T.C.

ULUOAQ üNIVERSITESI
VETERINER FAK. DERGISI
Sayı : 1-2-3, Cilt: 7, Yıl: 8 , 1988

SYNCRONIZA TION OF ESTRUS IN THE SHEEP

E. Fatih ÜNAL*

ÖZET
Koyunlarda Östrus Sinkronizasyonu

Koyunların et, süt ue yapağı gibi ekonomik verimlerinin önem kaza ndığı za-
manımızda, istenen özelliklerin kısa zamanda ve en ucuza temini için östrus ue ovu-
lasyonun arzu edilen zamana göre planlanması gereklidir. •
Bu derlemede, mevcut fonksiyonel corpus luteumu ortadan kald ırarak follikü-
ler ak tiviteyi oluşturan , kas içi, ve deri altı enjeksiyon tarzında kullanıla b ilen pros-
taglandinler ue analoglan ile östrus ue ouulasyonu istenen zaman sürecine göre ·ge-
ciktirebilen, oral, deri alh implant, vaginal sünger veya kas içi enjeksiyonlarla kul-
lanılabilen progestagenlerin araşhrıcılara göre değişik kullanım yöntemleri özetlen-
meye ç alışılm ışhr.

SYNCHRONIZATION OF ES1RUS

In the production of domestic aniınals the control of the date of parturation

would be an advance in the husbandry of these animals. For example, careful cont-
rol of estrus would mean uniformity of age of the new bom. Labor associated with
breeding or care of the new bom could be better programmed and capital could be
used more efficiently. Likewise, if estrus can be controlled, one could delay estrus
in the female during travel or during tivestock shows. Another very important field
for synchronization of ewe is in embryo transfer.
Manipulation of ovarian function has depended on the following approaches:
1- Blockage of gonadotrophin output (pı'ogestin) and tben release following
by follicle genesis ata designated time.
2- Inductlon of luteolysis at a designated time (PG F 2 aor infuslon of uterine
irritants) followed by follicle genesis.
The basic mechanism by which the ovary is discouraged from growing follic-
les under natural conditions is by a blockade of FSH output by progesterone and
possibly estrogen from the corpus luteum of the cycle, the corpus luteum of preg-
nancy, or possibly the placenta.

• Yard. Doç. Dr.; U. V. Veteriner Fakültesi, Bursa-TVRKIYE.

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 The artificial control methods of ey eli c reproductive activity that are available
can be divided into two main groups:

1- Non-honnonal m'ethods
a) Light .
The onset of cyclical activity in the ewe is dependent upon changes ın the
hours of daylight 1 • 2 . In ewes, the provision of housing with controlled lighting
enables the breeding season to change from the autumn and winter to spring and
summer. Furthennore, by subjecting the ewes to a lighting regimen which does
not have any change in duration it is possible to ensure breeding throughout the
year as is the cas~ in equatorial climates 3 •
b) Nutrition
The effect of nutrition in initiating reproductive activity in seasonally bree·
ding species is not clear. Improved nutrition canexerta profound effect onovarian
function by increasing the number of follicles which mature and ovulate. Thiseffect
is deseribed as ' 'flushing' ', a practise which has been use d in land flocks of sheep for
many years. By increasing the dietary intake, particularly that of energy, before
4
ewes are tupped. It is possible to increase the number of lambs that are bom •
c) Male effect (ram effect)
The presence of a male animal can exe.rt its effect upon the cyclical activity
of the female . This is well demonstrated in sheep, where the introduction of a vasec·
tomized tup at the start of the breeding season will stimulate the onset of estrus
cycles in the majority of ewes and also bring about some degree of syncronlzation
of cyclical pattems5 • According to a research, this method is potentially cheap and
requires a minimum of labor6 • Normal estrus behavior is expressedat the following
ovulation aproximately 20 to 25 days after the introduction of rams.

