Ultrasonographic studies on the reproductive tract of mares after parturition: effect of involution and uterine fluid on pregnancy rates in mares with normal and delayed first postpartum ovulatory cycles

During breeding of mares, ultrasonographic detection of uterine fluid accumulations in the first postpartum ovulatory period was associated with significantly decreased pregnancy rates, when compared with rates in control mares (P less than 0.005). The previously gravid uterine horn was recognized as the larger horn, when assessed for size by ultrasonography, for a mean of 21 days (range, 15 to 25 days) after parturition. On the basis of similar measurements obtained during 3 ultrasonographic scans (5-day period), uterine involution was determined to be completed in a mean of 23 days (range, 13 to 29 days). Progestin treatment did not affect uterine size, fluid accumulation, or rate of involution after parturition. However, delaying the first postpartum ovulation with 8 days of progestin treatment significantly improved pregnancy rates (P less than 0.05). More (P less than 0.05) mares became pregnant (23 of 28, 82%) when ovulation occurred after day 15 in the first postpartum ovulatory period, compared with those mares that ovulated before day 15 (6 of 12, 50%). We concluded that ultrasonographic detection of uterine fluid and postpartum progestin treatment can be used to manipulate breeding strategies and to improve pregnancy rates in mares bred during the first postpartum ovulatory period.     

Acid-base status in newborn calves during the first days of life considering different states of vitality]

The aim of this study is to describe the differentiations of the acid-base status in bovine neonates during the first 96 hours of life. Due to the short intervals in the taking of blood samples, noticeable fluctuations in the acid-base status during the first minutes and hours of life of newborn calves were documented. Altogether, 25 matures and eutrophe calves of the DSB, DRB and DFV breeds were provided by the clinic for this study. Apart from an immediate post natum clinical interpretation of the vital signs in the neonates-using the APGAR-score-the pH value, current Base Excess and the CO2 pressure were simultaneously ascertained. Further continuous evaluation of the acid-base status was subsequently followed in the first phase of adaptation. For that alone, twelve blood samples were taken from the vena jugularis within the first 60 minutes after parturition. Until the end of the examination period on the fourth day of life, the tests amounted to 26 measurements altogether per experimentee. Due to the concrete results ascertained from the initial clinical and laboratory observations, the experimentees could be divided into distinct classes of vitality. The acid-base status of all the calves deteriorated during the first minutes of life, indicating that the pH value and Base Excess fall clearly under the initial level in all aspects of vitality directly post natum. On average the minimum pH values are reached between the third and 15th minute of life and remain between 0.019 and 0.096 below the initial values during this period. A varying rapid increase of the pH value follows, together with a balancing out of the Base difference. Despite isolated individual variations as the acid-base status develops, the lowering of the pH values in the first minutes of life is assessed as being a normal biological phenomenon. Deviations from this occur rarely (8%) and do not conform to the norm. The pH value stabilization in connection with this crucial early postnatal phase occurs to such a high degree that, without stagnation, on average all experimentees show pH values between 7,270 and 7,300 after 180 minutes of life-regardless of which vitality group they belong to. After reaching this common value at the end of the third hour of life, the further development of the ph values and the consequential resulting parameters in all three vitality groups are similar. A stagnation of the rising pH value between the 4th and 12th hour of life was established during the examination. Moderate stabilization then set in after this phase. Between the 24th and 36th hour of life all experimentees reached an average highest pH value of 7,400. Until the end of the examination period, however, this then dropped slightly to values between 7,380 and 7,395.     

Ultrasonographic characteristics of the preovulatory follicle preceding and during ovulation in mares

Changes in appearance of preovulatory follicles were observed with real-time ultrasonography prior to and during ovulation in mares. Preovulatory follicles of 15 mares were scanned at < 1 hr intervals for 12 hr or more frequently if displaying signs of impending ovulation. If ovulation was not imminent at the end of 12 hr (n = 2), mares were removed from the trial. Mean follicular diameter decreased 13% from 30 minutes prior to ovulation until the beginning of ovulation. Fifteen to 77 minutes (mean = 41 min) prior to ovulation, a break in or a protrusion of the follicular wall toward the ovulation fossa was visualized in all follicles and was a consistent indicator of impending ovulation. A rapid decrease in size of follicles (ovulation) occurred within a period of 5 to 90 seconds (mean = 42 sec). Little or no fluid remained in the antrum following ovulation. An increase in echogenicity (whiteness) of the follicular wall and echogenic “spots” within the follicle were frequently visualized (13/13, 100% and 7/13, 54% respectively) prior to ovulation; however, prediction of time of ovulation could not be based solely on these individual changes.     

