Peripubrtal Plasma Progesterone Patterns in Ethiopian Menz Ewe Lambs
Date
1993Author
Mukasa-Mugerwaa, E
Mutigaa, ER
Type
ArticleLanguage
enMetadata
Show full item recordAbstract
Plasma progesterone concentrations were determined every 10 days for 38 grazing Menz ewe lambs from weaning (93 ± 7 d) until conception. Lambs were either fedextra supplementary concentrates and/or drenched for endoparasites. Inadequate nutrition delayed puberty onset by 4 to 5 months (P≤0.05). Progesterone concentrations, determined by the ELISA technique, were basal (≤1.0 ng/ml) before puberty. Subsequently, 63% lambs exhibited a ‘silent ovulation’ prior to first behavioural oestrus but, transient rises of progesterone were not observed in 45% of lambs conceiving at first mating. Further, first oestrus was unovulatory (non-pubertal) in 21.1% of animals which may bias estimates of puberty onset based only on first oestrous behaviour. 5% of lambs exhibited a gestational oestrus.
URI
http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/09712119.1993.9705950#.UbnVU2eoNkhhttp://erepository.uonbi.ac.ke:8080/xmlui/handle/123456789/33283
Citation
Mukasa-Mugerwa, E. and Mutiga, E. R. 1993. Peripubertal plasma progesterone patterns in Ethiopian Menz ewe lambs. J. Appl. Anim. Res., 3: 31–38Publisher
University of Nairobi College of Agriculture and Veterinary Sciences