The purpose of this study was to evaluate the sedative-anaesthetic effects of a combination of medetomidine (M, 50 microg per pigeon), butorphanol (B, 50 microg per pigeon) and ketamine (K, 25 mg per pigeon) in domestic pigeons. Eight domestic pigeons (four male and four female, 8-15 months old) were used. The combination of Medetomidine and butorphanol injectable solutions were used to produce sedation. Ten minutes after M + B administration, K was injected. The anaesthetic effects of the drugs were reversed by administration of Atipamazole (AT) at 60 min after K administration. All drugs were injected into the pectoral muscles. The sedative-anaesthetic effects of the M + B-K combination and, alterations in respiratory rate (RR), heart rate (HR), electrocardiographic (ECG) findings and cloacal temperature (CT) were investigated before and 10 min after pre-medication with M + B, at 5, 15, 30, 45 and 60 min during the onset of K anaesthesia and at 1, 5, 10, 20, 30 and 60 min following the administration of AT. The HR and RR of pigeons decreased within 10 min following M + B administration and remained lower until 1st and 5 min of AT injection, respectively. In ECG, no significant alterations in P, Q, R and S-values were observed, however, arhythmia was recorded for three pigeons, which returned to normal values following AT administration throughout the measurement. Cloacal temperature decreased gradually during the anaesthesia from 41.0 to 32.7 degrees C. The drug combination used in this study produced a satisfactory general anaesthesia for seven of the eight pigeons. All pigeons were unconscious within 5 min after K administration as indicated by disappearance of the palpebral and corneal reflexes and lack of reaction to the pain stimuli during the study. The effect of AT administration was observed within 10 min as all pigeons responded partly against stimuli and all reflexes. It is concluded that M + B-K anaesthesia in pigeons is a safe and reliable anaesthetic protocol for surgery.

No abstract

The genetic relevance of Turkish sheep has recently been revealed by mtDNA analysis, which has led to the identification of a third maternal lineage in that species. We present here a study of the genetic variation of these breeds at a nuclear level from the analysis of 30 microsatellite loci. Parameters of variability indicated a high level of variation in the breeds analysed. Mean number of alleles per locus ranged from 7.8 to 10.4 and gene diversity varied between 0.69 and 0.74. Considerable differences were detected between breeds regarding the pattern of within-breed variability. Breed-specific alleles were detected at most loci and all breeds analysed, a total of 75 private variants being identified. The Hemsin sheep showed noticeably lower genetic variation in accordance with the present status of this breed. Percentages of shared alleles (from 54.8% to 69.5%) and gene flow estimates (from 5.98 to 28.32) gave information about the relative genetic differentiation of breeds. The results presented here for nuclear DNA complement those reported for mtDNA and bear out the need to preserve this invaluable genetic material.

Ucar O., M. Kaya, S. Yildiz, F. Onder, M. Cenesiz, M. Uzun: Effect of Progestagen/PMSG Treatment for Oestrus Synchronization of Tuj Ewes to be Bred after the Natural Breeding Season. Acta Vet. Brno 74, 2005: 385-393.The aim of this study was to investigate the effect of pregnant mare serum gonadotrophin (PMSG) and progestagen sponge on oestrus synchronization of Tuj ewes mated after breeding season. Body weights (b.w.) and condition scores (BCS) of seventeen mature fat-tailed Tuj ewes were recorded prior to the experiment and they were divided into two compared groups. All the ewes were treated by 30 mg Chronolone-impregnated intravaginal sponges for 14 days. Ewes in the first group (Group I, n = 9) were then injected with i.m. 600 I.U. PMSG upon sponge withdrawal while others, as control (Group II, n = 8) received placebo injection only. Ewes were monitored (at 2 h intervals) for both the signs of oestrus behaviour (classified as attractivity and receptivity) and their durations over the 102 h. Non-return rates were monitored (twice daily) during day 14-21 with the aid of a fertile ram. Lambing rates and litter sizes were recorded following the 150 ± 5 days of inseminations (hand-mating). Results showed that oestrus period was significantly prolonged (P < 0.05) in Group I. Additionally, a positive significant correlation (P = 0.021, R 2 = 0.345) was found between BCS in situ and the litter size, regardless of PMSG administration. Furthermore, regardless of the nature of oestrus (induced or natural) in all the ewes, there was a profound effect of BCS per se on the overall litter size (P = 0.000, R 2 = 0.633). It was significantly higher in ewes that had BCS higher than both 2.0 (P = 0.001, R 2 = 0.633) and 2.5 units (P = 0.001, R 2 = 0.654).In conclusion, PMSG combined with progestagen sponge administration for oestrus synchronization prolonged the duration of oestrus period but with no marked effects on the nonreturn rate, lambing rate or the litter size in Tuj ewes mated after breeding season. During this period, however, body energy reserves appeared to be the major effector of the litter size. Tuj, out-of-season, PMSG, Progesterone, oestrus behaviour, lambingIn general, a number of factors can affect the reproductive activity in sheep. These are: photoperiod (Ortavant et al. 1988), nutrition (Chilliard et al. 1998Ptaszynska 2001), social interactions (Yildiz et al. 2002ab, 2004

The aim of this study was to test whether anoestrous ewes respond differentially, in terms of pulsatile LH release, to sexually activated males or females. For that purpose, anoestrous ewes (n = 21) were divided into three equal groups and placed into three separated rooms. The experiment commenced two months before the expected breeding season. Body weights and body condition scores of ewes were recorded prior to the experiment. Into the Female group (n = 7), long-acting progestins plus oestradiol injected ewes (n = 4) were included; into the Male group (n = 7) longacting testosterone injected rams (n = 4) were included; and into the Control group (n = 7), sexually inactive ewes (n = 4) were introduced. In order to remove the between animal variance, blood samples for LH were taken twice, before and after the introduction, for 8 h at 15 min intervals. The results showed that mean and smoothed mean LH concentrations, LH pulse frequency, LH pulse amplitude and duration were not different between the experimental groups neither before nor after the introduction. However, when the LH data obtained before and after introduction were compared, it was seen that LH pulse frequency tended to decrease following the introduction in Female group (P = 0.078). Body weights and condition scores were not different between the groups but LH pulse frequency was higher in ewes that had condition scores higher than 2.00 units. Additionally, there was a significant positive correlation between condition score and LH pulse frequency (P = 0.004; R 2 = 0.368). In conclusion, it appears that although female sheep tend to reduce LH pulse frequency of anoestrous ewes, body energy reserves appear to be the major effector of LH pulse frequency during the anoestrous period studied.Testosterone, oestradiol, progestin, sexual interactions, body condition score