Moroccan Journal of Agricultural and Veterinary Sciences

Vol. 10 No. 2 (2022): (June 2022)
Animal Production and Health

Efficacy of ovine artificial insemination at farm level in Tunisia

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  • Moufida ATIGUI,
  • Mustapha LAHMER,
  • Moncef HAMMAMI,
  • Hamdi ROUISSI
Moufida ATIGUI Département de Production Animale, Ecole Supérieure d'Agriculture de Mateur, Tunisie
Mustapha LAHMER Direction de l’Amélioration Génétique, Office de l’Elevage et des Pâturages, Ariana, Tunisie
Moncef HAMMAMI Laboratoire d’Amélioration et Développement Intégré de la Productivité Animale et des Ressources Alimentaires, Ecole Supérieure d’Agriculture de Mateur, Université de Carthage, Bizerte, Tunisie
Hamdi ROUISSI Laboratoire d’Amélioration et Développement Intégré de la Productivité Animale et des Ressources Alimentaires, Ecole Supérieure d’Agriculture de Mateur, Université de Carthage, Bizerte, Tunisie

Published 2022-06-16

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Abstract

The artificial inseminations of ewes (n = 3765) carried out during spring mating season recorded during 3 successive years at private farms were analyzed in order to determine the factors influencing the results of insemination. Ewes belonged to 13 privet breeders adhering to the program of ovine’s performances control of the Department of Genetic Improvement of the Livestock and Pasture Office, Tunisia. Four indigenous breeds: Sicilo-Sarde (SS), Noire de Thibar (NT), Queue Fine de l'Ouest (QFO) and black head (BTN) and red head (BTR) Barbarine were used. Ewes received an estrus synchronization treatment and AI was performed 55 ± 1hours after PMSG administration with fresh or chilled (at 15° C) semen. Our study showed that the fertility of ewes inseminated in out-of-season by the cervical IA technique varied from 32 to 74 % with an average of 47.6 ± 9.9 %. The use of chilled semen significantly (p <0.01) reduced the success rate of AI with 43.8 ± 7.6 % versus 55.9 % ± 9.6 % using the fresh semen. Our results showed the superiority of the SS breed over the Tunisian meat breeds. An important effect of breeding management was detected, showing the importance of preparing ewes before using AI.

Keywords: Cervical insemination, Ewes, Fertility

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