The Effects of Short and Long Term Medroxy Progesterone Acetate (MAP) Sponge Treatments on Reproductive Performance during the Non-Breeding Season of Arabian Ewes

The aim of this study was to evaluate the reproductive efficiency of short and long term treatment with pro-gestagens in addition to pregnant mare serum gonadotropin (PMSG) in Arabian ewes during the non-breeding season. A total of 56 ewes were divided into three groups: in group I vaginal sponges (60 mg me-droxy progesterone acetate; MAP) were applied and removed after 6 days; in group II, vaginal MAP sponges were removed 14 days following insertion while group III served as control group. The first two groups were intramuscularly injected with of 600 IU PMSG, following sponge removal. Parameters such as estrus response rate, duration of estrus, pregnancy rate and fecundity were evaluated. There were no signifi-cant differences in estrus response rate and fecundity rate between groups I and II (P > 0.05). However, dif-ferences were significant when these two treatment groups were coMAPred with control group. In group I, duration of estrus was significantly higher than group II (P < 0.05). In addition, pregnancy rate in group I was significantly higher than group II (P < 0.05). It was concluded that short-term sponge treatment (6 days) had better performance when coMAPred with long-term sponge treatment (14 days) in Arabian ewes.