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Effect of weaning and feed provision times on the performance and several behavioural traits of post-weaning lambs

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Abstract

The aim of the present study was to assess if weaning time (morning or evening) and feed provision (immediate or 4 h delayed) can influence growth performance and expression of juvenile lamb behaviour immediately after and at the age of 50–125 days old. Forty lambs were randomly assigned to 4 groups: E1 (evening + immediate), E2 (evening + delayed), M1 (morning + immediate) and M2 (morning + delayed). All lambs were especially active during the first hour after weaning. However, their activity within the first 24 h after weaning was mainly affected by their circadian rhythms, since lambs were more active during the day compared to night. On the other hand, no effect of alfalfa hay provision on lamb activity during these first 24 h was observed. At the age of 50–125 days old, body weight was measured, and an isolation and flight distance test was implemented. There were no significant differences among lambs in body weight, number of jumps and heart rates assessed during isolation test and flight distance. However, the number of vocalizations was lower (65–110th day, P < 0.05) for the E2 compared to E1 lambs. Breed also slightly affected (95th day, P < 0.05) the average heart rate of lambs, with greater values for Karagouniko compared to Chios lambs. It is concluded that no discernible effects of weaning or feeding time were observed on growth performance and the display of stress-induced behavioural components of juvenile lambs till the age of 125 days old.

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Data availability

The datasets generated during the current study are available from the corresponding author on reasonable request.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Laboratory of Animal Breeding and Husbandry, Department of Animal Science, Agricultural University of Athens, 75 Iera Odos, 11855, Athens, Greece

    Michael Goliomytis, Maria Charismiadou, Apostolos Petropoulos, George Troupakis & Panagiotis Simitzis

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  1. Michael Goliomytis
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  2. Maria Charismiadou
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  3. Apostolos Petropoulos
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  4. George Troupakis
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  5. Panagiotis Simitzis
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Contributions

Conceptualization, Panagiotis Simitzis, Maria Charismiadou and Michael Goliomytis; methodology, Panagiotis Simitzis; formal analysis, Michael Goliomytis; investigation, Panagiotis Simitzis, Apostolos Petropoulos and George Troupakis; writing—original draft preparation, Panagiotis Simitzis; writing—review and editing, Michael Goliomytis, Maria Charismiadou and Panagiotis Simitzis; supervision, Panagiotis Simitzis; project administration, Panagiotis Simitzis.

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Correspondence to Panagiotis Simitzis.

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The methods used in the present experiment were approved by the Research Ethics Committee of the Department of Animal Science and Aquaculture of the Agricultural University of Athens under the guidelines of “Council Directive 86/609/EEC regarding the protection of animals used for experimental and other scientific purposes”.

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Goliomytis, M., Charismiadou, M., Petropoulos, A. et al. Effect of weaning and feed provision times on the performance and several behavioural traits of post-weaning lambs. Trop Anim Health Prod 54, 366 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11250-022-03369-3

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