2- Hormonal methods
A large number of hormones have been used to manipulate eyelle activity in
sheep, but there is no universal technique that will cover all controlled bretıding
situations. For success it is necessary to recognize that several physiological states
exist that are controlled by external and internal factors. For example, seasonal
changes will determine whether the ewe is in her natural breeding season or in early,
mid or Iate anestrus; her age will deseribe whether she is a puberal lamb, ma!den
ewe or mature ewe; and her lactational state will de termine whether she is dry
because she has ~ot been pregnant or dry because she is either succled or milked in
the postpartum period. Each of the possible combinations must be examined before
administrations. From this point of view it is possible to initiate ovulatory activity
in the anestrus period.
Aims designed to produce two lamb crops a year have been described. For
this reason treatment with progesterone ı progestogens for 12 to 16 days followed
by the administration of PMSG within 24 hours after cessation of progesteron
therapy have been used. For example, according to their physiological status have
been used Flurogestone acetate (FGA) and PMSG: Treatment procedures for
initiating ovulatory activity in the anestrus period:

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 Physiological status Dose FGA (mg) Dose PMSG (lU)
Dry ewe 40 400.800
Succling ewe 40 500.800
Puberal lamb 40 400.600

Poor results have been obtained when the technique is used with that expe-
rience very deep anestrus and also the use of PMSG alone to induce estrus7 • 8 • In
seasonally anestrus early postpartum and lactating ewes it is not very suc~ssful,
probably due to the influence of prolactin9 • ·
This technique was effective in advancing the onset of the breeding season in
ewes. Robinson ı 0 , reported that 93 % estrus rate can be expected with PMSG
treatment and 73 % without PMSG and lambing rate of 60-70 % can be achieved
after two cycles with outural service. PMSG treatment may not always be neces-
sary if her own natural breeding season is on.
It is possible to use syncronization by progesteronejprogestogens combina-
tion in different ways:
a) Oral administration
The most commonly used oral progestogens are: MAP (medroxyprogesterone
aeetate-Provera), CAP (chlormadinone acetate-chlormadinone), FGA (fluorogestone
_acetate-cronolone), MGA (melengestrol acetate).
The minimum daily dose of CAP and MAP to completely lnhiblt estrus and
ovulation is 1 mgjday. After the applications estrus appears but ovulation does
not, and the persentage of conception rates to service at the flrst overt estrus after
progestogen withdrawal has been low ranging from 23 to 38 %ı 1 .ı 2 • Eight mgjday
of FGA orally after administrations of PMSG on the last day of treatment are more
successful and 83 % are tound is estrus after treatment between 48-68 hours. V elle
and H elle 13 , over a 12 year period subjected ewes to estrus syncronizatlon using a
dally doae of 50 mg MAP for 10 days during the breedlng season. The experiment&
eovered 378 indlvidual cycles and 89.3 % of the anlmals came in beat witbin 6 days
- of iiıe Iasi day of treatment. The lambing raie at the fırst estrus after treatment was
74.4%.
b) lnjection
Twelve mg of progesterone injected every 2 days for a total period of 12 days
la adequate to provide good syncronization. Application of PMSG (400 lU) on the
day following the cessatlon of progesterone usage significantly advances and lmp-
roves the precision of time of onset of estrus and ovulation. Fertility has been
-ftl'i4ble ranging troni a 13 to Sö %lambini rate alter naturai service or Ali 4 • -
c) Jntravaginal sponges
RobiDJOnı 5 flrst reported the successful use of lntravaglnal sponges with i
eolutlon of synthetlc progestaien In eyelle ewes. Accordlog to the workersı 6 .ı 7 ,
tbla tecbnlque following a 15 day losertton leads to effective suppression of estrus
and ovulatlon. Posslble doae rates are shown in the table below: ·

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 Physiological status Dose FGA (mg) Dose PMSG (IU)
Dry cyclic ewe 30-40 o- 400
Succling ewe 30-40 400-600
Puberal lamb 30-40 250-400

lt is possible to use also MAP, and the best results have been obtained with sponges
containing 20-80 mgMAP 111 •
Also Kılıço~lu at allı 9 , introduced MAP sponges (60 mg) into the vagina of
goats. The pregnancy rates at the f"ırst estrus after the syncronization was 60 %.
To syncronlze groups of eyelle ewes wlth the use of progestagen inipregnated ,
sponges only, better conceptlon rates have been obtained when PMSG was injected
at the time of the wlthdrawal of the sponges2 0 •
Fertility may be reduced when ewes are mated at the first syncronlzed estrus.
This may be due to poor absorption of the progestagens from the sponge or to an
effect of the abnormal sterold balance on sperm transport and survival. For thls
reason intravaginal pessaries must be prepared using standardlzed controlled tech-
nlques that ensure equal distrubutlon of progestagen throughout the sponge and
also attentlon must be glven to the nutritlonal requirements of both ewes and rams
in the program, both prior to and during treatment.
d) Subcutaneous implans ...
The technique is characterized by a more rapid onset of estrus after proges-
togen withdrawal and ovulation after the commencement of estrus occurs earlier.
Tbere is an advantage to use silastic implants for the continuous progesteron ad-
ministration with a minimum of animal handling2 ı .
Ainsworth and Walynetz2 2 , reported that they got better results with 8 2
and S3 im plants than arter treatment with vaginal sponges. Spitzer and Carpenter2 3 ,
reported two groups experiments: Exp. 1· cronolone pessary alone, 96 %, - norges-
tomet implant + inj. of norgestomet + EV (estradiol valerate ), 92 %.
Exp. 2- cronolone pessary + inj. of norgestomet +EV, 84 %,
- norgestomet imp. + inj. of norgestomet + EV, 96 %.
In the f"ırst experiment they found 80 % pregnancy rate and in the norges-
tomet treated 59 %. In the second experiment no significant dlfferences were ob-
served. Pregnancy rate between the two treatment groups were; cronolone 57 %,
norgestomet 65 %.

