Key result
Month of birth, sex, birth type, and dam age significantly affected Assaf lamb body weight and morphology, with body weight showing strong positive correlations with morphological traits across ages.
Why the study?
Phenotypic characteristics result from complex genetic and non-genetic interactions that are difficult to isolate, prompting the study to describe Assaf lamb morphology and its relationship with body weight across ages.
Cross-Sectional (n=392)
No
Body weight prediction from morphology may aid Assaf lamb management; leaves open validation in independent cohorts before routine use.
The phenotypic characteristics of animals are result of the interaction of genetic and non-genetic factors that act simultaneously, and it is difficult to determine the degree of influence of each of them. The goal of this study was to describe Assaf lamb morphology and its relationship with body weight (BW) at various ages. BWs and phenotypical characteristics measurements were taken on 392 lambs, 204 lambs at birth (±3 days of birth), 87 lambs at weaning (around 60 days), and 101 lambs at marketing age (around 120 days). The measurements were withers height (WH), body length (BL), chest girth (CG), chest depth (CD), head length (HL), head width (HW), rump length (RL), RW (RW), shoulder width (SW), shin circumference (SC), foreleg height (FLH), rump height (RH) and rear leg height (RLH). Month of birth (MO) affected (P<0.001) BW and all morphological characteristics except CD and RW at birth. At weaning, BW, HL, CG, RL, CD, SW, and RW were affected (P<0.001) by MO. Sex of the lamb, birth type, and dam age also affected (P<0.001) different morphological characteristics. Furthermore, BW was positively correlated with different morphological characteristics at different ages. Meanwhile, equations were developed to predict BW at birth, weaning, and marketing based on various morphological characteristics while taking high into account.
No takes yet. Share an insight, caveat, or question.
Aljamaeen et al. (2024) conducted a cross-sectional in Healthy Assaf lambs (n=392). Environmental and genetic factors (month of birth, sex, birth type, dam age) was evaluated on Body weight and morphological characteristics. Month of birth, sex, birth type, and dam age significantly affected Assaf lamb body weight and morphology, with body weight showing strong positive correlations with morphological traits across ages.
Synapse has enriched 2 closely related papers on similar clinical questions. Consider them for comparative context: