Relationships between some ewe characters and certain lamb variables during suckling

Lambs birth weight is closely related to subsequent growth rate and this is shown to be particulary the case with twin lambs (Table 7). Frequency of suckling in the first week has no apparent relationship with the growth rate of singlelambs (whose appetite is more readly satisfied) but in the case of twin lambs statistically significant relationships (table 8) persist up to the seventh week. However, these relationships are negative so it seems that the less well a ewe milks and less well her lambs appetites are satisfied, the more frequently they attempt to suckle.

No clear effect of mothering ability at parturition could be shown in the suckling observations though there is a suggestion in table 12 that it may influence theweight gain of twin lambs which are more vulnerable to differences in mothering ability. Supplementary information obtained from the much larger number of observations on lambing behaviour supports this view. Keywords :