Use of prostaglandins
When PGF 2 a or its analoges given to ewes with a sensitive corpus luteum,
estrus occurs 36-46 hours after injection. In order to synchronize a group of ewes
at randomly dlfferent stages of the estrus cycle it is necessary to give two injections
8-9 days apart. Conception rates and prolificacy following natural matings have
been comparab le to unsyncronized ewes2 0 •
Single injection techniques have been deseribed with the following results:
- PGF 2 a 15 mg on day 9 of cycle , 86 % in estrus 2 to 3 daysafter treament,
- PGF2 a 16 mg between days 7 and l l of cycle, 66 % in estl'UJ 2 to 3 days
after treatmentl 4 •

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 Loubser and Niekerk 25 , used double injectlon of PGF2 a at two different
dosage leveJs, 5 mg and lO mg, eleven daya apart, wbich wu compared to a combl-
nation of MAP sponges and 5 mg or lO mg o f PGF2 n The combination of MAP
sponges plua 10 mg PGF1 agave t he best synchronlzation results (94.4 %) as well as
the best conceptlon rate (84.9 %) when ewes were inseminated on~a fixed time basis
68 and 80 hours after treatment.
A1so Yutaka and Roberts2 6 , reported PGF2 a treatment associated witiı
MAP intravaginally for 7 days to be more effectlve than the treatment with PGF 1 a
or progestogen alone for the control of estrus In cycling ewes.
Hacket et all2 7 , examined dlfferent times of lnsemination after PGF 1 ct treat-
ment for 60-72 hours. Prolificacy was not affected by the time of insemination.
Smith 2 8 , ıeported that the estrus-ovulation time relationship was examlned
in Romney ewes with progestogen (intravaginal sponge) and gonadotroplns (PMSG-
HCG or PMSG alone) prlor to January and during Aprll breeeling season. There
were no significant effects of season, honnon ~atment or time of insemination on
lambing rate.
Fukul2 9 , treated i.m. wlth 16 mg PGF 1 a to 232 Australlon merlno ewes at
uhknown stages o f estrus cycle . One hundred and ninety-five of them showed estrus
wlthin 5 days of treatment. Ewes in estrus were lnseminated non-surgically once
with 0.1 ml. fresh, undlluted semen or.0.3 ml. frozeıı, thawed, peiieted senieiı. -
The 21-day nonreturo rates weıe as follows:
48.6 % for normal inseminat lon with fresh undiluted semen
27 .O % for normallnsemination with frozen , thawed serneo
37.8 % for deep cervical insem. with frozen, thawed serneo
54.5 %for fntra-tiierine lnsem . with frozen , tıiawed semen .
CONCLUSIONS

Sheep constltute an important part of the livestock lndustry in the world.

Sheep supply an altemative source of food, fiber and milk. To be of value to the
sheep-famıer, controlled breeding applications need to be simple, effective and
cheap. Several practical methods are now available for the control of the ewe's
estrus cycle.
The intravaginal sponge, impregnated with FGA or MAP, is probably the
slmplest to apply; actuallY,, this type of treatment is one that can be handied by
the farmer hlmsett alter aminimum öl tratnlng. Aİı iınplaniition meiiıo<i'(minla·
ture ear lmplant) may not have this same admıtage. Ot her ageota fot .controlllng
estrus, such as PGF2 a or analogues, eVen If it were demonstrated that thelr effi.
eleney equalled that of intravaginal sponges, would undoubtedly remain a pres-
eribed drug and at current costs would probably be more costly to employ than
progestagen sponges.
Finally, we may say that the applications of attempts are ıl'umerous but
still a lot of work has to be done before the best practical method for estrus syn.
cronization in sheep has been found.

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