Smriti Shukla , Aditya D. Deshpande , Ashutosh , Sachinandan De
{"title":"Cellular distribution of AQP1, AQP2, and AQP3 in ureter and urinary bladder of goats in different seasons","authors":"Smriti Shukla , Aditya D. Deshpande , Ashutosh , Sachinandan De","doi":"10.1016/j.smallrumres.2024.107308","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1016/j.smallrumres.2024.107308","url":null,"abstract":"<div><p>Aquaporins (AQP) are transmembrane proteins that function as channels for water molecules' movement. It is conserved across bacteria, plants and animals. It helps in thermoregulation during extreme climatic conditions. So, this study focuses on the expression of AQP1, AQP2 and AQP3 in the ureter and bladder tissues of goat (<em>Capra hircus</em>) during winter, spring and summer seasons. The study was conducted on goats (n=30) to investigate the expression of AQP (water channels) in ureter and urinary bladder and metabolic and hormonal influence by aquaporins. mRNAs were isolated from ureter and urinary bladder tissues and cDNA were synthesized for RT-PCR expression studies. Biochemical parameters were studied in the blood samples. AQP1 mRNA expression was non-significant in goat ureters but considerably greater (p<0.05) in the urine bladder during summer compared to winter. During the summer, both ureter and urinary bladder tissue samples showed increased expression of AQP2 and AQP3. Aquaporins 3 had significantly greater (p<0.05) mRNA expression in the ureter and urine bladder than Aquaporins 1 and 2 throughout the summer season. The significant (p<0.05) increase in physiological responses, haematological counts and blood biochemical components seen in goats throughout the summer season. Finally, it concludes that AQP and their role in thermotolerance and direct association with effective water balance mechanisms in the body via expression of AQP in different extreme climatic conditions.</p></div>","PeriodicalId":21758,"journal":{"name":"Small Ruminant Research","volume":"236 ","pages":"Article 107308"},"PeriodicalIF":1.6,"publicationDate":"2024-07-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"141480133","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"农林科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Gamal A. Mousa , Ahmed E. Kholif , Noha A. Hassaan , Gamal M. El-Garhy , Ola G.A. Hassan
{"title":"Effect of replacing cottonseed meal with fenugreek seed meal on feed intake, digestibility, growth, blood parameters and economics of fattening lambs","authors":"Gamal A. Mousa , Ahmed E. Kholif , Noha A. Hassaan , Gamal M. El-Garhy , Ola G.A. Hassan","doi":"10.1016/j.smallrumres.2024.107305","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1016/j.smallrumres.2024.107305","url":null,"abstract":"<div><p>The aim of the present experiment was to evaluate the partial or complete replacement of cotton seed meal (CSM) with fenugreek seed meal (FSM) on chemical composition, in vitro ruminal fermentation, the growth performance and economic efficiency of growing lambs. Thirty-two male Ossimi lambs weighing 42±0.7 kg, and 210±7 d were divided randomly into four experimental groups of eight lambs each. Lambs were fed four diets containing 40 % berseem clover and 60 % concentrate feed mixture. Cotton seed meal was replaced with FSM at 0 % (FSM0; control treatment), 50 % (FSM50 treatment), 75 % (FSM75 treatment) or 100 % (FSM100 treatment). The experiment was lasted for 105 d consisting of 15 d for adaptation and 90 days for measurements. The replacement did not affect crude protein (CP) or gross energy (GE) of the diets. However, the concentrations of individual amino acids and polyphenols differed between CSM and FSM. Diets containing FSM reduced the <em>in vitro</em> methane production (P=0.024) by 30–41.1 %, and nutrient degradability (P<0.05). The highest DM intake was observed (quadratic effect, P<0.001) with lambs fed the FSM50 diet (1.68 kg DM), which also showed the highest final body weight (65.5 kg) (quadratic effect, P=0.045), total weight gain (22.6 kg) (quadratic effect, P=0.034), and daily weight gain (251.1 g) (quadratic effect, P=0.033). Higher organic matter digestibility (∼ 69.4 %) was observed (quadratic effect, P=0.016) with the lambs of FSM50 treatment (P<0.05). Replacing CSM with FSM linearly increased (P=0.024) blood antioxidant activity and decreased blood cholesterol (P=0.022), triglycerides (P=0.035) and high-density lipoprotein (P=0.034) compared to the control treatment. The highest relative percentage of net revenue was observed with the FSM50 diet (131 %) while the lowest one was observed (P=0.011) with the FSM100 diet (92.9 %). It is concluded that CSM can be replaced with FSM at 50 % in diets of growing lambs for better performance and economic efficiency.</p></div>","PeriodicalId":21758,"journal":{"name":"Small Ruminant Research","volume":"236 ","pages":"Article 107305"},"PeriodicalIF":1.6,"publicationDate":"2024-07-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"141480132","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"农林科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Abdul Rahim , Rajni Chaudhary , K.S. Rajaravindra , R. Pourouchottamane , G.R. Gowane , Arun Kumar
