Concentration of Zinc and Copper in Milk and Some Reproductive Aspects During Hot and Cold Seasons of Klebi Ewes Reared in South Egypt | ||||
| Journal of Animal and Poultry Production | ||||
| Article 6, Volume 7, Issue 9, September 2016, Page 363-367 PDF (351.03 K) | ||||
| Document Type: Original Article | ||||
| DOI: 10.21608/jappmu.2016.48726 | ||||
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| Author | ||||
| A. I. Damarany | ||||
| Department of Animal and Poultry Production, Faculty of Agriculture and Natural Resources, Aswan University, Egypt. | ||||
| Abstract | ||||
| The present study was carried out to evaluate concentrations of zinc and copper in milk, some reproductive aspects of Klebi ewes during the hot and cold seasons in south Egypt. According to season of lambing, 48 ewes lambed in the cold months, while 47 ewes lambed during hot months were used in this study. Results showed that concentrations of zinc and copper in Klebi ewe milk were higher (2.23±0.3 and 0.48±0.05 mg/l) in cold than in hot months (1.33±0.2 and 0.2±0.03 mg/l, P<0.05), respectively. Lambing (P≥0.05) and twining (P<0.05) rates tended to be higher in cold than in hot months (122.9 and 106.4 and 37.3 and 12.0%, respectively). Stillbirth, abortion and retained placenta rates were more frequent in ewes lambed in hot than in cold months (8, 6, 4.3 vs. 5, 4, 2.1%, P≥0.05), respectively. Positive correlation coefficient (P<0.05) between each of zinc or copper concentration in Klebi ewe milk and both lambing and twining rates (r=0.615, 0.452, 0.631 and 0.684, respectively). Negative correlation coefficient (P<0.05) was recorded between each of zinc and copper concentration in Klebi ewe milk and stillbirth, abortion and retained placenta rates. The current study demonstrated seasonal changes in concentration of zinc and copper in Klebi ewe milk, which were associated with pronounced alteration in reproductive process of Klebi ewes. Reproductive performance of Klebi ewes in cold was better than in hot season. Therefore the present study may conclude that dietary supplementation of zinc and copper, particularly during the hot season is recommended for improving reproductive aspects of Klebi ewes under environmental conditions of south Egypt. | ||||
| Keywords | ||||
| Klebi ewes; lambing season; Milk; zinc; copper; Reproduction | ||||
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