Programmed parturition assistance (PPA) in primiparous wool-type ewes improves mother-lamb behaviour at lambing.
The effect of programmed assistance at parturition on the behaviour of the mother and its offspring in primiparous ewes under extensive rearing was evaluated. Programmed parturition assistance was defined as the manoeuvres performed immediately after the beginning of the expulsion phase to shorten it. Twenty-eight 2-year-old Corriedale primiparous ewes (body condition score (BCS):3.4 ± 0.1; body weight (BW):35.5 ± 0.7 kg) with a single foetus were used.