Physiological changes in the peri-partum period and colostral IgG transfer in prolific D’man sheep: effects of parity and litter size

Abstract

The aim of this work was to assess maternal and neonatal changes in plasma proteins, glucose and cortisol and to quantify the colostral immunoglobulin G (IgG) transfer in the peri-partum period in D'man sheep, a prolific breed, taking into account the parity of the ewe. The concentrations of proteins and glucose were high in the ewes on day 7 and at lambing before decreasing. Likewise, cortisol plasma concentration was maximal during the 6 h following lambing and dropped at 12 h. Protein and glucose concentrations were low in lambs at 1 h of birth after which they increased. By contrast, cortisol level was the highest during the first 12 h of birth and then decreased. The colostral IgG level was high at lambing and dropped by over 87 % from 1 to 48 h post-partum. In the newborn, the plasma IgG concentration was lowest at birth and increased rapidly during the first 24 h of birth. Parity influenced maternal physiology with multiparous ewes having the lowest concentrations of proteins, glucose, IgG and cortisol, but the highest colostrum IgG level. Accordingly, lambs born from primiparous ewes had lower protein, glucose and plasma IgG concentrations than lambs born from multiparous ewes. The main outcome of this study was that lambs born from primiparous ewes are characterized by the lowest physiological indices and this may influence their survival chance.

Identification of factors affecting colostrum quality of dairy Lacaune ewes assessed with the Brix refractometer

“…This variation with number of lambings did not achieve statistical significance. Our results suggest that colostrum quality is highest at the first lambing, which contrasts with other studies reporting higher IgG concentration in sheep colostrum from multiparous than primiparous ewes (Chniter et al 2016) or no variances (Alves et al 2015). This discrepancy may reflect differences in breed, nutrition, method of analysis, and method of colostrum collection.…”

“…The proportions of samples in our study meeting these cut-offs for high quality colostrum are smaller than the corresponding proportions reported for cattle (Bartier et al 2015). This may reflect loss of colostrum quality during the time from lambing to colostrum sampling: IgG concentration in sheep colostrum can drop by over 30% between 1 and 6 h post-delivery (Chniter et al 2016). Consistent with this possibility, mortality and morbidity of lambs bred artificially since birth were low throughout the study period.…”

Postnatal hypoglycemia and blood glucose concentrations in neonatal tropical goat kids

“…The higher concentrations could also be due to larger energy reserves in higher birth-weight kids compared with the lower birth-weight kids, which can easily be mobilized to produce glucose endogenously. 11,49,54 In disagreement with the current study, Njidda et al reported higher blood glucose concentrations in older female kids than male kids of the RSG breed. 51 The high blood glucose levels in buck kids could be a metabolic response to cope with the higher physical activity associated with buck kids compared with doelings.…”

Sheep and goats raised in mixed flocks have diverse immune status around parturition

“…Negative energy balance during the transition period has severe consequences for the metabolism, immune system, and performance of dairy cows (Esposito et al, 2014;Wankhade et al, 2017). In small dairy ruminants, few studies focusing on immune status around parturition (late pregnancy, partum, and early lactation) are available in the literature (Castro et al, 2006;Rodinova et al, 2008;Chniter et al, 2016). As described in dairy cows, the immune system is directly affected by negative energy balance around parturition (Esposito et al, 2014;Wankhade et al, 2017).…”