Two-hundred-fifty-six crossbred and Targhee ewes which lambed in February and March were randomly assigned to a 38or 73-day postpartum weaning group and within weaning group to a control, an 8or a 16-day progestogen treatment. Treatment was an intravaginal progestogen pessary for 7 days after weaning or for 15 days beginning 8 days before weaning with a 10 mg injection of progesterone on the da...

The ovarian response to a standard chronogest + eCG treatment with plasma levels of insulin, insulin-like growth factor-I (IGF-I), thyroids, non-esterified fatty acids (NEFA), βOH-butyrate (BHB) and urea-N (PUN) was studied in lactating Awassi ewes (n = 105) during the late-summer – early autumn transition period. The ewes were inseminated with diluted fresh semen after gestagen removal, and ma...

Mature ewes (12 per group) were given prostaglandin F20t (PG; 10 mg intramuscularly) on day 10 of an estrous cycle, to regress corpora lutea, or on day 16, after natural corpus luteum regression. Ewes treated on day 10 or 16 were in estrus on day 12 or 17, respectively. The PG-treated and untreated ewes were mated at estrus and necropsied 2 hr later. Sperm were counted in the oviducts, the uter...

Copper oxide wire particles (COWP) have been used to reduce infection of Haemonchus contortus in hair breed lambs in southeastern USA without signs of copper toxicity. However, copper sensitivity among breeds and regions varies. The objective was to determine the effectiveness and safety of COWP in lactating Polypay ewes and their offspring grazing alfalfa/bluegrass pasture in a rotational graz...

AIM This study was conducted on Ouled Djellal ewes in arid area of south-east Algeria in order to reveal the influence of altitude and landforms on some hematological and biochemical parameters. MATERIALS AND METHODS A total of 160 ewes having 3-5 years of age, multiparous, non-pregnant, non-lactating and reared in arid areas of South East Algeria were included. Blood samples were divided acc...

Studies to investigate the relative value of sight, hearing and smell in mutual recognition between ewes and lambs are described. The method used was to alter clues that could aid in recognition, rather than interfering with the animal's sensory perception. When lambs were coloured with powdered dyes to change appearance, this produced marked avoidance by the dams of the treated lambs. When lam...

This work describes an outbreak of clinical mastitis affecting 13 of 58 lactating ewes due to Streptococcus equi subsp. zooepidemicus. S. equi subsp. zooepidemicus was isolated in pure culture from all milk samples. All the clinical isolates had identical biochemical profiles and antimicrobial susceptibility patterns and also exhibited indistinguishable macrorestriction patterns by pulsed-field...

A specific leptin RIA was developed to assess concentrations of leptin in ovine plasma, and was shown to be efficient with bovine and caprine plasma. A specific, high-affinity antibody was generated against recombinant ovine leptin which, when used in a competitive leptin RIA, provided valid estimates of linearity (r=+0.989-0.998), recovery (102%), repeatability (13%) and limit of sensitivity (...