Dairy sheep production research at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, USA – a review

Table 5 Ewe lactation, lamb growth, and economics of three weaning systems¹

	Weaning system
Trait	DY1	MIX	DY30
Ewe lactation traits (n):	(31)	(35)	(33)
Lactation length, d	183.4 ± 5.4	179.2 ± 5.1	182.9 ± 5.5
Machine milking period, d	182.4 ± 5.4^a	178.2 ± 5.1^a	152.3 ± 5.5^b
Commercial milk yield, kg	260.1 ± 9.7^a	235.8 ± 9.1^b	171.7 ± 9.9^c
Fat yield, kg	13.2 ± 0.6^a	10.9 ± 0.5^b	8.4 ± 0.6^c
Fat,%	5.1 ± 0.1^a	4.5 ± 0.1^b	4.8 ± 0.1^a,b
30-d fat,%	4.8 ± 0.2^a	2.8 ± 0.2^b	-
Protein yield, kg	13.7 ± 0.5	12.1 ± 0.5	9.0 ± 0.5
Protein,%	5.3 ± 0.1	5.1 ± 0.1	5.2 ± 0.1
Lamb growth traits (n at 120 d):	(64)	(71)	(73)
30-d weight, kg	15.4 ± 0.4	14.5 ± 0.6	15.0 ± 0.5
120-d weight, kg	43.7 ± 1.2^f	45.9 ± 1.8^e	47.3 ± 1.6^d
Economics:
Total lamb & milk receipts², $	506.52 ± 18.07^a	458.23 ± 17.05^b	415.25 ± 18.53^b
Additional expenses³, $	87.16 ± 2.98^a	14.40 ± 3.04^b	-
Receipts – additional expenses, $	420.86 ± 16.87	446.47 ± 15.91	415.81 ± 17.30

¹Study conducted in 1998.
²Total lamb weight at 120 d of age per ewe and commercial milk yield per ewe were valued at $1.87 and $1.32/kg, respectively.
³Additional labor and supply expenses per ewe relative to the DY30 system during the first 30 d of lactation.
^a,b,cMeans within a row with no superscript in common are different (P < 0.05).
^d,e,fMeans within a row with no superscript in common are different (P < 0.10).

ISSN: 2049-1891