. W. 2008. Effects of dietary supplements of folic acid on reproductive performance in ewes. Can. J. Anim. Sci. 88: 489Á497. The objective of this project was to assess the impact of periconceptional folic acid supplementation on the reproductive performance of prolific and non-prolific ewes, in the estrous and anestrous seasons. Two initial trials took place during the estrous season at two experimental sites where 38 Dorset and 39 half-Finn half-Dorset ewes (site A) as well as 80 Dorset ewes (site C) were divided into two groups receiving either 0 or 210 mg ewe(1 d (1 of folic acid over a period which extended from 21 d premating to 30 d postmating. Three other trials were conducted in the anestrous season where 80 Dorset ewes (site A), 56 half-Romanov ewes (site B) and 78 Dorset ewes (site C) were subjected to the same protocol as the one used in the breeding season. In all the trials, the folic acid supplement increased plasma and red cell folates, but had no effect on fertility, embryonic mortality, or the size or weight of the litter at birth. Folic acid supplementation did not improve the reproductive performance of prolific and nonprolific ewes, either in the estrous season or in the anestrous period. (1 jour (1 d'acide folique sur une pe´riode qui s'est e´tendue de 21 j pre´ce´dant la saillie jusqu'a`30 j apre`s la saillie. Trois autres essais ont e´te´re´alise´s en contre-saison sexuelle ou`80 brebis Dorset (site A), 56 demi-Romanov (site B) et 78 Dorset (site C) ont e´te´soumises au meˆme protocole que celui re´alise´en saison sexuelle. Dans tous les essais, le supple´ment d'acide folique a augmente´les folates plasmatiques et e´rythrocytaires, mais n'a eu aucun effet sur la fertilite´, la mortalite´embryonnaire, la taille et le poids de la porte´e a`la naissance. Les performances reproductives des brebis prolifiques et non prolifiques n'ont pas e´te´ame´liore´es par la supple´mentation en acide folique, autant en saison qu'en contre-saison sexuelle.Mots clé s: Brebis, reproduction, vitamines, acide folique, fertilite´, prolificiteT he sheep industry is an emerging agricultural sector in North America. Unfortunately, sheep farm profitability is often low owing to the low productivity of livestock operations. Of the various means available to producers to increase their income, increasing the fertility and prolificacy of breeding ewes are certainly at the top of the list of foreseeable short-term solutions.In the estrous season, ewe productivity is limited primarily by the low number of lambs born per ewe lambing (prolificacy). Widespread use of non-prolific breeds, which often give birth to only one lamb per lambing, remains the main reason for this low productivity. However, in sheep, 20 to 40% of fertilized ova are lost during gestation (Edey 1969;Ashworth 1995), primarily during the first month of gestation (Quinlivan et al. 1966). While, in the estrous season, this loss of embryos reduced the number of lambs born per lambing, in the anestrous season, the embryonic mortality could not only affect p...
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