Hostname: page-component-848d4c4894-cjp7w Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-07-07T04:45:14.479Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Natural and induced ovulation rate of Finnish Landrace and other breeds of sheep

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  02 September 2010

G. E. Bradford ,
J. F. Quirke  and
R. Hart
G. E. Bradford
Affiliation:
A.R.C. Animal Breeding Research Organisation, Meat and Livestock Commission and Moredun Animal Diseases Research Institute, Edinburgh
J. F. Quirke
Affiliation:
A.R.C. Animal Breeding Research Organisation, Meat and Livestock Commission and Moredun Animal Diseases Research Institute, Edinburgh
R. Hart
Affiliation:
A.R.C. Animal Breeding Research Organisation, Meat and Livestock Commission and Moredun Animal Diseases Research Institute, Edinburgh
Get access

Summary

Ewes of seven breeds (Oxford Down, Border Leicester, Finnish Landrace, Southdown, Welsh Mountain, Tasmanian Merino and Soay) were treated with progestagen-treated sponges to synchronize oestrus for an egg-transfer experiment. Ewes of five of the breeds were treated with superovulating doses of pregnant mare serum gonadotropin (PMSG). Mean body weight ranged from 89 kg for Oxford Downs to 20 kg for Soays. Interval from sponge withdrawal to oestrus differed significantly between breeds, ranging from 1·83 days in Finnish Landrace to 3·00 days for Soays, but was not consistently related to ewe weight. Treatment with PMSG prior to sponge removal reduced the interval to oestrus; fertilization rate at the first synchronized oestrus was low. There were marked differences among breeds in proportion of ewes showing oestrus following PMSG treatment, total follicular response, and proportion of follicles ovulated. Ewes of the Finnish Landrace breed, with the highest natural fertility, were equal or superior to the other breeds in every component of response, and yielded more than double the number of fertilized eggs per ewe of the next best breed. Finnish Landrace females 6 to 9 months old made very satisfactory donors. Natural ovulation rates of adult recipient ewes were as follows: Welsh Mountain (23 ewes)—1·43; Border Leicester (15 ewes)—2·00; Finnish Landrace (26 ewes)—3·31.

Type
Research Article
Information
Animal Production , Volume 13 , Issue 4 , November 1971 , pp. 627 - 635
Copyright
Copyright © British Society of Animal Science 1971

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

REFERENCES

Averill, R. L. W. 1958. The production of living sheep eggs. J. agric. Sci., Camb. 50: 17–33.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Cummino, I. A. and McDonald, M. F. 1967. The production of ova by New Zealand Romney ewes following hormonal stimulation. N.Z. Jl agric. Res. 10: 226–236.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Donald, H. P. and Read, J. L. 1967. The performance of Finnish Landrace sheep in Britain. Anim. Prod. 9: 471–476.Google Scholar
Donald, H. P., Read, J. L. and Russell, W. S. 1968. A comparative trial of crossbred ewes by Finnish Landrace and other sires. Anim. Prod. 10: 413–421.Google Scholar
Donald, H. P., Read, J. L. and Russell, W. S. 1970. Influence of litter size and breed of sire on carcass weight and quality of lambs. Anim. Prod. 12: 281–290.Google Scholar
Edey, T. N. 1969. Prenatal mortality in sheep: A review. Anim. Breed. Abstr. 37:173–190.Google Scholar
Gordon, I. 1969. Controlled reproduction in sheep and cattle. J. Irish Dept. Agr. and Fisheries LXVI: 212–231.Google Scholar
Gordon, I. 1971. Induction of early breeding in sheep by standard and modified progestagen and PMSG treatment. J. agric. Sci., Camb. 16: 337–341.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Hunter, G. L., Adams, C. E. and Rowson, L. E. A. 1955. Inter-breed ovum transfer in sheep. J. agric. Sci., Camb. 46: 143–149.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
McClelland, T. H. and Quirke, J. F. 1971. Artificial insemination and natural service at a predetermined time in cyclic sheep treated with SC-9880-progesterone sponges. Anim. Prod. 13: 323–327.Google Scholar
Moore, N. W. and Shelton, J. M. 1962. The application of the technique of egg transfer to sheep breeding. Aust. J. agric. Res. 13: 718–729.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Newton, J. E., Betts, J. E. and Large, R. V. 1970. Increasing litter size in three breeds of sheep by superovulation. J. agric. Sci., Camb. 75: 355–360.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Quinlivan, T. O. and Robinson, T. J. 1969. Numbers of spermatozoa in the genital tract after A.I. of progestagen-treated ewes. J. Reprod. Fert. 19: 73–86.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Robinson, T. J., Moore, N. W., Lindsay, D. R., Fletcher, I. C. and Salamon, S. 1970. Fertility following synchronization of oestrus in the sheep with intravaginal sponges. Aust. J. agric. Res. 21: 767–783.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Rowson, L. E. A. and Moor, R. M. 1966. Embryo transfer in the sheep: the significance of synchronizing oestrus in the donor and recipient animal. J. Reprod. Fert. 11: 207–212.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Thimonier, J., Mauleon, P., Cognie, Y. and Ortavant, R. 1968. Declenchement de l'oestrus et obtention de la gestation pendant l'aneostrus post-partum chez les brebis a l'aide d'eponges vaginales inpregnees d'acetate de fluorogestone. Annls Zootech. 17: 257–273.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Wiener, Gerald. 1967. A comparison of the body size, fleece weight and maternal performance of five breeds of sheep kept in one environment. Anim. Prod. 9: 177–195.Google Scholar