Author(s): A.A. Hunaiti, M.M. Muwalla, M.A. Abuirjeie and F. Tawfeeq
Article publication date: 1989-04-01
Vol. 7 No. 1 (yearly), pp. 37-42.
129
Keywords
progesterone, ewes, breeding
Abstract
The Level of Progesterone on sera samples collected from pregnant and nonpregnant Awassi ewes were determined (16-20) days after breeding using radioimmunoassay. Progesterone concentration was higher (1.89 ng/ml) in pregnant ewes than that of non pregnant ewes (0.34 ng/ml). Pregnancy diagnosis results, based on the levels of progesterone in peripheral serum were, confirmed by lambing when 1 ng.ml or more progesterone on the specified period was used as an indicative of pregnancy. The overall accuracy of this diagnosis was more than 90%. The concentration of progesterone in the 60 months old ewes was higher (2.65 ng/ml) than that of 24 months old ewes (1.66 ng/ml), while there was no significant difference in the serum progesterone between the different weight groups ewes. The quantitative analysis of serum progesterone in (16-20) days after breeding of Awassi ewes might be used for early pregnancy detection.