Climate impacts on reproductive performance of Romanov sheep in the moderate climate

This study aimed to investigate the climatological impacts of air temperature, sunshine duration, and rain precipitation, in a moderate climate, on the reproductive performance of Romanov sheep in the continental part of Croatia, during two consecutive years (2019-2020). Our study included 549 matings with 520 successful conceptions at 5 Romanov sheep farms, and the fertility rate was 94.72%. The percentage of lambs delivered in winter was 53.27% (n = 277), in spring 20.19% (n = 105), in summer 14.23% (n = 74) and 12.31% in autumn (n = 64). According to percentile ranks and classification ratings, thermal conditions have been described as very warm (during 2019-2020), while precipitation conditions, expressed in percentiles, were wet (during 2019) but dry (during 2020) for this region. The peak of sexual activity was from mid-August until October in 2019 and from the end of August to November in 2020 for Romanov sheep in northwestern (NW) Croatia. A Kruskal-Wallis test showed a statistically significant difference in the number of pregnant ewes during the different mating seasons in the year (p < 0.001). Therefore, we can assume that air temperature, precipitation volume, and sunshine duration during the different seasons could impact the reproductive performance of Romanov sheep in a moderate climate.

Climate impacts on reproductive performance of Romanov sheep in the moderate climate

This study aimed to investigate the climatological impacts of air temperature, sunshine duration, and rain precipitation, in a moderate climate, on the reproductive performance of Romanov sheep in the continental part of Croatia, during two consecutive years (2019-2020). Our study included 549 matings with 520 successful conceptions at 5 Romanov sheep farms, and the fertility rate was 94.72%. The percentage of lambs delivered in winter was 53.27% (n = 277), in spring 20.19% (n = 105), in summer 14.23% (n = 74) and 12.31% in autumn (n = 64). According to percentile ranks and classification ratings, thermal conditions have been described as very warm (during 2019-2020), while precipitation conditions, expressed in percentiles, were wet (during 2019) but dry (during 2020) for this region. The peak of sexual activity was from mid-August until October in 2019 and from the end of August to November in 2020 for Romanov sheep in northwestern (NW) Croatia. A Kruskal-Wallis test showed a statistically significant difference in the number of pregnant ewes during the different mating seasons in the year (p < 0.001). Therefore, we can assume that air temperature, precipitation volume, and sunshine duration during the different seasons could impact the reproductive performance of Romanov sheep in a moderate climate.(AU)

Growth and reproductive traits of purebred and crossbred Romanov lambs in Eastern Anatolia

The performance of purebred Romanov (R) lambs and crossbred lambs of Romanov and Morkaraman (M) breeding were compared under a semi-intensive production system. The M breed is a fattailed breed native to Eastern Anatolia, Turkey. Analyses were conducted on data from 168 lambs produced from R and M ewes through laparoscopic artificial insemination (LAI) with the semen of pure R and F1 RxM rams. Pure R, F1 (RxM, ½ R), and » R (RxM x M backcross) lambs were produced. The F1 and » R lambs had heavier (P < 0.05) birth weights than R lambs while F1 and R lambs had heavier (P < 0.05) weaning weights than » R lambs. The three groups of lambs differed (P < 0.05) from each other for age of puberty in males and females where with R lambs were the youngest, F1 lambs were intermediate, and » R lambs were the oldest. The percentage of ewe lambs that exhibited estrus within one year of age was higher (P < 0.01) for R (100%) and F1 (67%) lambs than for » R lambs (43%). In conclusion, improvement in growth and early reproductive traits can be obtained from crossbreeding the fat-tailed Morkaraman breed with the Romanov breed.(AU)

Growth and reproductive traits of purebred and crossbred Romanov lambs in Eastern Anatolia

The performance of purebred Romanov (R) lambs and crossbred lambs of Romanov and Morkaraman (M) breeding were compared under a semi-intensive production system. The M breed is a fattailed breed native to Eastern Anatolia, Turkey. Analyses were conducted on data from 168 lambs produced from R and M ewes through laparoscopic artificial insemination (LAI) with the semen of pure R and F1 RxM rams. Pure R, F1 (RxM, ½ R), and » R (RxM x M backcross) lambs were produced. The F1 and » R lambs had heavier (P < 0.05) birth weights than R lambs while F1 and R lambs had heavier (P < 0.05) weaning weights than » R lambs. The three groups of lambs differed (P < 0.05) from each other for age of puberty in males and females where with R lambs were the youngest, F1 lambs were intermediate, and » R lambs were the oldest. The percentage of ewe lambs that exhibited estrus within one year of age was higher (P < 0.01) for R (100%) and F1 (67%) lambs than for » R lambs (43%). In conclusion, improvement in growth and early reproductive traits can be obtained from crossbreeding the fat-tailed Morkaraman breed with the Romanov breed.