Survival rate and development of fetuses during the first 30 days of gestation after folic acid addition to a swine diet

At weaning, 162 sows were assigned randomly to six treatments (27 in each treatment) according to a 2 X 3 factorial arrangement: two levels of supplementary folic acid (0 and 5 mg/kg of diet) and three treatments to stimulate ovulation (none, flushing and pregnant mare serum gonadotropin [PMSG] injection). All sows were mated twice within 7 d after weaning. Of the 162 animals originally selected, 123 sows were pregnant and used in this trial. The flushing treatment consisted of allowing sows ad libitum access to feed from the day after weaning through the 1st day of behavioral estrus, whereas control animals received 2.4 kg of feed daily. The hormonal treatment consisted of one i.m. injection of 1,250 IU of PMSG the day after weaning. The commercial-type diet used as the control was computed to contain .6 mg folates per kilogram. Folic acid supplementation elevated (P less than .001) serum folates between weaning and 30 d of gestation. Fetuses of sows fed the diet supplemented with folic acid had a higher (P less than .05) total protein concentration than fetuses of control sows, whereas RNA and DNA concentrations and protein:DNA ratio were not affected. The PMSG treatment elevated (P less than .05) ovulation rate, whereas the flushing or folic acid treatments had no effect on this trait. The addition of 5 mg/kg folic acid to the commercial-type diet improved (P less than .05) the survival rate of fetuses during early gestation and tended (P = .096) to increase the number of fetuses presumably living at 30 d of gestation when this treatment was associated with high ovulation rate.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)     

Morphologic stages of the equine embryo proper on days 17 to 40 after ovulation

OBJECTIVE: To describe the gross and histologic changes that develop in the equine embryo proper (ie, the portion of the embryo that becomes the fetus) from days 17 to 40 after ovulation and to compare the external features of equine embryos with those of porcine, ovine, and human embryos. SAMPLE POPULATION: 34 embryos collected from mixed-breed pony mares. PROCEDURE: External features for each embryo proper, including length, number of branchial arches, growth of appendages, face and head features, and body features, were examined, using a dissecting microscope, for embryos collected on days 17 to 40. Internal features were histologically examined by serially sectioning embryos collected on days 20 to 35. RESULTS: Number of embryos recovered for each day ranged from 1 to 5. The initial detection of features was not related closely to age; typically, the first attainment of a given body length or characteristic varied over a 3-day period among embryos. Similarly, the period during which individual characteristics for a given Carnegie stage were attained ranged from 3 to 6 days. Age at first appearance of a characteristic was greater for equine embryos than ages reported for ovine and porcine embryos but less than for human embryos. Indicators of age included number of pairs of branchial arches, all limb buds present, retinal pigmentation, and prominence of the pontine flexure. CONCLUSIONS: No embryologic structures or changes were found that could be considered unique to equine embryos on days 17 to 40 after ovulation.     

Several physiologic aspects of the reactions of foals in the first three days after weaning

Changes have been observed in nine foals, six months of age, after weaning for the time of three days, namely in the intake of drinking water, hematocrit, sedimentation of erythrocytes and three minerals Na+, K+ and Cl-. Foals respond to weaning immediately, lowering significantly their consumption of drinking water and increasing high significance of Na+ and Cl-. Changes of level K+, hematocrit and sedimentation don't show any significant variations. The results reached are to be considered as an introductory information for further inquiry on the more extensive methodical basis.     

