Proceedings of the New Zealand Society of Animal Production.
1985, 45: 163-166
Proceedings of the New Zealand Society of Animal Production.
1985, 45: 163-166
In Expt 1, 153 lambs born to 2-year-old ewes lambing in easy contoured paddocks (<20°) were shifted into either steep (40 to 45°) or easy paddocks at 1 d of age. Lambs dying within the next 3 d were autopsied. Live lambs were tallied at weaning. In Expt 2, 323 lambs born to 3 to 7-year-old ewes were reared from 5 to 28 d in paddocks with mean slopes of easy, moderately steep (20 to 30°) or steep contour. Dead lambs were autopsied.
In Expt 1, lamb mortality in steep and easy paddocks was 2% at 4 d of age and 10 v 9% at weaning. In Expt 2, 2% of all lambs died with contour having no effect.
These results demonstrate that lambs born in easy contour paddocks can be successfully reared from a young age in steep paddocks.
Keywords: NZSAPAB; Lamb mortality; hill country; slope
