Live weight changes and their relationship with the ovarian status of maiden fat-tailed barbarine ewes.

Abstract

The� current� study� assessed� the� effect� of� the� pattern� of� live� weight� change� on� the� ovarian� function� of� maiden� Barbarine� ewes� at� approximately� 1� year� of� age.� For� this� purpose,� a� total� of� 171� weaned� ewe� lambs� (mean� live� weight� ±� s.d.� 34.7±3.07� kg� and� mean� age� ±� SD� 196±10� days� at� weaning)� were� selected� for� the� experiment.� Adjustment� of� live� weight� variation� was� used.� Based� on� the� slope� of� the� curve,� animals� were� grouped� into� three� classes� LWCI� (n=46),� LWCII� (n=91)� and� LWCIII� (n=34)� with� live� weight� loss� being� highest� in� LWCI� and� lowest� in� LWCIII.� Following� laparoscopy� at� 13� months� of� age,� the� proportion� of� ewe� lambs� found� cycling� in� LWCIII� (85.3%)� was� higher� in� comparison� to� animals� in� LWCI� (43.4%�퀃� P<0.001)� and� tended� to� be� superior� to� those� in� LWCII� (61.5%�퀃