Brushing rams before and during electroejaculation improves sperm motility and kinetics with slight changes in stress biomarkers.

The aim of this study was to determine whether brushing rams before and during electroejaculation (EE) reduces their stress response and improves the characteristics of the ejaculate. A single person brushed each ram for 5 min daily, for 15 days, in an individual pen. Semen was collected from five rams brushed before and during EE by the same brusher, while the other five were electroejaculated without being brushed.

Stress response to social isolation followed by exposure to a novel object in aged ewes born to undernourished mothers.

Fetal programming by subnutrition affects offspring's behaviour, metabolism, and sensitivity to stressors in sheep. The objective was to determine the stress response of ewes born to mothers nutritionally restricted during gestation to social isolation followed by exposure to a novel object. Twenty-six-year-old Corriedale ewes born to mothers who grazed high or low pasture allowances (HPA and LPA groups) from 23 days before conception until 122 days of gestation were used.

A single administration of carbetocin before electroejaculation increases the insemination doses produced from each ejaculate in rams.

The aim of the study was to determine the effect of carbetocin administration (a long-acting analog of oxytocin) 20 or 10 min before electroejaculation (EE) on the duration of semen collection procedure, quantitative and qualitative characteristics of the ejaculate, and stress biomarkers in rams. Semen was collected from 12 Corriedale rams (age, 2.5-5.

Social Stress during the Estrus or Luteal Phase in Sheep.

In mammals, progesterone and estrogens affect the stress response. The study aimed to compare the physiological and behavioral responses to the social isolation of ewes during the estrus or luteal phase. Estrous and diestrous ewes (n = 10 and 8 respectively) were individually isolated in a novel place for 10 min.