The liver is a major metabolic and endocrine organ in growing neonates but the extent to which its hormone receptor (R) sensitivity is potentially determined by maternal parity and her nutritional environment is unknown. This was therefore investigated by sampling livers from postnatal sheep born to nulliparous or multiparous mothers. Offspring were sampled at one or 30 days after birth from mothers consuming either 100 or 50% (i.e. nutrient restricted (NR)) of total metabolisable energy requirements from 110 days gestation to term (~147 days). Irrespective of maternal diet, offspring of nulliparous mothers were lighter at birth with smaller livers. By one month they had exhibited catch up growth, an adaptation not seen when mothers were NR, but they retained their lighter livers. At both sampling ages, livers from offspring born to nulliparous mothers exhibited increased mRNA abundance for growth hormone (GH)R, insulin-like growth factor (IGF)-I R, plus hepatocyte growth factor (HGF); and at day one only IGF-I, but not -IIR mRNA was decreased. In addition, mRNA for IGF-II, the HGFR, c-Met, and Bax were persistently reduced in these offspring. The effects of parity were largely unaffected by maternal nutrient restriction. Maternal parity therefore has a substantial effect on liver size during postnatal development and its R population that is not dependent on maternal diet. First born offspring appear to exhibit a resetting of the endocrine control of hepatic growth within the HGF and GH-IGF axis which could have later consequences after their growth has caught up.