الفهرس 
AcknowledgmentsOnly 14 pages are availabe for public view
 |  | from | 78 |  |  |
| | | from | 78 | | |
Abstract
This study was carried out at the Experimental farm of animal production Department, Faculty of Agriculture , Assiut University, Egypt.
A total of Thirty six Saidi pregnant ewes at late pregnancy had almost similar average body weight (48kg) were divided at first before lambing into two groups control and treatment with vitamin D injection, each group 18 ewes. Ewes were assigned after lambing into 4 comparable groups (9 each) as follow:
group 1 (CC) Neither dams nor lambs treated of vitamin D.
group 2 (CT) Dams not treated, lambs treated of vitamin D.
group 3 (TC) Dams treated, lambs not treated of vitamin D.
group 4 (TT) Both dams and lambs treated of vitamin D (Control group).
Treated ewes were injected three doses of vitamin D every week for three weeks by 500000 IU, while suckling lambs were injected vitamin D with 100000 IU after two weeks of birth and then every month until weaning. The objective of this study was to evaluate the impact of Vitamin D injection on body weight, daily gain, milk yield, milk components, blood components and reproductive performance of pregnant ewes and daily gain, blood components and mortality on their lambs during suckling period.
Milk samples were taken weekly throughout the suckling period from all experimental ewes. The samples were taken in the morning and afternoon and then both samples were mixed together for the chemical analysis. Milk samples (50ml) were analyzed for fat, protein, and lactose. Blood samples were collected from ewes then biweekly and lambs monthly intervals after one week treated by vitamin D. Blood Samples were analyzed for serum concentration of total protiens, albumin, globulin, total cholesterol, glucose and calcium.
Birth weight was recorded then lambs were weighed every two weeks up to weaning. body weight gain was calculated. Survival rate (%), Live lambs per born lambs were calculated every 15 days after parturition till weaning.
Some reproductive performance measured by pregnancy period, No of lambed ewes/No of ewes inseminated and No of total lambs produced/ ewes inseminated and twinning rate as measured by No of total lambs produced/ ewe lambed.
The obtained results indicate that :
1- There was no significant effect of vitamin D injection on body weight (BW).However, the treated vitamin D ewes tended to be higher body weight at the end of experimental period than that of control ones.
2- There are a significant effect of vitamin D injection on body weight (BW) of lambs. Vitamin D injection increased (P<0.05) BW about 41.9, 68.9 and 99.8in favor of CT, TC and TT groups, respectively.
3- Maternal supplementation with vitamin D in late pregnancy did not have any significant effect on milk yield and and its composition. However, ewes subjected with vitamin D supplement tended to be more milk yield compared to control ones (600.67vs.575.98). In the same trend, all trend all results of milk composition they were better in favor of treatment compared to control with exception of milk fat.
4- serum total protein of vitamin D-treated ewes was significantly (P> 0.05) higher than that of control. Also, serum concentration of albumin, globulin, glucose, calcium, cholesterol and vitamin D show an improvement in treatment ewes compared to control. Total protein , calcium and vitamin D concentrations of ewes blood serum tended to increased by about 5.2, 6.0 and 11% in favor of vitamin D- treated ewes. On contrast, results of blood parameter for lambs show that serum total protein was not affected by treatments. But (TT and TC groups) tended to be higher values than those of control ones. Serum globulin concentration increased by 7.8% in vitamin D treated ewes, the corresponding values for treated lambs born to treated ewes was 10.6%.
5- Serum concentration of cholesterol in serum of ewes was not affected by vitamin D injection, on the contrary, results of serum concentration of cholesterol in lambs was significantly lower in vitamin D treated animals than that of control. serum concentration of cholesterol decreased by about 17.6,18.8 and 23.8% due to vitamin treatment in CT,TC and TT lambs; respectively.
6- ` calcium concentration in serum of vitamin D treated ewes and lambs tended to be increased.
7- Supplementation of ewes with three intramuscular doses of 500,000IU vitamin D injection during late pregnancy period improved fertility rates.
9- Vitamin D injection improved survival rate, while mortality rate, tended to be higher in lambs born to control ewes compared to those born to vitamin D- treated ewes.
In Conclusion, Injection of vitamin D at late pregnancy of ewes and lambs during suckling period may improved productive and reproductive performance of ewes and their lamb survival .