crno Vrilo. The results show: (1) the composition of the flocks was overwhelmingly sheep; (2) sheep exploitation at both sites was similar, focusing on milk and meat; (3) sheep reproduction was concentrated at the beginning of winter, with no reproduction in autumn as in later sites in the western Mediterranean. We conclude that a common animal economy existed at both sites, which could be related to the mobility practiced by these early farming societies throughout the Mediterranean.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…MALDI analysis was carried out using a Bruker Ultraflex III MALDI-TOF mass spectrometer at the University of York. Replicates were averaged using the open-source software mMass ( www.mmass.org ; 81 ) and compared to a database of known m/z markers 18 – 20 .…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Early Dalmatian farmers specialized in sheep husbandry

Sierra

Balasse

Radović

et al. 2023

Sci Rep

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“…The peak is also not observed in less selected animals [46]. In grazing systems, weather affects not only pasture availability but also comfort and stress in animals, therefore also playing an important role in the shape of lactation curves [47].…”

Section: Model Adequacy and Lactation Curvesmentioning

confidence: 96%

Modelling Lactation Curves for Dairy Sheep in a New Zealand Flock

Marshall

López‐Villalobos

Loveday

et al. 2023

Animals

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Lactation curves were modelled for dairy sheep in a New Zealand flock, providing information on the lactation yields of milk, fat, protein, and lactose, corrected for 130 days of milking. From 169 ewes, a total of 622 test-day records were obtained during the milk production season of 2021–2022 (from October to January). The flock produced an average of 86.1 kg of milk, 5.1 kg of fat, 4.5 kg of protein, and 4.1 kg of lactose, and moderate to large coefficients of variation were observed (27–31%) for these traits. The lactation persistency of milk, fat, protein, and lactose yields ranged from 52.3 to 72.7%. Analyses of variance for total yield and persistency were performed with an animal model that included the fixed effects of age (parity number), litter size, coat colour, and milking frequency (days in twice-a-day milking) and random residuals. Age and milking frequency were the only factors that significantly affected the yields of milk, fat, protein, and lactose. Age significantly affected the lactation persistency of milk and lactose yields, whereas litter size affected the persistency of protein, and milking frequency affected the persistency of fat. This study on this single flock provides valuable experience for a larger-scale animal breeding programme in New Zealand.

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“…At the individual livestock level, the onset of lactation is generally a direct consequence of birthing, whereas its duration and seasonal variability depend on environmental factors such as pasture, temperature and photoperiod, as well as breed, litter size and parity, i.e., the number of previous births [137][138][139][140]. Among traditional pastoralists in dryland Africa and the Middle East, the duration of lactation varies in cattle herds from three months to a year, with seven months as a common median [106].…”

Section: Lactationmentioning

confidence: 99%

A Time to Sow, a Time to Reap: Modifications to Biological and Economic Rhythms in Southwest Asian Plant and Animal Domestication

et al. 2022

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This paper reviews changes to lifecycle temporality in Southwest Asian plant and animal domestication, exploring their relationship to long-term processes associated with ancient and contemporary globalization. We survey changes under domestication to the timing of seed dispersal, germination, vegetative growth, flowering and maturation in wheat and barley and to birth, reproduction, lactation, wool production and death in sheep, goats and cattle. Changes in biological temporality among domesticates are ultimately related to globally increasing production intensity, geographic diffusion, and agricultural diversity associated with cultivar/breed evolution. Recently, however, increasing crop production intensity and geographic diffusion are accompanied by declining agricultural diversity worldwide. Similar processes are apparent in contemporary economic and cultural globalization, suggesting that long-term agricultural developments might be viewed as a subset of globalization. Moreover, the origin of certain features of contemporary globalization may be traced back to the beginnings of plant and animal domestication. Thus, while biologists since Darwin considered domestication as a model for the study of evolution, we suggest that domestication may also offer a model for the study of globalization.

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The effects of weather on milk production in dairy sheep vary by month of lambing and lactation phase

Cited by 7 publications

References 20 publications

Early Dalmatian farmers specialized in sheep husbandry

Early Dalmatian farmers specialized in sheep husbandry

Modelling Lactation Curves for Dairy Sheep in a New Zealand Flock

A Time to Sow, a Time to Reap: Modifications to Biological and Economic Rhythms in Southwest Asian Plant and Animal Domestication

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