Some factors affecting the reproductive capacity of hair rams in the American tropics Reproductive characterization of hair rams

Abstract

reproductive capacity of hair rams in the American Tropics.

Design/ Methodology/ Approach: Scientific databases as Web of Science, PubmEd, Scopus, Redalyc, Scholar Google, Dialnet, SciELO and Latindex containing scientific information were reviewed and analyzed to describe nutrition, libido and semen characteristics in hair rams.

Results: nutrition has been reported to affect sperm production, libido, testosterone, and testicular development. Rams start puberty at varying age, therefore with different weight, scrotal circumference, and semen characteristics. In regard to breed, scrotal circumference and semen characteristics are very diverse. Regarding age, semen quality is lower in young rams than in adults. According to the season, there were better semen characteristics in dry seasons in Mexico and in Brazil in the humid season.

Study limitations/ Implications: information on nutrition, libido, semen characteristics, and scrotal circumference of hair ram breeds is poorly known or non-existent.

Findings/ Conclusions: the onset of puberty in hair rams is highly variable. The Blackbelly and Santa Inés rams had the best semen characteristics. Young rams have inferior semen quality. In Mexico, rams have better semen characteristics in the dry season, while in Brazil this occurs in the humid season.