Lamb production and its components in pure breeds and composite lines. I. Seasonal and other environmental effects.

Season of lambing and other environmental effects on ewe performance were analyzed for purebred Finnsheep (F), Rambouillet (R), Dorset (D), Targhee (T) and Suffolk (S) and the generations of crosses in development of two maternal composite lines (1/2F1/4R1/4D) and (1/2F1/4T1/4S) in accelerated (January, May and September) or annual April lambing. The data involved 10,959 ewe breeding season records for 4,219 ewes of 412 sire families over 4 yr. Various measures of ewe productivity and its components (fertility, litter size, neonatal and preweaning survival and weaning weight) were analyzed. Fertility was higher for annual April than for accelerated May or January lambing and was sharply lower for September lambing. Fertility of F and F-cross ewes was significantly higher for May and lower for January lambings relative to R and D ewes. Litter size also was higher in annual April (1.9) than in January (1.8) or May (1.7) and September (1.4). Neonatal and preweaning survival was higher in September when litter size was smaller. Mean weaning weights were depressed in the larger April and May litters. Thus, weight of lambs weaned/ewe exposed was higher for annual April than for May and January lambing and was very low for September lambing. Hormone treatment of ewes for September lambing increased fertility from 16 to 44% and litter size from 1.6 to 1.8. Short lambing interval (8 mo vs 12+ mo) reduced mean ewe fertility by five percentage points, and most for the January lambing of Finnsheep ewes.