The research has shown the interesting contributions of shearing in mid-gestation on the performance of lambs from birth to weaning. Other studies have reported that shearing at early pregnancy influences the development of the placenta and lamb live weight at birth. However, there was a lack of information on the effect of early-prepartum shearing on the behavior of the offspring from weaning onward. This study evaluated the effect of shearing ewes at 50 days of gestation on the growth, reproductive behavior and response to a gastrointestinal parasite challenge in the female offspring from weaning to 18 months old. Fifty-seven Polwarth female lambs were used, 22 being singles and 35 twins born to ewes either shorn at 50 days of pregnancy (PS, n = 23) or shorn at 62 days postpartum (U, control, n = 34) resulting in four subgroups: single lambs born to PS ewes (n = 8), born to U ewes (n = 14), twin lambs born to PS ewes (n = 15) or born to U ewes (n = 20). All progeny were managed together under improved pasture with a minimum forage allowance of 6% live weight on dry basis. Body weight, body condition score and fecal eggs count were recorded every 14 days from weaning to 18 months of age. Concentrations of progesterone were measured weekly (from 4 to 10 months of age and from 14 to 18 months of age) to establish the onset of puberty. Ovulation rate at an induced and a natural heat (545 ± 1.0 and 562 ± 1.0 day old) was recorded. Prepartum shearing did not affect the age at puberty or the ovulation rate of female offspring, but those born as singles were more precocious ( P = 0.03) and heavier ( P = 0.02) at puberty than twin born lambs. Both the average value of parasite egg count ( P = 0.0 7) and the Famacha index ( P = 0.02) for the entire study period were lower in lambs born to prepartum shorn ewes than those born to postpartum shorn ewes. In conclusion, shearing at 50 days of gestation did not affect the growth or the reproductive behavior of female offspring. However, female lambs born from ewe shorn during gestation showed a better response to the parasitic challenge, and further research is required to confirm this.

中文翻译：

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妊娠期早剪对雌性绵羊后18个月后代生产和生殖行为的影响。

研究表明，妊娠中期剪羊毛对羔羊从出生到断奶的表现都具有有趣的贡献。其他研究报告说，怀孕初期的剪力会影响胎盘的发育和出生时羔羊的体重。但是，从断奶开始到现在，缺乏关于产前早期剪切对后代行为的影响的信息。这项研究评估了妊娠50天的母羊在断奶至18个月大时对雌性后代的生长，生殖行为和胃肠道寄生虫攻击的反应的影响。使用了57只Polwarth母羊羔，其中22只是单胎，35只双胞胎是由母羊生的，它们在怀孕50天时剪毛（PS，n = 23），或者在产后62天时剪毛（U，对照，n = 34），结果有4只子组：PS母羊（n = 8）出生的单只羔羊（n = 14）或PS母羊（n = 15）或U母羊（n = 20）出生的双胞胎羔羊。所有后代均在改良的牧场上一起管理，以干基计最低活草率为6％。从断奶到18个月大，每14天记录一次体重，身体状况评分和粪便卵数。每周（从4到10个月大，从14到18个月大）测量孕酮的浓度，以确定青春期的发作。记录在诱导热和自然热（545±1.0天和562±1.0天大）下的排卵率。产前剪切不会影响青春期的年龄或雌性后代的排卵率，但单身出生的人比双胞胎羔羊的早熟（P = 0.03）和重（P = 0.02）。在整个研究期间，用产前母羊出生的羔羊的寄生虫卵计数平均值（P = 0.0 7）和Famacha指数（P = 0.02）均低于产后post母羊。总之，在妊娠50天时剪切不会影响雌性后代的生长或生殖行为。然而，妊娠期由母羊铁杆产的雌性羔羊对寄生虫的挑战表现出更好的反应，需要进一步的研究来证实这一点。