The pregnancy diagnosis, housing and the different causes, treatment and prevention of abortion in ewes are presented.

In this chapter the medical, surgical,congenital, and hereditary conditions of the reproductive systems in sheep and goats are discussed.

Milk production with dairy ewes requires more intensive systems and more nutrients per animal than are usually necessary for meat or wool production systems. During lactation, nutrient requirements may be very high. Inadequate feeding may reduce both the daily milk production and the length of the...

The chapter presents the nutritional requirements of ewes during conception and pregnancy, as well as the effects of these reproductive stages on nutrient metabolism and partitioning. The relationships between fetal nutrition and reproductive potential, postnatal nutrition and reproductive...

The following chapter presents nutritional management strategies for ewes during lactation and the factors affecting milk production, such as genotype, nutrition during pregnancy, the number of lambs suckled, and milking. The composition of ewe milk, milk synthesis, the pattern and level of intake...

This chapter reviews the physiological aspects involved in mammary gland development among livestock animals and the amount and quality of milk yield produced by lactating animals. Topics include: mammary gland structure, morphogenesis, measurement of growth and size, birth, prepubertal period,...

This chapter discusses the patterns of partitioning of macronutrients (glucose and amino acids) between maternal and conceptus tissues and the role of plancenta in the regulation of nutrient partitioning and adaptive responses of maternal tissues to pregnancy.