RT Journal Article
T1 Maternal Metabolic Demands Caused by Pregnancy and Lactation: Association with Productivity and Offspring Phenotype in High-Yielding Dairy Ewes
A1 Pesántez-Pacheco, José Luis
A1 De las Heras Molina, Ana
A1 Torres-Rovira, Laura
A1 Sanz-Fernández, María Victoria
A1 García-Contreras, Consolación
A1 Vázquez Gómez, Marta
A1 Feyjoo Vico, Pablo
A1 Cáceres Martín, Elisa
A1 Frías Mateo, Millán
A1 Hernández, Fernando
A1 Martínez-Ros, Paula
A1 González Martín, Juan Vicente
A1 González Bulnes, Antonio
A1 Astiz, Susana
AB Pregnancy and lactation, especially when concurrent, create a rather metabolically demanding situation in dairy ruminants, but little is known about their effects on offspring phenotype and milk yield. Here, we evaluated the impact of pregnancy and lactation on the metabolic traits and productive performance of Lacaune dairy sheep and their offspring. Productive performance was measured in terms of milk yield, body weight (BW), body condition score (BCS), and size. Productivity was assessed during mid-pregnancy (75 ± 5 d) and late pregnancy (142 ± 4 d) and at 52 ± 5 d in the postpartum period. During pregnancy, high-yielding ewes had higher BW, BCS, plasma glucose, cholesterol, β-OHB, and NEFA than low-yielding ewes, but lower levels of lactate and urea. High-yielding animals had lower BCS after lambing, but their lambs showed greater growth. Productivity during lactation was affected by ewe age and parity: Mature ewes (but not maiden sheep) whose BCS increased steeply during pregnancy yielded more milk in the subsequent lactation than those whose BCS did not increase. Lamb BW and size were positively associated with milk yield in the subsequent lactation. Mature ewes had higher yields than maiden sheep, and mature ewes with multiple pregnancies produced more milk than those with singleton pregnancies. Ewes with male singleton pregnancies also showed higher yield than those with female singletons. These results demonstrate that high-yielding dairy sheep, when appropriately fed and managed, can adequately cover the metabolic demands of pregnancy and high milk production (even when concurrent) without losing productivity.
PB MDPI
SN 2076-2615
YR 2019
FD 2019-05-30
LK https://hdl.handle.net/20.500.14352/12503
UL https://hdl.handle.net/20.500.14352/12503
LA eng
DS Docta Complutense
RD 8 abr 2025