Relationship between placental traits and maternal intrinsic factors in sheep

The relationship between maternal intrinsic factors and placental traits was investigated on three Southern Mediterranean breed of sheep; Cukurova Assaf (CA), Cukurova (C) and Cukurova Meat Sheep (CMS). The effect of parity and birth type were also considered in the study as a potential influencing factor. Our hypothesis was to show that while differences in placental traits between breed, parity and birth type affected lamb condition and survivability, its correlation to maternal intrinsic behavioral factors may also be a strong indicator. The study found breed related differences of maternal behavioral factors and also showed significant correlation of these behavioral patterns to various placental traits. It confirmed earlier findings that parity played a major role in the refinement of these behavioral patterns. Significant differences in birth weight (P < 0.05), placental weight (P < 0.05), number of cotyledons (P < 0.01) and cotyledon length (P < 0.05) was seen between breeds. Cotyledon weight (P < 0.05), width (P < 0.01) and length (P < 0.05) were found to differ by parity. Breed and parity interaction significantly influenced cotyledon quantity. While we detected breed specific differences in relation to maternal intrinsic factors we also noticed significant variance within breeds to these behavioral patterns when linked to placental traits. Further study is required on the correlation between placental traits and postnatal behavior on not just the ewes but also on their lambs. This could have a significant bearing on how producers manage and maximize lamb survivability.