7 LAPAROSCOPIC INTRAUTERINE AND INTRAPERITONEAL INSEMINATION IN FAT-TAILED EWES

Abstract

The present study was conducted to evaluate laparoscopic intrauterine and intraperitoneal AI in a fat-tailed sheep breed. Multiparous and nulliparous (n = 72) healthy Shall ewes (Iranian native breed) were assigned into 3 experimental groups to be inseminated with 3 laparoscopically insemination methods, including intrauterine insemination with frozen semen (IUIFZ; n = 34), intraperitoneal insemination with fresh semen (IPIFR; n = 21), and intraperitoneal insemination with frozen semen (IPIFZ; n = 17). To perform the experiment easily and control confounding factors, the experiment was conducted in 5 replicates. In each replicate, similar numbers of ewes belonging to each experimental group were included, synchronized, and inseminated with the fresh or frozen semen collected from the same fertile ram. Estrus was synchronized using CIDR for 14 days. Immediately after CIDR removal, all ewes received 400 IU of pregnant mare serum gonadotropin. Inseminations with 300 million total spermatozoa (≥70% progressive forward motility) were performed 51.1 ± 0.64 h after CIDR removal. Intrauterine insemination was conducted at the tip of the uterine horn, ipsilateral to the ovary having a dominant follicle. In the case that both ovaries had a dominant follicle, half of the straw was deposited in each horn. In 2 other experimental groups (IPIF and IPIR) either fresh or frozen semen was deposited on the surface of ovaries having a dominant follicle. Pregnancy was diagnosed with transrectal ultrasonography on Day 30 after AI. Data were analyzed using logistic regression. The pregnancy rate in the IUIFZ group (51.7%) was significantly higher than in IPIFR and IPIFZ experimental groups (17.6 and 0%, respectively; P < 0.01), and there was significant difference between IPIFR and IPIFZ in pregnancy rate (P < 0.05). In conclusion, the laparoscopic intrauterine insemination method can be applied effectively in Shall fat-tailed sheep. Laparoscopic intraperitoneal inseminations with fresh or with frozen semen are not recommended for AI in fat-tailed sheep.