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Effects of Body Condition and Level of Nutrition Before Mating on Fertility of Awassi Ewes

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  21 November 2017

S Filo ,
A V Goodchild  and
T T Treacher
S Filo
Affiliation:
International Center for Agricultural Research in the Dry Areas (ICARDA), P O Box 5466, Aleppo, Syria
A V Goodchild
Affiliation:
International Center for Agricultural Research in the Dry Areas (ICARDA), P O Box 5466, Aleppo, Syria
T T Treacher
Affiliation:
International Center for Agricultural Research in the Dry Areas (ICARDA), P O Box 5466, Aleppo, Syria
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Extract

Surveys of flocks in the Near East have shown that lambing percentages of Awassi ewes are rarely above 85% and often as low as 65%. This is a major cause of the low output of sheep systems in the region. The low fertility results from a combination of poor nutrition, poor management, disease and possibly the effects of high temperatures at mating, which generally occurs in mid-summer.

Studies by Kassem et al (1989) and Thomson and Bahhady (1988) indicated that the reproductive performance of Awassi ewes is affected by body condition at mating. Neither of these studies was specifically designed to investigate the effects of weight or body condition and level of nutrition before mating on reproduction in Awassi ewes. The experiment reported here is the second in a series specifically designed to investigate the effects of body condition at mating, and level of nutrition before and after mating, on the fertility of Awassi ewes.

Type
Sheep, Goats and Deer
Information
Proceedings of the British Society of Animal Production (1972) , Volume 1994 , March 1994 , pp. 222
Copyright
Copyright © The British Society of Animal Production 1994

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References

Kassem, R., Owen, J.B., Fadel, I. and Whitaker, C.J. 1989. Research and Development in Agriculture. 6:161–168.Google Scholar
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Thomson, E.F. and Bahhady, F.A. 1988. Animal Production. 47:505–408.Google Scholar