Canonical Correlation Analysis of Early-Stage Predictive Factors and Pre-Weaning Growth Characteristics in Şavak Akkaraman Lambs

The objective of this study was to evaluate the predictive capacity of birth parameters on subsequent growth performance to support early phenotypic evaluation and herd menagement strategies. The animal material consisted of a sample size, including 10,916 female and 8,751 male lambs born between 2022 and 2025 in Erzincan province. The relationships between a predictor set (U) comprising birth weight (BW), maternal age (MA), and birth type (BT), and a criterion set (V) including weaning weight (WW/120-day), daily live weight gain (DLG), and 90-day weight, were analyzed using Canonical Correlation Analysis (CCA). Statistical evaluations identified three pairs of canonical variables (UiVi) for both sexes. The first canonical correlation coefficients were found to be highly significant (P < 0.001), calculated as 0.961 for males and 0.931 for females. Analysis indicated that BW and BT were the most influential predictors within the canonical structure, particularly affecting 90-day growth performance. While MA appeared to be a decisive factor specifically for female lamb development, BW emerged as the dominant variable with the highest loading in the first canonical set. Furthermore, a strong positive correlation was observed between DLG and 90-day weight (r = 0.982 for females; r = 0.971for males). Canonical correlation analysis revealed that while the predictor set (U1) explained approximately 33-34% of its own variance across genders, its total redundancy in predicting the criterion set (V1) was 31.2% for males and 29.9% for females. As a result, this study demonstrated that applying canonical correlation functions as a supportive phenotypic evaluation tool can assist in optimizing early growth potential without waiting for late-period performance data by enabling informed, multidimensional management decisions.