Maternal Metabolic Demands Caused by Pregnancy and Lactation: Association with Productivity and Offspring Phenotype in High-Yielding Dairy Ewes
José Luis Pesántez-Pacheco,
Ana Heras-Molina,
Laura Torres-Rovira,
María Victoria Sanz-Fernández,
Consolación García-Contreras,
Marta Vázquez-Gómez,
Pablo Feyjoo,
Elisa Cáceres,
Millán Frías-Mateo,
Fernando Hernández,
Paula Martínez-Ros,
Juan Vicente González-Martin,
Antonio González-Bulnes,
Susana Astiz
Affiliations
José Luis Pesántez-Pacheco
School of Veterinary Medicine and Zootechnics, Faculty of Agricultural Sciences, University of Cuenca, Avda. Doce de Octubre, Cuenca 010220, Ecuador
Ana Heras-Molina
Department of Animal Reproduction, Instituto Nacional de Investigación Agrarias y Alimentarias (INIA), Avda Pta. de Hierro s/n, 28040 Madrid, Spain
Laura Torres-Rovira
Department of Animal Reproduction, Instituto Nacional de Investigación Agrarias y Alimentarias (INIA), Avda Pta. de Hierro s/n, 28040 Madrid, Spain
María Victoria Sanz-Fernández
Department of Animal Reproduction, Instituto Nacional de Investigación Agrarias y Alimentarias (INIA), Avda Pta. de Hierro s/n, 28040 Madrid, Spain
Consolación García-Contreras
Department of Animal Reproduction, Instituto Nacional de Investigación Agrarias y Alimentarias (INIA), Avda Pta. de Hierro s/n, 28040 Madrid, Spain
Marta Vázquez-Gómez
Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Complutense University of Madrid (UCM), Avda. Pta. de Hierro s/n, 28040 Madrid, Spain
Pablo Feyjoo
Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Complutense University of Madrid (UCM), Avda. Pta. de Hierro s/n, 28040 Madrid, Spain
Elisa Cáceres
Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Complutense University of Madrid (UCM), Avda. Pta. de Hierro s/n, 28040 Madrid, Spain
Millán Frías-Mateo
Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Complutense University of Madrid (UCM), Avda. Pta. de Hierro s/n, 28040 Madrid, Spain
Fernando Hernández
Technical Department, Granja Cerromonte SL, San Juan de la Encinilla, 05358 Ávila, Spain
Paula Martínez-Ros
Departamento Producción y Sanidad Animal, Salud Pública Veterinaria y Ciencia y Tecnología de los Alimentos (PASAPTA), Facultad de Veterinaria, Universidad Cardenal Herrera-CEU, Tirant lo Blanc, 7. 46115 Alfara del Patriarca Valencia, Spain
Juan Vicente González-Martin
Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Complutense University of Madrid (UCM), Avda. Pta. de Hierro s/n, 28040 Madrid, Spain
Antonio González-Bulnes
Department of Animal Reproduction, Instituto Nacional de Investigación Agrarias y Alimentarias (INIA), Avda Pta. de Hierro s/n, 28040 Madrid, Spain
Susana Astiz
Department of Animal Reproduction, Instituto Nacional de Investigación Agrarias y Alimentarias (INIA), Avda Pta. de Hierro s/n, 28040 Madrid, Spain
Pregnancy and lactation, especially when concurrent, create a rather metabolically demanding situation in dairy ruminants, but little is known about their effects on offspring phenotype and milk yield. Here, we evaluated the impact of pregnancy and lactation on the metabolic traits and productive performance of Lacaune dairy sheep and their offspring. Productive performance was measured in terms of milk yield, body weight (BW), body condition score (BCS), and size. Productivity was assessed during mid-pregnancy (75 ± 5 d) and late pregnancy (142 ± 4 d) and at 52 ± 5 d in the postpartum period. During pregnancy, high-yielding ewes had higher BW, BCS, plasma glucose, cholesterol, β-OHB, and NEFA than low-yielding ewes, but lower levels of lactate and urea. High-yielding animals had lower BCS after lambing, but their lambs showed greater growth. Productivity during lactation was affected by ewe age and parity: Mature ewes (but not maiden sheep) whose BCS increased steeply during pregnancy yielded more milk in the subsequent lactation than those whose BCS did not increase. Lamb BW and size were positively associated with milk yield in the subsequent lactation. Mature ewes had higher yields than maiden sheep, and mature ewes with multiple pregnancies produced more milk than those with singleton pregnancies. Ewes with male singleton pregnancies also showed higher yield than those with female singletons. These results demonstrate that high-yielding dairy sheep, when appropriately fed and managed, can adequately cover the metabolic demands of pregnancy and high milk production (even when concurrent) without losing productivity.