Effect of herbage allowance on the productive performance of lactating and non lactating hoggets

Lactatin g or no n lactatin g Coopwort h ewe hogget s wer e offere d low, mediu m or high herbag e allowance s for 8 week s durin g lactatio n in eac h of 2 years. Herbag e allowanc e ha d only a smal l effec t on the penalt y of a hogge t lactation . Relativ e to thei r no n lactating counterparts , the hogget s tha t ha d lactate d wer e on averag e 12. 8 kg lighte r a t weanin g and,ha d a 0.2 9 kg lowe r clean fleec e weight . Thes e penaltie s ar e large r tha n thos e reporte d in othe r New Zealan d studie s in which the lactating hogget s wer e preferentiall y fed. The lamb s reare d by the hogget s ha d live-weigh t gain s typica l of thos e observe d in twin lamb s reare d by adult