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Role of plasma progesterone concentration in early pregnancy of the ewe
- Source :
- Australian Journal of Experimental Agriculture. 21:562
- Publication Year :
- 1981
- Publisher :
- CSIRO Publishing, 1981.
-
Abstract
- Eighty-eight maiden and 125 mature Merino ewes were grazed on green irrigated pasture or given dry hay on a fallow area with or without a lupin grain supplement just before and during mating. Progesterone concentrations in peripheral plasma were measured at 12 d after coitus. Progesterone concentration was lower (2.27 vs 2.87 ng/ml, P < 0.001 ) when lupins were fed, and maiden ewes had higher progesterone concentrations than mature ewes (2.75 vs 2.36 ng/ml, P < 0.05). Pregnant ewes had higher progesterone concentrations than non-pregnant ewes (2.77 vs 2.36 ng/ml, P < 0.05), and ewes with two ovulations had higher progesterone concentrations than ewes with a single ovulation (3.13 vs 2.08 ng/ml, P < 0.001). There was an interaction between pasture type and lupin supplement, with lupins depressing progesterone level more on green irrigated pasture (lupins 2.11 ng/ml, no lupins 3.00 ng/ml, P < 0.05) than on dry pasture (lupins 2.45 ng/ml, no lupins 2.74 ng/ml, P < 0.05). The results confirm that a high plane of nutrition at mating lowers progesterone levels in plasma and suggest that this may be a factor in the increase in embryo deaths when ewes are fed lupin grain supplements.
- Subjects :
- geography
geography.geographical_feature_category
Progesterone level
biology
media_common.quotation_subject
Embryo Deaths
Early pregnancy factor
Pasture
Animal science
Agronomy
biology.protein
Environmental management system
Hay
Plasma progesterone
General Agricultural and Biological Sciences
Ovulation
media_common
Subjects
Details
- ISSN :
- 08161089
- Volume :
- 21
- Database :
- OpenAIRE
- Journal :
- Australian Journal of Experimental Agriculture
- Accession number :
- edsair.doi...........005f0ef4da6accc7f68116d7059c19c7
- Full Text :
- https://doi.org/10.1071/ea9810562