UMSIDAUMSIDA

Journal of Tropical Food and Agroindustrial TechnologyJournal of Tropical Food and Agroindustrial Technology

The objective of the present study was to assess the impact of early and late weaning on ewe performance, lamb postnatal growth, hormonal status and milk composition in Awassi ewes over a 30 days separation period at Animal Production Farm, College of Agriculture, Kirkuk University. Fifteen healthy, mature ewes were randomly assigned into two groups according to the weaning age: EWG (early weaning) at 60 days or LWG (late weaning) at 90 days. Body weights were determined for ewes and lambs at the start and end of the experiment, and blood and milk samples were obtained for hormonal and compositional analyses, respectively. The results of ANOVA showed that the short and the long weaning strategy had no effect on ewe body weight. Nevertheless, final weights of lambs in the EWG were significantly higher than in the LWG (P≤0.05), indicating better growth in early weaned lambs. Serum PRL levels were significantly raised in the EWG, whereas serum E2, P, LH, and FSH levels did not significantly differ between groups. Milk composition analysis indicated that early weaning significantly increased milk fat, whereas protein, lactose, and solid non-fat of milk did not differ between groups. Results of correlation analysis showed high positive correlations between milk components, most notably between solid non-fat, protein, and lactose. These results indicated that early weaning improved lamb growth performance, increased milk fat with no detrimental effects on ewe health or reproductive hormone balance, reinforcing early weaning as a pragmatic alternative for enhancing efficiency in sheep production systems.

The research suggests that early and delayed weaning had no significant effect on the weight of the ewe and significantly affected the growth of the lamb, the weaned lambs being heavier at the end.Hormonal investigation showed that there was weaning-dependent alterations in the levels of prolactin, but not estrogen, progesterone, LH or FSH.Analysis of milk composition revealed that the fat percentage increased in weaned ewes, while the other constituents were maintained.This indicates early weaning is a relatively successful strategy to improve growth of lambs as well as milk quality in ewes while not compromising ewe health and hormone balance.

Penelitian lebih lanjut perlu dilakukan untuk menginvestigasi pengaruh berbagai strategi pemberian pakan terhadap pertumbuhan dan kualitas susu anak domba yang disapih dini. Pertanyaan penelitian yang menarik adalah, apakah suplementasi protein atau energi tertentu dapat memaksimalkan manfaat penyapihan dini terhadap pertumbuhan anak domba? Selain itu, studi mendalam mengenai mekanisme hormonal yang mendasari peningkatan kadar prolaktin pada domba betina yang disapih dini perlu dilakukan untuk memahami implikasinya terhadap kesehatan reproduksi dan produksi susu. Penelitian ini dapat dilakukan dengan membandingkan ekspresi gen terkait hormon prolaktin pada kedua kelompok domba. Terakhir, penelitian yang mengeksplorasi dampak penyapihan dini terhadap komposisi mikrobiota usus anak domba dan hubungannya dengan efisiensi pencernaan dan pertumbuhan juga sangat relevan. Studi ini dapat membantu mengidentifikasi strategi prebiotik atau probiotik yang dapat meningkatkan kesehatan usus dan kinerja anak domba yang disapih dini, sehingga meningkatkan efisiensi produksi domba secara keseluruhan.

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