Scrotal circumference in Karagouniko and Chios sheep in relation to the aerial environment

Seasonal variation of thyroxine concentration in Karagouniko and Chios rams in temperate environmental conditions

“…This hypothesis is strengthened because PHOTO remained practically unchanged for the two experimental periods (in average terms), combined with the statistically different values of AIRT and SUNS between these periods. Also, the negligible fluctuations of the body weight of the experimental rams (Matsoukis et al 2022b) support the hypothesis mentioned above, bearing in mind that a positive relation has been reported between thyroxine concentration and body weight in sheep (Hashem 2014;Veena et al 2018;Aljubouri et al 2021). The thyroxine pattern concerning the direction of day length change in our experiment is in agreement with the results of other researchers for Karagouniko ewes (Kantas et al 2008a;Menegatos et al 1994), Chios ewes (Kantas et al 2008b) as well as Karagouniko × Mytilene ewes (Menegatos et al 2006).…”

“…The same was confirmed after pooling the thyroxine data over the whole examined period for each breed separately (52.07 ng/ml in Karagouniko and 45.93 ng/ml in Chios rams). The difference in thyroxine concentration between Karagouniko and Chios rams may be attributed to their different genetic potential (Matsoukis et al 2022b). The abovementioned thyroxine pattern aligns with the results of Kantas et al (2008b), who reported higher thyroxine concentration in Karagouniko ewes than in Chios.…”

“…However, based on the international literature written in the English language (openly accessible published scientific books and articles in peer-reviewed scientific journals), nothing is known about the concentrations of thyroxine in Karagouniko and Chios rams concerning a meticulous analysis of their aerial environment. This information could be valuable, considering the importance of these sheep breeds in farming systems (Matsoukis et al 2022b). Therefore, the current work investigates the thyroxine concentrations of Karagouniko and Chios rams, considering critical parameters of their aerial environment, that is, PHOTO, AIRT, RH, and SUNS.…”