Direct radioimmunoassay of serum progesterone for monitoring the reproductive status of large pig herds

The reproductive status of sows was monitored by serum progesterone radioimmunoassay (RIA) in a closed pig herd of 1100 sows, producing for the market. The method proved suitable for monitoring reproductive events (progesterone production during lactation, effect of weaning on the resumption of cycling, successful and unsuccessful inseminations, abortion, etc.) and for diagnosing ovarian disturbances (acyclia, irregular cycle, etc.). A total of 813 inseminations were followed up to determine the time of return to oestrus. The serum progesterone values of blood samples taken from the v. cava cranialis on day 22 after insemination indicated that pregnancy was diagnosed with a reliability of 75.5%, while non-pregnant sows failing to return to oestrus were identified with a reliability of 96.1%. The economic benefits to be derived from the use of this method in a pig herd are discussed.     

Growth rate of ovulatory follicles during the first ovulatory oestrus (after seasonal anoestrus) and subsequent oestrous period in Irish Draught mares

It is believed that during the spring transition, the developing follicle tends to grow more slowly, persist longer and grow to a larger diameter prior to ovulation than at subsequent oestrus periods. A general suspicion, that the first ovulation of the year is less fertile than subsequent ovulations could be explained by a slower growth rate of the ovulatory follicle during transition with the consequent production of a subfertile oocyte. By detailed serial examination of the same group of Irish Draught mares over three winter/spring periods, no significant difference was found in either growth rate or pre-ovulatory diameter when compared with subsequent ovulations. Mean growth rates over the ten days prior to ovulation were 2.20 mm/day (range 1.18 to 3.64) and 2.19 mm/day (range 1.25 to 3.41) for first and subsequent ovulations respectively. Mean maximum pre-ovulatory diameters were 44.7 mm (range 35 to 59) and 43.5 mm (range 31 to 57.5) for first and subsequent ovulations respectively. The impression gained by practitioners that the first follicle develops more slowly during the transition to the first ovulation of the season may be due to less frequent examinations and consequently a failure to observe and record that follicles may grow and then regress during this period. The largest follicle observed a few days previously is not necessarily the same large follicle found at a later examination.     

Changes in the cortisol responses of lambs to tail docking, castration and ACTH injection during the first seven days after birth

Cortisol responses of Dorset and Scottish Blackface lambs were investigated at six ages between birth and seven days. There were four treatments: control handling and blood sampling (n = 52), tail docking (T) (n = 57), castration plus tail docking (CT) (n = 54), and intravenous adrenocorticotrophin (ACTH) injection (n = 60). Most lambs exhibited transient rises in plasma cortisol concentrations after treatment and the results in individuals were expressed as the area under the cortisol curve (integrated response). Postnatal changes in the integrated responses of control, T and CT lambs differed significantly between the two breeds; in Dorsets they increased markedly between four hours and one day and then decreased, whereas in Scottish Blackface lambs there were no significant changes. The cortisol responses of ACTH lambs decreased markedly between four hours and seven days in both breeds. The results shed light on postnatal changes in the activity of the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis and suggest for both breeds that the average increments in ACTH secretion caused by noxious stimuli increased markedly during the first one to three days after birth. Whether this reflected parallel increases in the levels of distress experienced by the lambs remains to be clarified.     

Diseases in neonatal foals. Part 2: Potential risk factors for a higher incidence of infectious diseases during the first 30 days post partum

Reason for performing study: The development of clinical illness in foals is usually predetermined by perinatal history, management or stressful environmental conditions. Objectives: To determine potential risk factors for an increased incidence of infectious diseases during the first 30 days post partum. Methods: The population consisted of Thoroughbred foals born on stud farms in the Newmarket (UK) area in 2005 (n = 1031). They were followed for their first 30 days. Factors suspected to influence the incidence of infectious neonatal diseases were examined in a logistic regression approach for each of the 3 outcomes (total infectious diseases, systemic disease with diarrhoea and total infectious diseases excluding diarrhoea). All 28 factors were either foal or mare or stud farm related. Results: Several significant risk factors for a higher disease incidence, such as birth complications, colostrum intake by stomach tube and leucocytosis 12–48 h post partum were identified. The factor ‘boarding stud’ seemed to be protective against disease. Conclusion: Some factors, such as the mare's time at stud before foaling, the mare's rotavirus vaccination schedule and fibrinogen‐values that empirically had been linked to the outcome previously were not confirmed as relevant. This included the reported useful prophylactic treatment with antimicrobial drugs. Potential relevance: Factors to be considered when evaluating newborn foals include: stud management, the birth process, route of colostrum intake, white and red blood cells, and the date of birth. These may help to detect foals at risk to develop an infection so that targeted prophylactic measures can be initiated.     

