The objective of this work was to evaluate the return to postpartum estrus of ewes submitted to different suckling managements. Fifty-six (56) Santa Ines and Bergamácia ewes, 71 lambs and 3 teasers were utilized. The suckling managements (MM) were: 1: Continuous; 2: Two daily sucklings; 3: suckling during the night. The experimental period was from 15 days postpartum to weaning at 60 days. The lambs stayed with their mothers until they were 15 days old. For MM 1, the ewes remained with their lambs in a pen for the duration of the study. For MM 2, the ewes spent the night in a pen and the day in pasture; they had no visual or physical contact with their sucklings during the day. Their lambs were kept in a separate pen during the day, where the ewes were led at suckling time. For MM 3, the ewes spent the day in pasture and the night with their lambs in a pen, in which the lambs remained the whole time. All the ewes and all the lambs were fed in the pens. For identification of the ewes in estrus, teasers were utilized, which remained with them the whole time. The data was submitted to an analysis of variance (PROC GLM, Sas®) and the means compared by contrasts. MM 2 made it possible for ewes to return to postpartum estrus early when compared with MM 3 and MM 1. There was little or no influence of lactation anestrous, since 80% of the ewes presented estrus during suckling.
reproduction; sheep; estrus; controlled suckling
