Effects of behavioral reactivity on production and reproduction traits in Dorper sheep breed

Gavojdian, Dinu; Cziszter, Ludovic Toma; Budai, Csilla; Kusza, Szilvia

doi:10.1016/j.jveb.2015.03.012

Cited by 21 publications

(8 citation statements)

References 26 publications

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“…From a theoretical point of view, a reference to the work of D. would be useful to explain the results we have obtained. Gavojdian et al (2015) state that South African Dorper and white dorper breeds adapt well to specific growing conditions; in particular, it speaks about the good health and reproductive efficiency of Dorper and white Dorper breeds in the temperate climate of central Europe. It is more difficult to explain why, with a significant decrease ( p < .001) in the concentration of testosterone in the peripheral blood of Dorper sheep in the non‐breeding season, sexual activity remained at a high level.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Seasonal changes in testis size, testosterone levels and sperm production quality in meat rams

Aibazov

Trukhachev

Selionova

et al. 2022

Reprod Domestic Animals

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The aim of the present study was to evaluate seasonal changes in testes size, serum testosterone (T) levels and sperm production characteristics of 24 adult (2-3 years old) rams of meat breeds: Charollais (n = 6), Ile de France (n = 6), Dorset (Polled) (n = 5) and Dorper (Dorper, n = 7). Semen was collected with artificial vagina using a female in spontaneous oestrus (September-November, breeding season, BS) or a female with induced oestrus (March-July, non-breeding season, NBS). A total of 672 ejaculates were examined. Jugular vein blood was collected to determine testosterone levels during BS and NBS, and serum was extracted. Results of the present study indicate that there was no significant change in parameters such as body weight (kg) and testes length, both right and left, during BS and NBS, irrespective of the breed. The remaining metrics of testes differ in varying degrees between breeds of rams (with the exception of the Dorper breed) between BS and NBS. No significant variation in these parameters was found in Dorper rams. For all breeds, season had a statistically significant effect on important parameters such as total sperm count and progressive sperm motility after thawing. There was also significant seasonal variation in ejaculate volume across the three breeds, excluding il-de-France rams. The most constant was the sperm concentration, which was unchanged in BS and NBS in the three breeds, excluding Dorset rams, which showed a slightly significant decrease in this indicator in the non-breeding season. The serum content of the major male hormone testosterone (T) in rams of all breeds showed significant changes between BS and NBS, decreasing by a highly significant amount in the non-breeding season.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Seasonal changes in testis size, testosterone levels and sperm production quality in meat rams

Aibazov

Trukhachev

Selionova

et al. 2022

Reprod Domestic Animals

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“…The link between temperament of livestock and productive losses is well-documented in several livestock species (cattle: Sutherland et al, 2012;Friedrich et al, 2015;pigs: Hansson et al, 2005;D'Eath et al, 2010). In sheep specifically, temperament has been demonstrated to affect lamb survival and growth rate (Pajor et al, 2008;Gavojdian et al, 2015), meat quantity and quality (Ferguson and Warner, 2008), as well as productive and reproductive performance (Murray et al, 2009;Blache and Bickell, 2011;Dodd et al, 2012;Gavojdian et al, 2015). Within the context of the present study, Cloete et al (2004) demonstrated that ewes from the LL not only typically weaned fewer lambs, but they also lambed later in the lambing season compared to HL sheep.…”

Section: The Effects Of Selection Linementioning

confidence: 99%

“…Temperament or emotional reactivity of animals can be defined as the way an individual reacts to a novel and/or potentially stressful situation, both physiologically and behaviourally (Boissy and Bouissou, 1995;Reale et al, 2000). Poor temperament has been associated with reduced performance, impaired health, and compromised carcass quality in various livestock species (Gavojdian et al, 2015). Despite this, behavioural traits are rarely included in selection programs.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Behavioural reactivity of two lines of South African Merino sheep divergently selected for reproductive potential

Bonato

Cloete²,

A³

et al. 2021

Applied Animal Behaviour Science

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The behavioural reactivity of two divergently selected lines of South African Merino sheep for an increased (HL: N = 1187) and reduced (LL: N = 285) number of lambs weaned per ewe mated was investigated using a docility test and a 'scale' test. The objective of this study was to determine whether these two lines, which differed significantly in terms of reproduction performance, would also react differently when exposed to novel and challenging situations. In the first test, an individual animal was moved to the test pen by an experienced handler then an unfamiliar or familiar human entered the test pen and tried to encourage the animal to move into a marked area for 3 min. The test was terminated if the animal could not be moved within 3 min, came out of the marked area or if the animal could be contained in the marked area for 30 s (successful test). The latency of the animal to enter and time contained in the square area was recorded as well as whether the animal was bleating or urinating/defecating during the test. No difference was found between production lines and handler in terms of the success of the test and latency to enter (P > 0.05). LL sheep were however contained for longer and bleated more than HL sheep (P < 0.05). Sex differences were also observed, with ewes being more difficult to successfully contain and bleating more than rams, especially when exposed to an unfamiliar human (P < 0.05). They also tended to urinate/defecate more than rams (P < 0.05). In the second test, behaviour response of animals was recorded using a 5-points score system (1 = calm; 5 = wild) while spending 30 s on a scale. We also recorded whether animals were bleating during the test. While there was no difference in average scores between selection lines (P> 0.05), inter-observer variability was observed (P < 0.05). Ewes were also observed to bleat more than rams (P < 0.05). Further research is needed to determine whether these and other behavioural tests are related to traits of economic importance in sheep.

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“…I continue to be impressed by the excellent and practical experiments devised by those vested in understanding and improving the welfare of small ruminants. In another very careful paper studying a sheep breed raised for meat, Gavojdian et al (2015) ask whether the reactivity of the mother affects with weight gain of the lambs. If we want the best welfare possible, this is an essential question because there will be no argument about improvement if it is to the producer's financial benefit.…”

Section: A N U S C R I P Tmentioning

confidence: 99%

Same or different? Why establishing the range of behavioral variability matters

Overall

2015

Journal of Veterinary Behavior

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Effects of behavioral reactivity on production and reproduction traits in Dorper sheep breed

Cited by 21 publications

References 26 publications

Seasonal changes in testis size, testosterone levels and sperm production quality in meat rams

Seasonal changes in testis size, testosterone levels and sperm production quality in meat rams

Behavioural reactivity of two lines of South African Merino sheep divergently selected for reproductive potential

Same or different? Why establishing the range of behavioral variability matters

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