Identifying factors associated with ewe colostrum quality and lamb health and performance, and validating an on-farm assessment method for colostrum quality in ewes

Lead Applicant: Charlotte Winder

Research Priority: Animal Health & Welfare

Program Type: Tier 1

Funding Cycle: 2023/2024

Research Centre: NA

Research Summary: Although a host of research on colostrum management practices exists for calves, limited work has examined risk factors for sheep colostrum quality and on-farm measuring tools. This study will be conducted on a commercial sheep farm with a prolific breed, capturing multiple ewe-level risk factors including weight, body condition scores, fecal egg count, parity, litter size, and age, on both colostrum quality and lamb serum immunoglobulin concentration, health, growth, and carcass traits. The impact of colostrum supplementation on lamb health and performance will also be examined. This work will validate the use of a Brix-refractometer to estimate colostrum IgG and serum IgG concentration.