Aim:This study was conducted to determine the effect of seasonal variations on testosterone serum concentration, body weight, scrotal circumference, and some sperm parameters in rams living in a semi-arid region of eastern part of Algeria.Materials and Methods:Blood samples were taken monthly from eight Ouled Djellal rams, aged between 3 and 4 years, in the Technical Institute of Breeding “ITELV” located at Ain M’lila City. Sperm were collected by an electro-ejaculator once a month for 1 year (spring, summer, autumn, and winter: 3 times/season).Results:Mean values of volume, mass motility, live sperm, and scrotal circumference were higher during spring (p<0.05) with 1.23±0.26 mL, 3.39±1.07, 79.16±15.82%, and 36.29±1.91 cm, respectively; whereas, the sperm concentration was higher during autumn with 1.19±0.56×109 spz/ml compared to 0.46±0.13×109 spz/mL to spring. The season influenced significantly the percentage of abnormal sperm (p<0.05), especially during winter (6.47±2.12%), but had no influence on the weight of rams. Seasonal hormonal activity was high with 4.89±2.06 ng/mL and 3.09±1.35 ng/mL of testosterone in mating seasons (spring and autumn, respectively), knowing that the sexual season is not marked too much in these latitude.Conclusion:We can conclude that testosterone concentration is strongly correlated with the scrotal circumference and that the season has a significant influence on spermatic parameters, and that despite the large variations in sperm production, the rams can be used throughout the year.

Aim:The aim of the study was to assess the effect of two levels of wasted date (WD) by replacing commercial concentrate on the reproductive performance of Ouled Djellal (OD) rams.Materials and Methods:Eighteen mature (2-year-old) OD rams were equally allocated to three groups and fed during 11 weeks with one of three different experimental diets, that contained 0% (0 WD), 50% (50 WD), or 75% (75 WD) of WDs in concentrate diet. Live body weight (LBW), body condition scoring (BCS), scrotal circumference (SC), testicular weight (TW), sperm production and quality, plasma testosterone concentration (T), and sexual behavior (reaction time and number of mounts with ejaculation) were regularly recorded from every ram.Results:LBW, SC, and TW changed significantly among diet groups and during the experimental period (p<0.001), the highest averages were recorded in (0 WD) group. LBW, BCS, SC, TW, semen volume, and percentage of the positive hypo-osmotic swelling test were (p<0.001) positively influenced by flushing period. Nevertheless, sperm concentration showed a significant (p<0.001) decrease at day 30, followed by a return to the initial values afterward. There were no differences (p>0.05) between diet groups for plasma testosterone concentration and semen attributes, except that (50 WD) group expressed the lowest overall value of semen concentration. Furthermore, neither time nor diet affected (p>0.05) sperm motility and reproductive behavior parameters.Conclusions:It is possible to introduce WD as unconventional local feeding resources in flushing diet of breeding rams without disturbing their reproductive performance.

Investigations were conducted to determine the influence of physiological stage and parity on some indicators of energy, nitrogen and mineral metabolisms in sheep Ouled Djellal living in the Algerian Southeast arid area. The study was carried out on 100 clinically healthy multiparous and primiparous ewes, aged 2 to 7 years. The animals were divided into three ewe groups: Pregnant (P), lactating (L), and empty (E). Biochemical analysis of blood samples concerned the determination of the values of 11 metabolites [glucose, cholesterol, triglycerides, urea, total protein, albumin, calcium (Ca), phosphates (PO 4 ), sodium (Na), potassium (K), and magnesium (Mg)]. The results showed that pregnant ewes and multiparous ones have the lowest blood glucose levels and the highest proteinemia. However, the lowest total protein and albumin values were found in empty sheep. Cholesterol and triglyceride levels were the highest in lactating and primiparous ewes. In this study, the most important calcium levels were recorded in lactating ewes which showed the lowest magnesium levels. The pregnant ewes had the highest sodium levels and low phosphatemia. Potassium levels were comparable in all animals. Statistical analysis showed that the physiological stage has a significant influence (p < 0.05) on serum glucose, triglycerides, phosphorus and potassium levels and a highly significant effect (p < 0.001) on urea, and magnesium levels. No parity effect has been observed in our study.

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