Document Type : Original Article
Authors
1
Dep. Anim. Rep. And Artif. Insemin., National Research Center, Dokki, Cairo, Egypt.
2
Dept. Al and ET. Animal Reproduction Research, Institute, ARC, Giza, Egypt.
3
Dept. of Medicin, Fac. Vet. Med. Cairo Univ., Egypt.
Abstract
This study is one of many recent attempts that search for economic feed resources with the aim to improve reproductive efficiency of the local breeds of farm animals in Egypt. Thirty female baladi goats were used in two experiments. In ex- periment 1, twelve immature females weighed 8- 11 kg and aged 4-5 months were allocated into two groups control (n = 4) fed on basal control ration and NSC group (n=8) fed on the same basal ra- tion supplemented with 100gm nigella sativa cake. All females were fed till maturity and run continuously with fertile bucks. Jugular blood samples were collected twice weekly for proges- terone assay to detect sexual maturity, ovarian cy- clicity, conception and pregnancy. The parameters of the reproductive characteristics in the pat- tern of continuous/total, lambed/continuous, conception, fertility, and prolificacy were calculated. Initial and final body weights were individually recorded and body weight gain was calculated. Five months post feeding, three females from each group were slaughtered and blood samples were collected for determination of plasma pro- tein and lipid indicators. Samples of rumen con- tents were taken for determination of pH, ammo- nia, volatile fatty acids (total and individual) and protozoal activity. Right and left ovaries wore desiccated immediately after slaughtering and ovarian weights and structures were recorded. ‘In experiment 2, eighteen mature female baladi goats of 1.5-2 years were allocated into tivo Groups: control (n=8) and NSc (n=10) receiving the same rations as in the experiment 1. The oes- trus was synchronized by withdrawing progestag- en-impregnated pessaries 14 days after their intra- vaginal insertion. Two days prior to pessaries removal, each doe received 800-1000 i.u. equine Chorionic Gonadotrophin. Twenty four hours, does were observed for heat, then naturally mated with fertile buck for 2-3 times during the estrus period. Assessment of the superovulatory re- sponse was carried out on day 6 following estrus. Both ovaries were examined morphologically and the number of corpora lutae and follicles >5 were recorded. The uterine horns were flushed and the recovered embryos / ova were counted, evaluated, and classified according to their stage and morphology. Plasma total protein, albumin, total lipids, and triglycerides were not significantly changed. However, plasma urea and cholesterol were significantly decreased on supplementation with Nigella sativa cake. Analysis of rumen juice revealed that the total volatile fatty acids, the mo- lar proportion of propionate were increased, while the molar proportion of acetate, and accordingly the A/P ratio were decreased in (NSc) group. However, the values of pH, ammonia, the molar proportion of butyrate and the protozoal activity were not affected by the addition of Nigella sati- va cake. There was a marked increase in the re- productive indexes of does supplemented with Ni- gella sativa cake, where the percentages of conception, fertility and prolificacy were 37.5, 37.5, and 100% versus Zero in control does. The final body weight was increased significantly in does of (NSc) group 15.04 ± 0.82 Kg than controls. Consequently the weight gain is significantly higher in (NSc) groups than control. The member of corpora lutea was significantly increase in (NSc) group than the control one. Similarly, the - total ovarian responses (TOR) was also significantly increased in (NSc) group than the controls, However, the ovulation rates among the group were not significantly different. The total percent- age of transferable embryos was significantly higher in (NSc) group compared to control one. Meanwhile the percentage of non-transferable embryos (Fair) was significantly (P<0.001) lower in the treated group (38.98%) compared to control one (80.00%). In addition the recovery rate for transferable embryos was significantly higher in treated group (28.57%) than in control one (11.76 %). The total embryo recovered was not significantly affected by dietary treatment.
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