Comparison of the survival in the uteri of adult ewes of cleaved ova from adult ewes and ewe lambs

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Abstract
When the conditions for survival are equal, the potential of 8-16 cell ova from ewe lambs to develop to full term is < 1/2 that of similar ova from adult ewes. The lower capacity for survival may be inherent in the ovum itself or be the result of exposure to a hostile environment in the reproductive tract of the donor animal before collection of the eggs. It is also possible that some of these cleaved ova are not, in fact, even fertilized. The results clearly show that the ova produced by Galway ewe lambs either have an inherently low potential for development or that conditions within the reproductive tract of the ewe lamb are suboptimal and have a deleterious effect on the embryos.

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