Abstract
This study aimed to evaluate the reproductive performance of ewes submitted to timed AI protocol with 7 (D7) or 9 (D9) days of progesterone. A total of 220 crossbred ewes (Doper × Santa Ines) were distributed in the treatments according to body weight (52.67 ± 11.76 kg), body condition score (2.5 ± 0.8; scale of 1–5), and the female category (multiparous, nulliparous and primiparous). Ewes received an intravaginal device of 0.3 g of progesterone (CIDR® Easy breed) on day 0, keeping in ewes for 7 or 9 days, which were the experimental treatments. At the time of P4 withdrawal, ewes received 300 IU of eCG (Novormon®) and 6.70 mg of dinoprost tromethamine (Lutalyse®). Insemination by laparoscopy was performed between 46 and 59 h after device removal, lasting from 1 to 5 min/ewe, which did not differ between protocols. The estrus detection rate was higher in the 9-day protocol compared to the 7-day protocol (82% and 65%, respectively, P = 0.0096). However, the 7-day protocol tended to increase pregnancy rate on the TAI compared to the 9-day protocol (45% and 33%, respectively, P = 0.09). The plasma concentration of progesterone at device removal was higher in the 7-day protocol than in the 9-day protocol (2.35 and 1.22 ng/mL, respectively, P = 0.04). We conclude that reducing the length of the estrus synchronization protocol to 7 days is recommended, which improved the reproductive response in ewes.
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Data availability
The datasets generated during and/or analyzed during the current study are available from the corresponding author on reasonable request.
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The Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado do Amazonas (FAPEAM) and the Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior (CAPES) financially supported this project.
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A. P. Sinimbu: data curation, investigation, writing—original draft. E.M. Ferreira: conceptualization, resources. R. Denadai: investigation, funding acquisition. J. P. R. Barroso: investigation. J. S. Biava: investigation, writing—original draft. A. V. Pires: methodology, conceptualization, funding acquisition, supervision. M. V. C. Ferraz: conceptualization, methodology, formal analysis, funding acquisition, writing — review and editing. All the authors read and approved the manuscript.
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Sinimbu, A.P., Ferreira, E.M., Denadai, R. et al. The effect of progesterone length in timed AI in ewes. Trop Anim Health Prod 54, 258 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11250-022-03265-w
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11250-022-03265-w