The effect of birth weight on passive immunity transfer in kangal breed lambs

Sefer Türk; Fikri Emlik; Uğur Aydoğdu; Alparslan Coşkun

doi:10.47748/tjvr.1816644

The effect of birth weight on passive immunity transfer in kangal breed lambs

Abstract

This study evaluates the influence of birth weight on the passive transfer of immunity (PTI) in Kangal breed lambs, a robust and economically significant Turkish sheep breed. A cohort of 38 healthy neonatal lambs was assessed to elucidate the associations between birth weight and key indicators of PTI, including serum Optical Brix percentage, total protein (TP) concentration, and gamma-glutamyl transferase (GGT) enzyme activity. Blood samples were collected 48–72 hours postpartum and analyzed using cost-efficient and field-applicable methods such as refractometry, automated TP quantification, and enzymatic assays.The findings demonstrated that lambs with birth weights below 4.53 kg exhibited significantly reduced serum Brix percentages (P=0.003), TP concentrations (P=0.002), and GGT activity levels (P=0.028), indicative of compromised colostral immunoglobulin absorption. Receiver operating characteristic (ROC) analysis established 4.53 kg as the critical threshold for sufficient PTI, with optimized sensitivity and specificity values across all parameters. Birth weight exhibited a moderate to strong positive correlation with TP (R=0.351) and GGT levels (R=0.471), while Brix refractometry correlated robustly with TP (R=0.880), underscoring their diagnostic concordance. This study underscores the necessity of breed-specific PTI thresholds, particularly for breeds such as the Kangal, known for their higher mean birth weights. The findings highlight the utility of serum Brix refractometry, TP, and GGT measurements as reliable, pragmatic, and cost-effective alternatives to traditional laboratory methods for PTI assessment. Ensuring timely and adequate colostrum intake in lambs below the identified threshold (<4.53 kg) is imperative for mitigating immunological deficits and enhancing neonatal survival outcomes in Kangal sheep husbandry.

Keywords

Supporting Institution

none

Project Number

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Ethical Statement

The study protocol was approved by the Animal Experiments Local Ethics Committee of Sivas Cumhuriyet University (Approval number 97; Approval date, 07/11/2017).

Thanks

none

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Details

Primary Language

English

Subjects

Veterinary Internal Medicine

Journal Section

Research Article

Authors

Sefer Türk ^*
0000-0003-4683-5217
Türkiye

Fikri Emlik
0000-0002-4988-0614
Türkiye

Uğur Aydoğdu
0000-0002-9828-9863
Türkiye

Alparslan Coşkun
0000-0002-2242-9647
Türkiye

Publication Date

March 30, 2026

Submission Date

November 3, 2025

Acceptance Date

March 28, 2026

Published in Issue

Year 2026 Volume: 10 Number: 1

DOI

https://doi.org/10.47748/tjvr.1816644

IZ

https://izlik.org/JA85LS88FH

Cite

RIS / Bibtex

APA

Türk, S., Emlik, F., Aydoğdu, U., & Coşkun, A. (2026). The effect of birth weight on passive immunity transfer in kangal breed lambs. Turkish Journal of Veterinary Research, 10(1), 137-145. https://doi.org/10.47748/tjvr.1816644

AMA

1.Türk S, Emlik F, Aydoğdu U, Coşkun A. The effect of birth weight on passive immunity transfer in kangal breed lambs. TJVR. 2026;10(1):137-145. doi:10.47748/tjvr.1816644

Chicago

Türk, Sefer, Fikri Emlik, Uğur Aydoğdu, and Alparslan Coşkun. 2026. “The Effect of Birth Weight on Passive Immunity Transfer in Kangal Breed Lambs”. Turkish Journal of Veterinary Research 10 (1): 137-45. https://doi.org/10.47748/tjvr.1816644.

EndNote

Türk S, Emlik F, Aydoğdu U, Coşkun A (March 1, 2026) The effect of birth weight on passive immunity transfer in kangal breed lambs. Turkish Journal of Veterinary Research 10 1 137–145.

IEEE

[1]S. Türk, F. Emlik, U. Aydoğdu, and A. Coşkun, “The effect of birth weight on passive immunity transfer in kangal breed lambs”, TJVR, vol. 10, no. 1, pp. 137–145, Mar. 2026, doi: 10.47748/tjvr.1816644.

ISNAD

Türk, Sefer - Emlik, Fikri - Aydoğdu, Uğur - Coşkun, Alparslan. “The Effect of Birth Weight on Passive Immunity Transfer in Kangal Breed Lambs”. Turkish Journal of Veterinary Research 10/1 (March 1, 2026): 137-145. https://doi.org/10.47748/tjvr.1816644.

JAMA

1.Türk S, Emlik F, Aydoğdu U, Coşkun A. The effect of birth weight on passive immunity transfer in kangal breed lambs. TJVR. 2026;10:137–145.

MLA

Türk, Sefer, et al. “The Effect of Birth Weight on Passive Immunity Transfer in Kangal Breed Lambs”. Turkish Journal of Veterinary Research, vol. 10, no. 1, Mar. 2026, pp. 137-45, doi:10.47748/tjvr.1816644.

Vancouver

1.Sefer Türk, Fikri Emlik, Uğur Aydoğdu, Alparslan Coşkun. The effect of birth weight on passive immunity transfer in kangal breed lambs. TJVR. 2026 Mar. 1;10(1):137-45. doi:10.47748/tjvr.1816644