The Influence of MGA and PG600 on the Out of Season Reproductive Performance of Ewes

Seasonal lamb supply has been established as one of the major hindrances to the American sheep industry. The ability to consistently lamb ewes on an accelerated production system offers additional benefits of reduced maintenance costs, more uniform cash flow along with reduced labor and facility demands. Previous work at McNay with spring breeding indicated that light priming rams regardless of genetic base improved conception rates, however, MGA feeding postweaning gave inconsistent and sometimes depressed reproductive activity in ewes. This study was conducted to evaluate the use of MGA in late lactation and a single PG600 injection at weaning, either individually or in combination.

Evaluation of Low Test Weight Corn for Finishing Lambs

The floods of 1993 caused the corn crop to be low in test weight. The following study was conducted to determine the relative feeding value of low test weight corn. The ability to feed this discounted corn to lambs could be a means of adding extra value to the discounted crop and lower the cost of lamb gain. Performance parameters indicated that low test weight corn was of equal value to normal test weight corn.