The Effects of Short or Long Term FGA Treatment with or without eCG on Reproductive Performance of Ewes Bred Out-of-season
- 1 Jordan University of Science and Technology, Jordan
Abstract
The objective was to evaluate the effects of intravaginal FGA sponges inserted for 4 or 12 days with or without eCG on reproductive performance of ewes out-of-season. Forty-eight anestrous ewes were assigned in equal numbers to four treatments in a 2x2 factorial design. Ewes were administered with FGA sponges on May 17 for 12 days (12-day-FGA-eCG and 12-day-FGA groups, n= 12 each) and on May 25 for 4 days (4-day-FGA-eCG and 4-day-FGA groups, n= 12 each). All treatments were timed to end together on May 29 (day 0, 0 h) at which time sponges were withdrawn and eCG or saline was injected. Five fertile rams which had been isolated from ewes were joined at 0 h for breeding and estrus detection. Blood samples were collected to compare progesterone (P4) concentrations and for pregnancy diagnosis. Overall estrus expression occurred in 40/48 ewes which differed only between 12-day-FGA-eCG and 4-day-FGA (p<0.05) groups. Intervals from 0 h to onset of estrus were shorter (p<0.05) in 12-day-FGA-eCG than those in 12-day-FGA and 4-day-FGA groups with no differences between 12-day-FGA-eCG and 4-day-FGA-eCG or between 12-day-FGA and 4-day-FGA groups. Progesterone levels were basal from day -12 through day 4 (p>0.1) and increased gradually thereafter until day 15. Progesterone remained elevated through day 19 in 11/12, 8/12, 9/12 and 6/12 ewes, respectively, which were diagnosed pregnant on day 30 by ultrasonography. Of the 34 ewes that became pregnant, 31 lambed 150 days following day 0. Pregnancy loss occurred only in 3 ewes from the two groups that did not have eCG treatment No differences in pregnancy and lambing rates and the number of lambs born were found between 12-day-FGA-eCG and 4-day-FGA eCG. The overall pregnancy and lambing rates obtained from mating at first service were 70.8 and 64.6%, respectively. In conclusion, the 4-day-FGA and eCG regimen could adequately replace the 12-day-FGA out-of-season. Application of such a 4-day-FGA protocol must be accompanied by eCG treatment upon sponge removal.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.3844/ajavsp.2007.23.28
Copyright: © 2007 Mustafa Q. Husein, Mohammed M. Ababneh and Dia S. Abu-Ruman. This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.
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Keywords
- Awassi ewes
- FGA sponges
- eCG
- Out-of-season