Ocorrência de hemorragia pulmonar induzida por esforço em cavalos de salto no Estado de São Paulo / Occurrence of effort induced pulmonary hemorrhage in jumperhorse in the State of São Paulo

A hemorragia pulmonar induzida por esforço (HPIE) ocorre com freqüência em cavalos atletas acarretando prejuízo econômico já que estes deverão ficar temporariamente afastados dos treinamentos e provas, além de receber tratamento adequado. O Puro-Sangue Inglês (PSI) utilizado em provas de corrida é o animal mais afetado devido ao grande esforço ao qual é submetido, porém animais de outras raças utilizados em outras modalidades de esportes hípicos também podem apresentar HPIE. O presente estudo teve como objetivo quantificar a ocorrência de casos de HPIE em animais utilizados em provas de salto, através do exame endoscópico e da análise citológica de amostras do lavado traqueobrônquico (LTB). Para a realização do presente experimento foram utilizados 50 cavalos adultos residentes nos clubes hípicos de São Paulo, que foram divididos em dois grupos, A e B, conforme as diferentes alturas dos obstáculos utilizados nas provas em que participaram. No grupo A foram inseridos os cavalos que saltam obstáculos de 1,00m a 1,20m de altura, e no grupo B, os cavalos que saltam obstáculos de 1,30m a 1,50m de altura. Foram realizados exames físicos destes animais, antes e depois da participação em uma prova. Após 1 hora do final da prova, os mesmos foram submetidos a um exame endoscópico em que eram observadas as possíveis alterações do trato respiratório anterior do animal sendo a principal delas a hemorragia pulmonar induzida por esforço. Foi realizada citologia do lavado traqueobônquico (LTB) por microscopia após citocentrifugação das amostras e posterior confecção das lâminas que foram então coradas por Rosenfeld. A principal observação durante a leitura das lâminas foi à presença de hemossiderófagos. No trabalho realizado são apresentados além da citologia do trato respiratório dados como os valores médios de freqüência cardíaca, freqüência respiratória e temperatura corpórea dos animais após a participação em uma prova. Estes dados foram relacionados às alturas dos obstáculos existentes em cada prova realizada pelos animais. Em relação à ocorrência de HPIE observamos que no grupo A 50% dos animais apresentaram HPIE e no grupo B a ocorrência foi de 66,67%. Foram observados todos os graus de HPIE, porém somente no grupo B houve ocorrência de graus IV e V, demonstrando assim a correlação entre o nível de esforço realizado pelos cavalos de salto e o grau de HPIE apresentado por eles

Effort induced pulmonary hemorrhage (EIPH) frequently occurs in athlete horses causing economic losses not only due to temporary removal from training and competition, but also due to the cost of adequate treatment. Thoroughbreds used in racing are the most frequently affected breed due to the great effort to which they are submitted; however other breeds and crossbred sport horses can also have EIPH. The present study´s objective is to quantify the occurrence of cases of EIPH in animals used in show jumping, through the endoscopic examination and cytological analysis of tracheobronchial lavage (TBL) samples. For the present experiment fifty adult horses, housed in maneges in the city of São Paulo, were used. Horses were divided into two groups, named A and B according to the different heights of the obstacles. Group A included horses that jump heights of 1.0 to 1.2 m and group B, obstacles of 1.3 to 1.5 m. Physical examinations of these animals were carried through, before and after participation in each test. One hour after the end of each series, the same ones had been submitted to an endoscopic examination where the possible alterations of previous the respiratory treatment of the animal were observed being main of them the induced pulmonary hemorrhage for effort. Cytology of tracheobronchial lavage (TBL) was performed in cytocentrifuge slides prepared on the same day, slides were stained using Rosenfeld Romanov and observed examined under light microscopy. The major focus during the observation of the slides was the presence of hemosiderophages and grading of EIPH intensity (I through V) Besides the cytological evaluation of the respiratory tract, this study includes clinical data such as the average values of cardiac frequency, respiratory frequency and body temperature of the animals after the each competition. These data were correlated with the heights of the existing obstacles jumped by each athlete horse. In relation to the EIPH occurrence we observed that in the group A 50% of the animals presented EIPH and in group B the occurrence was of 66,67%. All grades of EIPH were observed when both groups were considered, however only animals in group B showed intense hemorrhage levels (IV or V) thus demonstrating and the correlation between the levels of effort the intensity of EIPH in jumpers