Hostname: page-component-7c8c6479df-5xszh Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-03-28T09:31:17.695Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false

Prenatal and postnatal competition among twin lambs

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  02 September 2010

Peter J. Burfening
Affiliation:
Department of Animal and Range Sciences, Montana State University, Bozeman, Montana, USA
Get access

Summary

Twin-born Rambouillet, Targhee and Columbia lambs were used to study the effect of sex of lamb and its co-twin on birth weight, weight at 60 days of age and weaning weight. Mean birth weights of female lambs were lower than those of males, and lambs born co-twin to males had a lower mean birth weight than those born co-twin to females. Lambs born co-twins to females grew faster from birth to 60 days of age and had a greater chance of surviving from birth to weaning than did lambs that were co-twins to males.

Type
Research Article
Copyright
Copyright © British Society of Animal Science 1972

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

REFERENCES

Beatty, R. A. 1956. Relation between genetic constitution of an offspring and weight of its litter-mates. Nature, Lond. 178: 48-19.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Chapman, A. B. and Lush, J. L. 1932. Twinning, sex ratios and genetic variability in birth weight in sheep. J. Hered. 23: 473478.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Donald, H. P. and Purser, A. F. 1956. Competition in utero between twin lambs. J. agric. Set, Camb. 48: 245249.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Harvey, W. R. 1960. Least squares analysis of data with unequal subclass numbers. United States Department of Agriculture, ARS—20—8.Google Scholar
Snedecor, G. W. 1956. Statistical Methods. 5th ed.Iowa State University Press, Ames, la.Google Scholar