Progesterone profiles of fat-tailed tuj ewes following tactile and visual separation of rams at the beginning of the breeding season

The aim of this study was to determine the level and duration of progesterone secretion during the sequential oestrous cycles in fat-tailed Tuj ewes following tactile and visual separation of rams during the breeding season. For these purposes, rams were separated from the main flock for 50 days starting from the beginning of the breeding season and 21 ewes were randomly selected for the current experiment. In order to assess luteal activity and the length of oestrous cycles, the ewes were blood-sampled thrice or twice weekly for the measurement of progesterone in plasma. The data showed that 3 +/- 0.2 oestrous cycles were observed in this time window, and the first oestrous cycle observed was shorter (P < 0.05) than the following cycles (mean +/- SEM, 14.6 +/- 0.82, 16.5 +/- 0.48 and 17.0 +/- 0.54 days, respectively, for cycles 1, 2 and 3). Progesterone production was significantly lower in the first oestrous cycle compared with the second and third cycles on days 9, 12 and 14 of the cycles. The follicular periods of ewes showed four accumulations (maximum values using a 3-day moving average technique) throughout the study and the percentages of ewes at each accumulation (peak day +/- 1 day) were 50, 35, 65 and 80% for the first, second, third and fourth accumulations, respectively (P < 0.05). It was concluded that progesterone production was lower and the oestrous cycles were shorter during the first oestrous cycle and that tactile and visual separation of rams at the beginning of the breeding season might enhance the synchronizing effect towards the end of the breeding season in the fat-tailed Tuj ewes.