Table 3.
Overall reproductive performance and timing of foetal and lamb mortalities for 19 flocks of ewe lambs and 11 flocks of maiden Merino two-tooth ewes across southern Australia between 2018 and 2020.
| Ewe Lambs | Two-Tooth Ewes | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mean | Range | Mean | Range | |
| Conception rate (%) 1 | 73.4 | 45.4–92.4 | 87.1 | 58.5–97.1 |
| Scanning rate (%) 2 | 112.7 | 57.7–155.6 | 104.7 | 59.6–135.2 |
| Mid-pregnancy abortion | ||||
| % foetuses 3 | 5.5 | 0–48.4 | 0.8 | 0–3.7 |
| % ewes 4 | 5.7 | 0–50.0 | 0.9 | 0–4.4 |
| Foetal loss between scan 2 and birth (% foetuses) 5 | 10.5 | 0–27.5 | 10.3 | 0–40.2 |
| Lamb mortality between birth and marking (% lambs) 6 | 18.0 | 8.7–28.1 | 19.0 | 10.6–26.0 |
|
Overall foetal/lamb mortality between Scan 1 and marking (% foetuses) |
35.8 | 14.3–71.1 | 29.4 | 19.7–52.7 |
1 Number of ewes pregnant at Scan 1/number of ewes joined (%), 2 Number of foetuses identified at Scan 1/number of ewes joined (%), 3 Number of foetuses lost between Scan 1 and Scan 2/number of foetuses identified at Scan 1 (%), 4 Number of ewes with foetal loss between Scan 1 and Scan 2/number of ewes joined (%), 5 Number of foetuses present at Scan 2 but not accounted for at lambing/number of foetuses identified at Scan 1 (%). Includes lambs that were born and not recovered at lambing rounds (i.e., lost to predation). 6 Number of lambs that died between birth and marking/number of foetuses identified at Scan 1 (%). Includes lambs dead at birth (full-term).