{"title":"Elucidating population structure and genetic diversity of intercross sheep through pedigree analysis","authors":"Abdul Rahim , Rajni Chaudhary , K.S. Rajaravindra , R. Pourouchottamane , G.R. Gowane , Arun Kumar","doi":"10.1016/j.smallrumres.2024.107309","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1016/j.smallrumres.2024.107309","url":null,"abstract":"<div><p>The aim of this study was to assess the population structure and genetic diversity along with determining the accuracy of ongoing selection program in a closed flock of Intercross sheep through pedigree analysis. The pedigree records of 2245 animals maintained at CSWRI-NTRS, Garsa, Kullu during the period from 2012 to 2023 were utilized to calculate the genealogical information, genetic conservation index and other parameters based on gene origin probabilities. Lambs born during 2020 and 2023 were considered as reference population. ENDOG version 4.8 software package was used for pedigree analysis. Analysis revealed that the mean generation interval for the reference population was 3.20 years with a longer interval in dam-offspring pathways relative to sire-offspring pathways. Average inbreeding coefficients for whole and reference population were 0.21 and 0.49 % and corresponding average relatedness was 1.24 and 1.72 %, respectively. The average maximum, equivalent and completed generations were 2.50, 1.96 and 1.63 with 0.12 %, 0.17 % and 0.20 % increase in inbreeding coefficient, respectively. This resultant effective population size estimated using individual increase in inbreeding was 156.52. Effective numbers of founders (f<sub>e</sub>) and ancestors (f<sub>a</sub>) was 68 and 61, respectively for reference population with a ratio of 1.11, indicating occurrence of minor effects of bottleneck in the flock. The genetic contribution of most influent ancestors contributing 50 % of the gene pool was only 23. The estimated founder genome (f<sub>g</sub>) and non-founder genome (f<sub>ng</sub>) were 35.87 and 75.91, respectively in the present population. The estimate for f<sub>g</sub>/f<sub>a</sub> ratio was 0.59 which explained that 59 % of the original genetic diversity is exit in the reference population. Genetic conservation index (GCI) ranged from 1 % to 20.28 % with a mean value of 4.91 %. Overall, males recorded a slightly higher GCI than females, <em>i.e.,</em> 5.23 <em>vs</em> 4.65 %, respectively. The results revealed that, the population has augmented genetic diversity and low level of inbreeding. Small fraction of genetic diversity was vanished due to unequal contribution of founders and minor bottleneck effects occurred due to disproportionate contribution of breeding animals to gene pool of population. Use of a sufficient number of breeding rams and optimum contribution selection (OCS) is recommended to maintain the genetic diversity as well as enhancing production potential in this population.</p></div>","PeriodicalId":21758,"journal":{"name":"Small Ruminant Research","volume":"237 ","pages":"Article 107309"},"PeriodicalIF":1.6,"publicationDate":"2024-06-25","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"141594986","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"农林科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Bruna Moreira Maioli , Mariana Gudrun Ribeiro , Amanda de Carvalho , Leticia Aline Gonçalves , Daniela Lázara de Almeida , André Luis do Valle de Zoppa , Paulo Roberto Leme , João Alberto Negrão , Sarita Bonagurio Gallo
{"title":"Nutrition of lambs with chromium propionate and its effects on metabolism, performance and meat quality","authors":"Bruna Moreira Maioli , Mariana Gudrun Ribeiro , Amanda de Carvalho , Leticia Aline Gonçalves , Daniela Lázara de Almeida , André Luis do Valle de Zoppa , Paulo Roberto Leme , João Alberto Negrão , Sarita Bonagurio Gallo","doi":"10.1016/j.smallrumres.2024.107306","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1016/j.smallrumres.2024.107306","url":null,"abstract":"<div><p>This study aimed to evaluate the effects of two additional doses of chromium propionate on performance, carcass characteristics and meat quality, bone density and metabolites. A total of 29 uncastrated male lambs were divided into 3 treatments: CTL, no chromium added; Cr0.5, 0.5 mg/kg of DM; and Cr1.5, 