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Journal of American Science
Science Journals
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Abstract: |
The present work was performed to study the effect of dietary copper sulphate (CuSO4) supplementation
on the performance of ewes and rams during the period from March to December. A total number of forty Baladi
(25 ewes and 15 rams) were randomly distributed into five treatment groups (5 ewes and 3 rams each). The first
group was kept as a control and was fed the basal diet hay (64.2%) and barley grain (35.0%) plus minerals and
vitamins (0.8%). Groups 2, 3, 4 and 5 were fed the basal diet supplemented with 5, 10, 15 and 20 mg of copper
sulphate (CuSO4) per kg of diet /ewe/day, respectively. Reproductive performance, some physiological and blood
parameters and semen traits were studied. The results showed that increasing the levels of CuSO4 in the diet had the
tendency to improve oestrus response, pregnancy and lambing rates, however, the differences between the control
and the supplemented groups were not significant. The litter size at lambing as well as at weaning tended to be
higher in supplemented copper groups than control one, however the differences failed to reach significant. At birth,
lambs born from ewes fed the highest level of Cu SO4 (20 mg/kg) had higher average body weight than those born
from ewes fed 0 (control), 5 or 10 mg/kg of Cu SO4. At weaning, average body weight of lambs nursing ewes
supplemented with 5, 10, 15, and 20 mg/kg of Cu SO4 was significantly (P<0.05) higher than lambs of control ewes.
Pre weaning gains of lambs were significantly (P<0.05) improved in the groups supplemented with 5, 10, 15, and 20
mg/kg of Cu SO4 as compared to control group.Supplementation of copper to the dietary increased (P < 0.05)
ejaculate volume, sperm concentration, sperm mass motility and individual sperm motility with all treated groups (5,
10, 15, and 20 mg/kg of Cu SO4) as compared to the control group. The results showed that increasing the levels of
CuSO4 in the dietary had the tendency to effect packed cell volume (PCV), red blood cell count (RBC), white blood
cell counts (WBC) and hemoglobin (Hb) content as compared to the control group. No significant differences were
observed in mean PCV among supplemented and non supplemented CuSO4 groups. RBC and Plasma Hb values
increased significantly (P < 0.05) with increasing Cu SO4 levels in the dietary. In contrast, WBC values decreased
(P < 0.05) gradually with increasing Cu SO4 contents in the diets.
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