Sexual behaviour of yearling Awassi, Charollais × Awassi and Romanov × Awassi rams exposed to oestrousAwassi ewes

Abstract

This study was conducted to evaluate the sexual performance of 10-month-old, ram lambs of different breed groups. Eight ram lambs each of Awassi (A), F1 CharollaisxAwassi (CA) and F1 RomanovxAwassi (RA) breed types were subjected to sexual performance tests by being individually exposed to two oestrous Awassi ewe lambs for four 20-min periods. Bouts of leg kicking and anogenital sniffing were similar among breed groups. Mounting frequency was greater (p<0.05) in RA than in A and CA ram lambs. Tail-raising was greater (p<0.05) and mating rate tended to be greater (p<0.10) in A than in RA and CA ram lambs. The number of mounts per tail-raising (efficiency) was influenced by breed group and test day (p<0.05). Awassi ram lambs maintained the best efficiency throughout the experiment. Efficiency in RA and CA ram lambs improved with each test day. Results of the present study indicate that RA ram lambs have greater mounting frequency than A and CA, while Awassi are more capable of mating with fat-tailed females than the CA and RA ram lambs.

Comparison of sexual performance and testicular characteristics of melatonin treated Kivircik and Charollais rams during the non-breeding season

“…In this study, the changes of SC and TD dimensions in Kivircik rams were similar to that reported by Egerszegi et al (2014); Endale et al (2009) and Rosa et al (2012). Whereas SL and TD dimensions in the melatonin-treated Charollais rams were higher than that by Kridli et al (2007); Kridli et al (2006) and Egerszegi et al (2014). The differences in the testes measurements might be due to breed, age, feeding and season.…”

“…There are many factors that affect sex drive and sexual performance. These factors include: season of year, genetics, breed differences, hormonal influence, post-weaning management, temperature and nutrition (Kridli et al, 2006(Kridli et al, , 2007Mandiki et al, 1998;Palacin et al, 2008;Rosa et al, 2012). Pre-copulatory behaviour in rams reflects their underlying sexual motivation.…”

“…Mounting efficiency improved with ram introduction, especially in Charollais rams (P < 0.05) compared with other group rams. According to Kridli et al, (2007), puberty in rams begins with increased libido and the production of sperm cells having the capacity of fertilization. Each gram of testicle produces about 20 x10 6 sperm cells per day, irrespective of size.…”

Libido and serving capacity of mature hair rams under tropical environmental conditions

“…These behaviours are considered as libido activities that males use in order to determine the sexual receptivity of females (Price et al 1992, Ungerfeld andGonzalez 2008). These sexual behaviours are indicative of hair sheep (Godfrey et al 1998) and other breeds (Kridli et al 2007). All hair rams exhibited a full repertory of sexual behaviour throughout the three seasons.…”

“…It is very important to evaluate the sexual behaviour; therefore, several procedures to measure sexual performance in rams have been developed (Álvarez-Córdoba et al 1999, Ibarra et al 1999, Snowder et al 2002, Stellflug and Berardinelli 2002, Kridli et al 2007, Stellflug et al 2008. However, these procedures are difficult to conduct due to required labour, time and significant number of synchronized females (Katz 2008, Alexander et al 2010.…”