1.5 mg/kg of DM. The experimental period lasted for 64 days during which blood samples were taken for biochemical analysis, the animals were weighed for performance evaluation, and individual and daily feed consumption were monitored. At slaughter, data were collected to evaluate carcass and meat characteristics, viscera, and femur weight for bone density. The experimental design was completely randomized with means compared by the Tukey test at 5 % probability. The inclusion of chromium propionate increased dry matter intake (<em>P</em><0.0001), decreased feed efficiency (<em>P</em>=0.0002), and increased Cr concentration in the meat (<em>P</em>=0.0341). The cholesterol (<em>P</em>=0.0023) and phosphorus (<em>P</em>=0.0213) were lower in Cr0.5, and alkaline phosphatase decreased linearly (<em>P</em>=0.0274). Cr improved the parameters of total leukocytes (<em>P</em>=0.0126), lymphocytes (<em>P</em>=0.0476), and monocytes (<em>P</em> = 0.0058). No effect of Cr was observed on carcass characteristics, commercial cuts, meat quality, viscera, and femur density. Supplementation with 0.5 mg of chromium propionate positively affected the immune system of lambs in feedlots, increasing the amount of chromium in the meat. However, above this amount may reduce dry matter intake and feed efficiency.</p></div>","PeriodicalId":21758,"journal":{"name":"Small Ruminant Research","volume":"237 ","pages":"Article 107306"},"PeriodicalIF":1.6,"publicationDate":"2024-06-22","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"141480452","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"农林科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
G. Gómez-Oquendo , K. Salazar-Cubillas , C.A. Gómez-Bravo
{"title":"Quantifying methane emissions during dry season and estimating emission factors in alpacas grazing Andean grasslands","authors":"G. Gómez-Oquendo , K. Salazar-Cubillas , C.A. Gómez-Bravo","doi":"10.1016/j.smallrumres.2024.107307","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1016/j.smallrumres.2024.107307","url":null,"abstract":"<div><p>This study aimed to (1) measure methane emissions from alpacas grazing in Andean grasslands during the dry season and compare them with those of sheep under similar conditions, and (2) estimate the methane conversion and emission factor for alpacas grazing in Andean grasslands, considering methodology, animal class, and season. The comparison involved nine alpacas and nine sheep, with measurements taken for dry matter intake, diet composition, and enteric methane emissions measured with the sulfur hexafluoride technique. Alpacas selected a more digestible diet than sheep (0.62 vs. 0.50 g/g of dry matter), even with limited feed availability. Methane emissions were similar between the two species. For the second objective, the study used observations from the first objective and mean treatments from a literature review. The developed model predicted methane conversion factors, considering animal class and measurement methodology, with no significant influence observed for season. The predicted methane conversion factors (% gross energy in feed converted to methane) for alpacas grazing in Andean grasslands were 7.71 for juveniles (i.e., tuis) alpacas and 8.71 for adults, corresponding to emission factors of 6.49 and 9.77 g per alpaca and day, respectively. These results emphasize the importance of considering animal class, measurement methods, and regional variations when estimating methane emission factors for alpacas.</p></div>","PeriodicalId":21758,"journal":{"name":"Small Ruminant Research","volume":"237 ","pages":"Article 107307"},"PeriodicalIF":1.6,"publicationDate":"2024-06-19","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"141482801","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"农林科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Identification of the association of the GH, IGF-I and Pit-I gene polymorphism with growth traits in Saanen, Alpine and Boer goat breed","authors":"Solomon Amakelew Ayele, Bahri Devrim Özcan, Mervan Bayraktar","doi":"10.1016/j.smallrumres.2024.107297","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.smallrumres.2024.107297","url":null,"abstract":"<div><p>This study aims to determine an effect between GH, IGF-I, and Pit-I gene polymorphisms and growth traits such as body weight, heart girth, body length, height at wither, and chest width in Saanen, Alpine, and Boer goat breeds. The polymorphism was identified using the PCR-RFLP technique. GH/<em>HaeIII</em> gene polymorphism results identified two alleles (A and B) and two genotypes (AB and BB). A and B allele frequencies for Saanen, Alpine, and Boer goat breeds were found to be 0.438 and 0.562, 0.444 and 0.556, and 0.197 and 0.803, respectively. AB