This article investigated the lamb meat physical, chemical, instrumental, and sensory quality characteristics of 60 meat samples from five indigenous sheep breeds. As meat quality is vital in healthy and balanced nutrition, the presented results will benefit consumers, nutritionists, and those working in this field.

Factors such as genotype, sex, type of birth, maternal age, weaning age and birth weight must be considered in evaluation of pre- and post-weaning growth traits. Myostatin mutation was introduced to native Turkish breed Ramlıç by marker-assisted introgression (MAI). The mutation has a positive effect on ultrasonographic carcass traits in crosses. Lambs with myostatin tended to have deeper longissimus muscle and good carcass characteristics, and they may be recommendable for Turkish farmers.

We studied the impact of the COVID-19 restrictive measures on the extensive farming system of small ruminants. We found that the breeders’ daily work routine was negatively affected in holdings with a high number of sheep. The majority of breeders did not change the movements of the animals in pastures, the amount of the given feedstuffs, the hygienic conditions on the farms, or the employed workers. A decrease in demand for animal products and a decrease in their prices were observed.

Here we clarify the specific expression and mechanism of the EPH receptor and Ephrin during the development of hair follicles, as well as their upstream and downstream signaling pathways and activation pathways. This study verified the effect of EPHA4 and Ephrin A3 genes on fine-hair follicles through RT-qPCR and immunohistochemistry testing. It is of great significance as it could speed up the promotion of breeding sheep for wool.

Our findings provide valuable genetic markers for litter size in sheep.

This research aimed to determine the effects of body weight, the body condition score (BCS), body measurements, birth type, birth weight and sex on the gestational length in sheep. The lowest and highest gestational lengths were found to be 148.90 and 151.41 d respectively. It is thought that the use of the BCS, which is easily applied by the breeder, will have a positive effect on determining the bodily reserves of sheep and the reproductive efficiency as well as on obtaining healthy lambs.

Fatty acid composition in the intramuscular fat of the musculus longissimus dorsi of Ile de France purebred lambs in two production systems (lambs and ewes were assigned to pasture and fed without concentrates vs. lambs and ewes were assigned to a stable and fed with hay/silage and concentrates) was evaluated using gas chromatography. An analysis of variance was used for comparison. No such comparison had previously been carried out in Slovakia. Meat from lambs assigned to pasture was better.

In sheep production, the body condition scores and parities are important environmental factors affecting lamb yield. Extreme body condition scores (fattening state) lead to negative effects on lamb yield. In the present study, it was revealed that ewes with medium and fat body condition scores (BCS: 2.5–4.0) were profitable. It was shown that the body condition score had minimal effects on the birth weights of lambs, and the incidence of dystocia was increased in thin and very fat ewes.

The aim of this study was to perform a multivariate analysis of lambs' birth weight, survivability traits, growth performance traits, and other defined factors. The study focused on one flock of Suffolk sheep kept under permanent pasture management. Overall 1012 lambs were investigated over 3 years. The results of the study detected lambs' optimal birth weight for this management system. This study also suggested practical implications of important factors when improving flock profitability.

We aimed to evaluate the effects of premating ewe weight and age on ewe reproductive performance and lamb growth and survival in Central Anatolian Merino sheep. Multiple birth rate, birth weight, and growth performance of the lambs increased proportionally with the increase in live weight of the ewes prior to mating. Therefore, it is important to increase the live weight of lambs at puberty and to select ewes that attain a higher premating weight for breeding.