5th INTERNATIONAL CONGRESS ON KHAZAR SCIENTIFIC RESEARCH AND INNOVATION
Lambs should be weaned early in sheep milk production enterprises and accelerated lamb production programs. The effects of early weaning on lamb development are intriguing. Based on this idea, this study was conducted to determine the effects of 9 male lambs of Bafra breed sheep that were weaned late (90th day) (control) and 8 male lambs that were weaned early (45 days) (treatment) on the live weight and testicular size on the 144th day. When the lambs were born, they were distributed to the groups regarding dam age, dam birth weights, lamb birth weights and lamb birth types. In the data evaluation, the lambs' ages at the time of measurement were taken as covariates, and treatment and birth type were taken as fixed factors and analyzed with general linear model (GLM), a multivariate procedure. The live weights of the lambs on the 144th day in the control group and the treatment group were measured as 34.67±1.794 and 28.64±1.163 kg; testicular lengths were 5.71±0.515 and 4.97±0.591 cm; testicular diameters were 5.09±0.329 and 4.07±0.377 cm; scrotum lengths were 10.33±0.707 and 8.40±0.810 cm; scrotum diameters were 6.93±0.428 and 5.66±0.490 cm; scrotum circumferences 18.17±1.239 and 15.75±1.420 cm; scrotum volumes 307.09±33.479 and 225.05±38.370 ml, respectively. It was determined that the effect of early weaning on the 144th-day live weights of the lambs was significant (P<0.05), while it was determined that its effect on the testicular measurements of the lambs was not significant. However, positive and significant correlations (P<0.001) were calculated between lamb live weights and testis lengths (r=0.790), testis diameters (r=0.873), scrotum circumferences (r=0.797), scrotum volumes (r=0.659), and between live weights and scrotum lengths (r=0.746). It was revealed that a more intensive feeding program should be applied to early-weaned lambs to eliminate the live weight differences between early-weaned lambs and late-weaned lambs. It could be said that it would be helpful to consider live weight, testicular length, and testicular circumference together for breeding selection in male lambs.