and BB genotype frequencies were found to be 0.876 and 0.124, 0.889 and 0.111, and 0.394 and 0.606, respectively. IGF-I/<em>HaeIII</em> gene polymorphism results identified two alleles (A and B) and three genotypes (AB, BB, and AA). A and B allele frequencies for the Saanen, Alpine, and Boer breeds were found to be 0.191 and 0.809, 0.173 and 0.827, and 0.182 and 0.818, respectively. The AB, BB, and AA genotype frequencies were found to be 0.315, 0.652, and 0.033 for Saanen, 0.247, 0.704, and 0.049 for Alpine, and 0.242, 0.697, and 0.061 for Boer, respectively. Regarding Pit-I/<em>PstI</em> gene polymorphism, T and C allele frequencies were determined as 0.921 and 0.079, 0.988 and 0.012, and 0.985 and 0.015 for Saanen, Alpine, and Boer breeds, respectively. TT and TC genotype frequencies were found to be 0.843 and 0.157, 0.975 and 0.025, and 0.970 and 0.030 in Saanen, Alpine, and Boer goats, respectively. An association was found between GH polymorphism and chest width in Saanen and Alpine goats and between body weight and heart girth in Boer goats. Additionally, an association was identified between IGF-I polymorphism and body weight in Alpine and chest width in Boer. There was also an association between Pit-I polymorphism and body weight in Alpine goats.</p></div>","PeriodicalId":21758,"journal":{"name":"Small Ruminant Research","volume":"236 ","pages":"Article 107297"},"PeriodicalIF":1.8,"publicationDate":"2024-06-02","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"141280225","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"农林科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Amir Massoudi, Ghader Jalilzadeh-Amin , Bahram Dalir- Naghadeh, Siamak Asri-Rezaei
{"title":"Ascorbic acid and thiamine as adjunctive therapy for ovine pneumonia","authors":"Amir Massoudi, Ghader Jalilzadeh-Amin , Bahram Dalir- Naghadeh, Siamak Asri-Rezaei","doi":"10.1016/j.smallrumres.2024.107293","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1016/j.smallrumres.2024.107293","url":null,"abstract":"<div><p>The purpose of this study was to investigate the effectiveness of ascorbic acid and thiamine as an adjunctive therapy with antibiotics in treatment of sheep affected with pneumonia. Twenty male lambs (8–12 months old) with clinical signs of pneumonia were randomly allocated into 1 of 4 treatment groups: A (antibiotics alone), B (antibiotics + thiamine), C (antibiotics + ascorbic acid), and D (antibiotics + thiamine + ascorbic acid). A separate group of five male healthy lambs, matching for weight and age served as the control group, received only distilled water. The primary outcomes were the rate of change in the severity of clinical signs of pneumonia and acute phase protein concentrations, assessed at days 1, 3, 6, and 14 after administration. All groups displayed clinical improvement, with groups C and D exhibiting faster resolution of dyspnea and nasal discharge. Serum total protein, ceruloplasmin, and haptoglobin decreased in all groups, with group D showing the fastest decline. Albumin levels increased significantly in all groups, especially in group D. Fibrinogen levels decreased most notably in D. WBC counts in group D converged with the control group on day 14. In conclusion, this study indicates that co-administration of thiamine and ascorbic acid alongside antibiotics may be more effective in treating pneumonia compared to antibiotics alone. Pneumonic animals receiving both thiamine and ascorbic acid displayed faster resolution of clinical signs and a more pronounced improvement in markers of inflammation compared to other treatment groups.</p></div>","PeriodicalId":21758,"journal":{"name":"Small Ruminant Research","volume":"236 ","pages":"Article 107293"},"PeriodicalIF":1.8,"publicationDate":"2024-05-29","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"141239719","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"农林科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Mursaleen Rashid , Hakim Athar , Raja Aijaz Ahmad , Mehraj U. Din Dar , Syed Ashaq Hussain , Dil Mohamamad Makhdoomi
