Abstract

h: 0px; > The objective of this study was to detect the influence of age, breed and season on sexual behaviour, testosterone concentrations and scrotal circumference in Egyptian rams. The study was carried out at agricultural research center belonging to Minia University, Shosha village, Samalut city, El-Minia. Ten crossbred and five adult Ossimi rams were used during this study. Every ram was allowed to breed two ewes to evaluate its sexual behaviour for a twenty minutes test. Blood samples were collected three times per season at two weeks interval from each ram during the period of experiment to measure testosterone concentrations. Also, scrotal circumference was measured at the same frequency and time interval as blood samples. Sexual behaviour was better in old rams than young ones (p 0.05). Serum testosterone level was higher at autumn (7.13±02.9 ng/ml) than at winter (5.54±0.29 ng/ml) in crossbred rams (p<0.01), while in Ossimi rams, higher level was obtained in spring (8.24±.39 ng/ml) than in summer (3.99±0.40 ng/ml). Mean scrotal circumference was higher in older rams (30.20±1.20 cm) than younger rams (22.53±1.27 cm). There was no significant difference for measures of scrotal circumference between crossbred rams (30.86±1.09 cm) and Ossimi rams (30.93±1.06 cm). Season had no significant effect on scrotal circumference in crossbred rams, whereas in Ossimi rams the effect of season was significantly obvious with the highest and lowest values were recorded in spring (31.0±1.05 cm) and winter (30.60±1.17 cm) respectively. It could be concluded from this study that the age of rams had a great influence on their sexual behaviour and scrotal circumference, while the effect of breed and season on sexual behaviour and scrotal circumference was not clear.

Highlights

  • Sexual performance of rams is influenced by many factors including age, breed and season

  • Sexual behaviour and sexual performance of crossbred and Ossimi rams may be influenced by some factors such as age, breed difference and season

  • Some variations in sexual behaviour patterns and sexual performance may occur due to breed difference

Read more

Summary

Introduction

Sexual performance of rams is influenced by many factors including age, breed and season. Tests used for measuring the frequency and the duration of sexual behaviour elements like sniffing and nudging are beneficial in detecting differences in the sexual performance of different rams (Simitzis et al, 2006). These tests consist of exposing rams individually to a group of females in a small place for a certain period of time (Price, 1987). It is very important to minimize problems, which are associated with sexual behaviour (Simitzis et al, 2006). Seasonal variation had a great effect on sexual behaviour, testosterone concentrations and scrotal circumference of rams (Casao et al, 2010)

Objectives
Methods
Results
Discussion
Conclusion

Talk to us

Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have

Schedule a call

Disclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.