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- Title
Udder Measurements and Their Relationship with Milk Yield in Pelibuey Ewes.
- Authors
Arcos-Álvarez, Darwin; Canul-Solís, Jorge; García-Herrera, Ricardo; Sarmiento-Franco, Luis; Piñeiro-Vazquez, Ángel; Casanova-Lugo, Fernando; Tedeschi, Luis O.; Gonzalez-Ronquillo, Manuel; Chay-Canul, Alfonso
- Abstract
Simple Summary: The Pelibuey sheep is considered the main maternal breed in the tropical production systems in Mexico. Nonetheless, there are few studies related to milk production and composition. The quantification of milk production in sheep is important because milk is the main source of nutrients for the growth, development and health of lambs. However, in hair sheep breeds, milking is very difficult due to the small size of their teats. Hence, it is important to evaluate indirect methods to estimate the milk yield in Pelibuey ewes to optimize the growth and to develop management strategies for the lambs. The study aimed to evaluate the relationship between udder measurements and milk yield (MY) in dairy Pelibuey ewes. Udder measurements were taken twice a week for eight weeks before (initial) and after (final) milking, including udder depth (UD), udder circumference (UC), udder width (UW), teat length (TL) and teat diameter (TD) in 38 multiparous ewes. Additionally, udder volume (UV) and the difference (VDF) between initial UV (UVi) and final (UVf) was calculated as VDF = UVi − UVf. The MY varied from 0.10 kg/d to 1.04 kg/d, with a mean of 0.39 kg/d, ± 0.18 kg/d. Initial UC (UCi) ranged from 25.80 cm to 53.30 cm, and VDF varied from 1 cm3 to 2418 cm3. The TL and TD were not correlated with MY (p > 0.05), while UCi, UVi and VDF were positively correlated with MY (p < 0.0001; r = from 0.66 to 0.74). For the prediction of MY, the obtained equations had an r2 ranging from 0.54 to 0.63. The UCi, UDf, UWi and UWf were included in these models (p < 0.05). It is concluded that there was an acceptable correlation (r = 0.60) between the measurements of the udder, the volume of the udder and the daily milk yield in Pelibuey sheep. When direct measurements of milk production cannot be performed in practice, the measurement of udders and their volume could be a viable alternative to estimate milk yield production as an indirect method.
- Subjects
MEXICO; MILK yield; EWES; SHEEP breeds; COMPOSITION of milk; SHEEP diseases; SHEEP milk; LAMBS
- Publication
Animals (2076-2615), 2020, Vol 10, Issue 3, p518
- ISSN
2076-2615
- Publication type
Article
- DOI
10.3390/ani10030518