Effect of administration of phenylbutazone or progesterone on recovery of embryos from the uterus of mares 5 days after ovulation.

Twelve horse mares were used to investigate the effect of phenylbutazone or progesterone administration on uterine tubal motility, as reflected by embryo recovery from the uterus on day 5 after ovulation. Four treatment groups were used: group A (controls), in which uterine flush was performed 7 to 11 days after ovulation; group B (5-day controls), in which uterine flush was performed 5 days after ovulation; group C, in which uterine flush was performed 5 days after ovulation following administration of phenylbutazone (2 g, IV) on day 3; and group D, in which uterine flush was performed 5 days after ovulation following administration of progesterone in oil (250 mg, IM) on days 0, 1, and 2. Each mare was randomly assigned to each group once. Embryo recovery for each group was: group A, 13 embryos from 12 mares; group B, 3 embryos from 12 mares; group C, 4 embryos from 11 mares; and group D, 1 embryo from 11 mares. Recovery of embryos on day 5 in 3 of 12 nontreated mares indicated that equine embryos may enter the uterus before day 6. Neither treatment increased embryo recovery from the uterus on day 5 over that from the uterus of the 5-day controls.     

Total estrogen concentrations in the blood plasma of calves during the first six days of life

From 47 mature calves ten blood samples were taken during the first six days of life for determination of total estrogen concentrations. Immediately postnatal concentration of total estrogens in blood plasma was high (1093.2 +/- 452.5 pg/ml blood plasma). Total estrogen values increased towards the sixth hour of life (1789.0 +/- 892.2 pg/ml blood plasma), which is thought to be caused by reabsorption of estrogens released from intracorporeal reservoirs. Towards the 48th hour of life total estrogen values decreased. This decrease indicates a progressive depletion of the reservoirs and also metabolisation and elimination of estrogens by the organism. The fact that total estrogens were nearly unchanged from the 4th day of life onwards reveals the approximative completed elimination of estrogens. At no time significant differences of total estrogen concentrations in blood plasma were found between female and male newborn calves.     

Starch supplementation improves the reproductive performance of sows in different glucose tolerance status

This study was to evaluate the effects of glucose tolerance status, maternal starch supplementation and soybean substitution in diets on the performance of dams and their offspring. Eighty-eight pregnant sows (Landrace × Large White) were selected from an initial total of 120 sows, based on blood glucose test values, and assigned to 4 experimental treatments in a 2 × 2 factorial design. The factors were glucose tolerance status (glucose intolerant [GIT] vs. normal glucose tolerant [NGT]) or dietary treatments (corn starch diet [CS] vs. soybean substitution diet [SS]). A higher area under the curve (AUC) for post-meal glucose was observed (P < 0.05) in the GIT group than in the NGT group on d 109 of gestation. The CS group had a lower value of homeostasis model assessment-insulin resistance than the SS group (P < 0.05) on d 109 of gestation. Corn starch supplementation for sows decreased the stillbirth rate (P < 0.05), regardless of the sows' glucose tolerance status. The villus height of the jejunum and the villus height to crypt depth ratio of the ileum were greater in normal birth weight piglets from the CS group than from the SS group (P < 0.01), and so was the activity of sucrase in the jejunum and ileum (P < 0.01). Compared with the SS group, the CS group showed a reduction in pre-weaning mortality rate, an increase in the number of high-birth-weight piglets, and a decrease in the number of low-birth-weight piglets (P < 0.05) under GIT status. In conclusion, sows fed CS decreased stillbirth rate and improved insulin resistance, as well as improving the intestinal morphology and digestive enzyme activities of their progeny, regardless of glucose tolerance status. Additionally, the CS group improved birth weight distribution and decreased pre-weaning mortality rate of piglets under GIT status.