Reproductive and Economic Evaluation of Sexual Stimulation in Anestrus Period at a Farm Experiencing Neonatal Lamb Losses
Abstract Lamb deaths occurring in the neonatal phase, which covers the first four weeks after birth, cause serious economic losses for farms. This study was carried out on 140 Akkaraman-Kangal sheep that lost their lambs due to pneumonia and enteritis in the neonatal phase during the anestrus period. In the study, an intravaginal sponge containing progesterone was applied to the animals in Group 1 (n:70) on day 0, and 7 days after the application, the vaginal sponges were removed, and 263 µg PGF2α and 500 IU eCG (PMSG) hormone were applied. After removing the intravaginal sponge, rams were introduced for 7 days (between the days 8th and 14th ). Without any manipulations to the animals in Group 2, the ram effect was utilized by performing simultaneous ram introduction with Group 1. To determine the reproductive response, the economic implications between the groups were compared by considering the reproductive parameters such as oestrous rate, pregnancy rate, multiple pregnancy rate, embryonic death rate, number of births, number of offspring, and fertility. The study group created a positive economic difference compared to the control group while analyzing the statistical differences in terms of each reproductive parameter between the study and control groups. When lamb losses are experienced in farms that build their profitability on lamb production, it was concluded that pregnancy should be achieved by sexual stimulation without waiting for the breeding season.