The Effect of Ewe Body Condition at Lambing on Growth of Lambs and Colostral Specific Gravity

Abstract

This study was carried out on 60 Norduz ewes to determine the effect of ewe body condition at lambing on growth of lambs and colostral specific gravity. Body condition score (BCS), ranging from 2.5 to 3.5, had no effect on lamb live weight at birth, 30, 60, 90 and 120 days of age (P > 0.05). The average colostral specific gravity determined as 1.049 was not affected by body condition of ewes. A moderate positive correlation (r = 0.436) was observed between condition score and live weight of ewes (P < 0.001). The results of this study suggest that BCS is not a reliable estimator of live weight for Norduz ewes.