Abstract：
Consultation with sheep producers was used to quantify the mortality of triplet-bearing ewes and their lambs, identify management practices adopted by producers to reduce these losses and prioritise future research needs to improve the survival of triplet-bearing ewes and their lambs. Surveys were completed by 64 producers across Australia who identified and separated triplet-bearing ewes from twin-bearing ewes in 2017 and/or 2018. On average, 5.9% of all ewes mated were identified as carrying triplets (6.6% of non-Merino ewes and 2.9% of Merino ewes). The average mortality of triplet-bearing ewes was 6.4%, and ewe mortality did not differ significantly between ewe breeds. The average survival of triplet-born lambs was 59%, and survival was significantly higher for lambs from non-Merino compared to Merino ewes (60.1 vs. 52.9%, p < 0.05). The key strategies adopted to reduce the mortality of triplet-bearing ewes and their lambs included management of condition score, feed-on-offer, mob size at lambing and use of shelter. There were no differences (p > 0.05) in the average mortality of triplet-bearing ewes or their lambs between producers that prioritised the adoption of certain management practices. However, significant variation existed between producers in their targets at lambing for ewe condition score (2.8 to 3.5), mob size (10 to 150 ewes) and feed-on-offer (800 to 2500 kg dry matter/ha). Overwhelmingly, the highest priorities for further research identified by producers from surveys, workshops and a webinar were ewe condition score, mob size, feed-on-offer at lambing and mineral supplementation. This study informs benchmarks for mortality of triplet-bearing ewes and their lambs under extensive grazing conditions in Australia, and the priorities for future research to reduce these losses.
摘要：
与绵羊生产者的协商被用来量化三胞胎母羊及其羔羊的死亡率，确定生产者为减少这些损失而采用的管理方法，并优先考虑未来的研究需求，以改善三胞胎母羊及其羔羊的生存。澳大利亚的64个生产商完成了调查，他们在2017年和/或2018年确定了三胞胎母羊并将其与双胞胎母羊分开。平均而言,在所有交配的母羊中，有5.9％被鉴定为带有三胞胎（非梅里诺母羊的6.6％和梅里诺母羊的2.9％）。三胞胎母羊的平均死亡率为6.4%,母羊的死亡率在不同品种之间没有显着差异。三胞胎出生的羔羊的平均存活率为59%,与美利诺母羊相比，非美利诺羔羊的存活率明显更高（60.1vs.52.9%,p<0.05)。降低三胞胎母羊及其羔羊死亡率的关键策略包括条件评分管理，Feed-on-offer,在羔羊和使用庇护所的暴民规模。在优先采用某些管理措施的生产者之间，三胞胎母羊或其羔羊的平均死亡率没有差异（p>0.05）。然而,生产者在母羊状况评分(2.8至3.5)的羔羊目标中存在显著差异，暴民规模(10至150只母羊)和饲料供应(800至2500公斤干物质/公顷)。压倒性的,生产者从调查中确定的进一步研究的最高优先事项，研讨会和网络研讨会是母羊状况评分，暴民大小,在羔羊和矿物质补充剂上提供饲料。这项研究为澳大利亚广泛放牧条件下三胞胎母羊及其羔羊的死亡率提供了基准，以及减少这些损失的未来研究重点。
