Influence of environmental factors on ponderal performance and morphometric characteristics of lambs of different genetic groups from birth to weaning

The objectives of this work were to evaluate the environmental effects (age of dam, type of birth and sex of lamb) and genetic groups (Hampshire Down and Ile de France, ½ and ¾ Hampshire Down, Ile de France and Suffolk, and ½ Texel) on performance and morphometric characteristics (height, length and heart girth) of lambs; to test regressions to predict live weight of lambs from body measurements; and to describe the growth type of the measurements as function of the weight. Weights and measurements were collected from birth to weaning, every 14 days. For evaluations of performance in relati...