{"title":"Clinical effects of epidurally administered lidocaine with or without dexmedetomidine in sheep","authors":"Mursaleen Rashid , Hakim Athar , Raja Aijaz Ahmad , Mehraj U. Din Dar , Syed Ashaq Hussain , Dil Mohamamad Makhdoomi","doi":"10.1016/j.smallrumres.2024.107295","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1016/j.smallrumres.2024.107295","url":null,"abstract":"<div><p>The study was designed as a randomized, prospective, blinded, clinical trial to compare the clinical effects of epidural lidocaine hydrochloride 2% (L2%) alone and in combination with dexmedetomidine (DL2%) in sheep. A total of 19 adult sheep, 14 females & 5 males were assigned to one of the two lumbosacral epidural treatments: L2% (4 mg kg <sup>–1</sup>) and DL2% (2.5 µg kg <sup>–1</sup> + 4 mg kg <sup>–1</sup>) in a randomized order. The total volume of the drug combination was kept constant. Onset, analgesia, motor blockade, sedation and behaviour were determined before treatment, after effect of treatment and at recovery. Duration of epidural anesthesia and motor blockade were recorded. Heart rate, blood pressure, respiratory rate, rectal temperature and capillary refill time were recorded prior to treatments and every 15 minutes following epidural anesthesia for 60 minutes. Epidural anesthesia was produced with both the treatments effectively and was easily performed in all the studied animals. Both the treatments provided complete analgesia however no significant difference (<em>p</em> = 0.35) was recorded in onset time to analgesia. Duration of epidural anesthesia was significantly greater (<em>p</em> < 0.0001) with DL2% (239.56 ± 19.48 min) than L2% (69.30 ± 3.03 min). Significant extension (<em>p</em> < 0.0001) of motor blockade was recorded with DL2% (251.89 ± 22.18 min) than with L2% (88.30 ± 2.36 min) alone. The median analgesic scores were significantly higher in DL2% in comparison to the L2% alone. Rescue analgesia had to be given in 20% of L2% and 33.3% of DL2%.</p></div>","PeriodicalId":21758,"journal":{"name":"Small Ruminant Research","volume":"236 ","pages":"Article 107295"},"PeriodicalIF":1.8,"publicationDate":"2024-05-27","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"141289492","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"农林科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Echotextural evaluation of ultrasonographic images of the uterus in non-pregnant and pregnant Awassi ewes using computer-assisted image analysis","authors":"Sebahat GÜMÜŞ, Tuğra AKKUŞ","doi":"10.1016/j.smallrumres.2024.107291","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1016/j.smallrumres.2024.107291","url":null,"abstract":"<div><p>The aim of this study is to determine how physiological changes occurring in the uterus during early pregnancy affect echotexture values by computer-assisted analysis of ultrasonographic images of the uterus in pregnant and non-pregnant ewes. It was also aimed to clarify the relationship between the echotextural parameters and progesterone (P<sub>4</sub>) hormone in this period. A total of 40 Awassi ewes were used in the study, as Group 1 (n=20) not pregnant ewes, and Group 2 (n=20) pregnant ewes. Transrectal ultrasonography was applied on days 4, 7, 10, 13, 15, 16, and 17 after natural mating and the uterus tissue images were recorded. Blood samples were taken for the measurement of progesterone hormone. Measurements were taken on the uterus ultrasonographic images of the mean grayness value (MGV), homogeneity (HOM), and contrast (CON). In the statistical analyses of the data, two-way repeated measures ANOVA were examined with variance analysis and the Pearson test. It was found a time-related significant difference in the echotexture parameters within the groups of the pregnant and non-pregnant ewes in respect of the MGV, HOM, and CON values (P<0.05). The MGV and HOM values in all the days when measurements were taken after natural mating were significantly higher in the non-pregnant ewes compared to the pregnant group (P<0.001). The CON value was significantly higher in the pregnant ewes than the non-pregnant ewes in all days of measurement after natural mating (P<0.001). A time-related statistically significant difference was determined in the serum P<sub>4</sub> within the groups of pregnant and non-pregnant ewes (P<0.001) and it was higher in the pregnant ewes (P<0.001). A significant negative correlation was determined between P<sub>4</sub> and MGV, and between P<sub>4</sub> and HOM, and a significant positive correlation between P<sub>4</sub> and CON. In conclusion, it was found a significant difference between the pregnant and non-pregnant ewes in respect of the echotextural evaluation of the uterus and the measurement of P<sub>4</sub> hormone. In ewes farming, the early determination of pregnancy and early determination of ewes that are not pregnant gives the opportunity for repeat mating, and the evaluation of changes occurring in the uterus by computer-assisted image analysis can be used as an assistive method for providing additional nutrition in pregnant ewes.</p></div>","PeriodicalId":21758,"journal":{"name":"Small Ruminant Research","volume":"236 ","pages":"Article 107291"},"PeriodicalIF":1.8,"publicationDate":"2024-05-25","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"141239720","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"农林科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}