Effect of monensin and progesterone priming on ram-induced reproductive performance of boutsiko mountain breed ewes

The effects of monensin and progesterone priming on reproductive performance (estrous response, lambing rate and prolificacy) of grazing Boutsiko mountain breed adult and 18-mo.-old ewes at the end of seasonal anestrus were investigated. In Experiment 1 the feed supplement with or without monensin was offered for 21 d after introduction of vasectomized rams (Day 0). Progesterone was administered to the ewes in the respective groups as a single injection at Day -3. Ewes of both age groups were assigned randomly to 1 of 4 treatments: C, C+P, C+M and C+M+P. In Experiment 2 the supplement C or M was offered from Day -26 to Day 21. The treatments consisted of C, C+P and C+M+P. Blood samples were taken 50 h after ram introduction for determination of plasma concentrations of P and insulin-like growth factor-I (IGF-I). There was a greater increase in estrous response at Days 17 to 19 and at Days 0 to 19 when supplementation was offered before rather than after ram introduction in both age groups. In the adult group ewes synchronization of estrus at Days 17 to 19 was significantly increased by administration of monensin (P<0.05) and progesterone (P<0.01) compared with the control group in the first but not the second experiment. The incidence of estrus at Days 17 to 19 or at Days 0 to 19 was highest in the adult groups treated with monensin and progesterone in both experiments. In 18-mo.-old ewes progesterone was effective in synchronizing estrus only in Experiment 2. Mean plasma IGF-I concentrations were increased by monensin treatment (P<0.05) in adult ewes that were at the periovulatory stage at blood sampling time. Correlation coefficients between IGF-I and progesterone concentrations in monensin plus progesterone group adults were -0.715 (P<0.02) and -0.516 (P<0.01), respectively across all treatments. The results suggest that monensin and progesterone priming improved reproductive performance, and the monensin-induced increase in plasma IGF-I levels at the periovulatory stage may be causally related to the ability of ovulatory follicles to develop into functional corpora lutea (CL).

Effects of melatonin and plane of nutrition on mammary development in prepubertal boutsiko mountain breed ewe lambs

The effects of melatonin (implants, M or no implants, C) and plane of nutrition (high, H or low, L) on mammary development and growth hormone (GH) concentrations were investigated in prepubertal Boutsiko mountain breed ewe lambs. Eighty female lambs were assigned to each of 4 treatments: ad libitum feeding control (HC), HM, LC and LM. The rearing treatments started and ended at mean ages of 63 and 160 d, respectively. Feed restriction resulted in a mean daily gain of 70.6% of the ad libitum-fed lambs during the experimental period. Melatonin (18 mg Regulin) was administered at 68 d of age (January 10) and replaced on March 1. Blood samples were collected from 10 lambs in each treatment group at the end of the experiment for GH measurements. At a mean age of 160 d, seven lambs from each treatment group were slaughtered and the udder was removed. One udder half was trimmed and the parenchyma and fat pad portions were kept for determination of deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) content. Melatonin did not influence mammary development parameters, while the mass of parenchyma tended to be greater in lambs on low than high nutrition planes (P<0.10). Mean mammary parenchymal weight and DNA content were 25.1 and 29.2 g and 52.5 and 58.2 mg in high and low nutrition lambs, respectively. Mean plasma GH concentrations were not affected by melatonin treatment and were higher in low than high nutrition lambs (P<0.01). There were no correlations between mean plasma GH concentrations and parenchymal DNA content, or between mean daily weight gain and parenchyma (g), in contrast to those found in a previous experiment with lambs of the same breed but greater age at slaughter. The results suggest that a period of accelerated mammary development occurs later than 140 d of age in Boutsiko mountain breed ewe lambs.