Nutritional supplements, leptin, insulin and progesterone in female Australian Cashmere goats

• Main Authors: Shikh Maidin, Mashitah, Blackberry, Margaret A., Miltona, J. T. B., Hawken, Penelope A. R., Martin, Graeme B.
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: Elsevier 2014
• Online Access: http://psasir.upm.edu.my/id/eprint/34694/1/34694.pdf; http://psasir.upm.edu.my/id/eprint/34694/; http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2212670814001249

In small ruminants, reproductive wastage due to early embryo mortality is a major industry issue because it reduces reproductive efficiency and limits productivity. In sheep, early embryo mortality appears to be caused by reductions in progesterone concentrations when animals are over-fed, but this concept has not been studied in goats. Therefore we tested whether a supplement of lupin grain affects circulating progesterone concentrations in Cashmere goats during non- breeding season. We allocated 23 females into two groups: Controls were fed to ensure maintenance of body mass (85% chaff, 15% lupins head daily); Supplemented goats were fed twice their daily requirements for maintenance. All animals were anovulatory and treated with CIDRs to supply exogenous progesterone at a relatively constant rate. Nutritional treatments lasted for 18 days, and coincided with the presence of CIDRs. Leptin and insulin concentrations were increased (p < 0.05) by supplementation, but progesterone concentrations did not significant differ between groups at any time during the experiment. We conclude that a dietary supplement that elicits major changes in energy homeostasis does not reduce progesterone concentrations in goats and is thus unlikely to affect embryo mortality.