Effect of Body Condition Score, Treatment Period and Month of the Previous Lambing on the Reproductive Resumption of Melatonin-Treated Sarda Breed Sheep during Spring

Abstract

Stakeholders place great emphasis upon rationalizing the management and rearing techniques which are utilized within sheep farms. The present study aimed to investigate factors which may improve the reproductive performance of melatonin-treated Sardinian sheep via a series of three trials. The first trial (n = 100) investigated the effect of melatonin treatment alongside body condition score (BCS), the second trial (n = 150) investigated the effect of treatment alongside the date of treatment (treatment period) and the third trial (n = 150) investigated the effect of treatment alongside the previous lambing of the ewes. The findings indicated that melatonin is an effective tool for anticipating and improving the reproductive activity of in Sarda breed sheep during the springtime. Furthermore, to obtain optional results, melatonin implantation should be conducted in April, in ewes that have a BCS of >2.5 and that have passed their third month of lactation.

Efficacy of Melatonin Administration Via Different Route on Reproductive Performance and Blood Mineral Profile in Chhotanagpuri Ewe

“…The present findings of higher lambing rate in melatonin treated groups of Chhotanagpuri ewes concurred well with earlier reports in Rasa Arafonesa, Assaf and Merino sheep (Abecia et al, 2007), Kivircik and Charollais ewes (Cevik et al, 2017), Anglo-Nubian goat (El-Mokadem et al, 2017), Ossimi sheep (Abd-Allah and Daghash, 2019), Sarda sheep Pulinas et al, 2021) and Iberian Red Deer (Ortiz et al, 2021) subjected to melatonin implant compared to untreated contemporaries. The prolificacy or litter size and average birth weight of lamb did not differ among different treatment groups in the present study.…”

“…The prolificacy or litter size and average birth weight of lamb did not differ among different treatment groups in the present study. A similar non-significant effect on litter size has also been reported in melatonin-treated Sarda dairy sheep (Cosso et al, 2021;Pulinas et al, 2021). On the contrary , significantly higher litter size was reported in melatonin-treated Kivircik and Charollais ewes by Cevik et al (2017).…”