Citation
Shikh Maidin, Mashitah and Blackberry, Margaret A. and Miltona, J. T. B. and Hawken, Penelope A. R. and Martin, Graeme B.
(2013)
Nutritional supplements, leptin, insulin and progesterone in female Australian Cashmere goats.
In: 2013 4th International Conference on Agriculture and Animal Science (CAAS 2013), 23-24 Nov. 2013, Phuket, Thailand. (pp. 299-304).
Abstract
In small ruminants, reproductive wastage due to early embryo mortality is a major industry issue because it reduces reproductive efficiency and limits productivity. In sheep, early embryo mortality appears to be caused by reductions in progesterone concentrations when animals are over-fed, but this concept has not been studied in goats. Therefore we tested whether a supplement of lupin grain affects circulating progesterone concentrations in Cashmere goats during non- breeding season. We allocated 23 females into two groups: Controls were fed to ensure maintenance of body mass (85% chaff, 15% lupins head daily); Supplemented goats were fed twice their daily requirements for maintenance. All animals were anovulatory and treated with CIDRs to supply exogenous progesterone at a relatively constant rate. Nutritional treatments lasted for 18 days, and coincided with the presence of CIDRs. Leptin and insulin concentrations were increased (p < 0.05) by supplementation, but progesterone concentrations did not significant differ between groups at any time during the experiment. We conclude that a dietary supplement that elicits major changes in energy homeostasis does not reduce progesterone concentrations in goats and is thus unlikely to affect embryo mortality.
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