Abstract
The study aimed to evaluate the effects of the kids’ number and sex on the thyroid and lipidic patterns of 30 dairy goats in the advanced mid-gestation and from 30 to 105 days of lactation. Blood samples were monthly collected to measure circulating thyroid stimulating hormone (TSH), total and free triiodothyronines (T 3 , fT 3 ) and thyroxines (T 4 , fT 4 ); triglyceride (TG), total cholesterol (tCho), and very-low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (VLDL Cho). Dams carrying a single foetus showed higher T 4 concentrations ( P < 0.04) at >130–150 days than those carrying twins. Dams carrying one/two males had the highest fT 3 ( P < 0.001) and fT 4 ( P < 0.03) concentrations at 95–115 days and the highest fT 3 ( P < 0.0001) and TSH ( P < 0.002) at >115–130 days. Dams kidding male and female twins showed the highest TG and VLDL Cho concentrations ( P < 0.04) at >70–105 days of lactation. Single or twin births influenced the thyroid activity of pregnant goats, with a specific effect of foetal number on T 4 and of foetal sex on fT 3 and fT 4 concentrations. Kids’ number and sex affected TG and VLDL Cho in lactating dams. This suggests that foetal number and sex are not a random chance event but an interactive process between maternal and foetal endocrine and metabolic processes.
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