Nutrient effects on ovulation rate, ovarian function and the secretion of gonadotrophic and metabolic hormones in sheep.

Nutrition is one of the most significant influences on the ovulation rate of sheep. In the extensive systems of husbandry practised in many countries most animals will experience at least one period of nutritional deprivation during their lifetime. Under these conditions reproductive performance is often sub-optimal, an effect usually attributed to poor nutrition. The effects of poor nutrition on reproductive performance are evident in many events in the reproductive cycle and the one which this paper will highlight is ovulation.