TY  - JOUR
AU  - Maksimović, Nevena
AU  - Hristov, Slavča
AU  - Milovanović, Aleksandar
AU  - Barna, Tomislav
AU  - Stojanov, Igor
AU  - Cekić, Bogdan
AU  - Milošević-Stanković, Ivana
PY  - 2021
UR  - http://aspace.agrif.bg.ac.rs/handle/123456789/6233
AB  - The drive to mate females is variable among the rams and can have a major impact on sheep production. Androgen testosterone may be a key mediator within the expression of various morphological and behavioural traits in mammals, but the factors un-derlying individual variation in circulating testosterone levels are poorly understood. The aim of this study was to investigate the development of sexual behaviour patterns in ram lambs as well as the role of testosterone in the expression of their libido. Research was carried out on the sheep farm of the Institute for Animal Husbandry, Belgrade, Serbia. The study included 20 crossbred ram lambs (autochthonous breed Pirot Pramenka x Merinolandschaf x Ile de France). All ram lambs used in the study were of same age and rearing conditions. They were weaned at 2 months of age and kept indoors from birth throughout the whole study. Animals were introduced in the study at the age of 3 months and the trial was completed at the rams’ age of 17 months. Blood samples for testosterone levels were taken bimonthly (at the age of 3, 5, 7, 9, 11, 13, 15 and 17 months), as well as were male-female and male-male interactions recorded. Male-female interactions included the following elements of behaviour: nosing (or anogenital sniffing), pawing, flehmen response, attempted mounts. Also, duration of all male activities directed towards ewe was recorded (male-female interactions in total). Male-male interactions involved the frequency of male-male mounts. Performed investigations showed that sexual behaviour of rams was age dependent, but poorly correlated to serum testosterone. The average serum testosterone levels ranged from 1.83-13.28 ng/mL, and were age dependant (P<0.05). Male-female oriented behaviour developed linearly with age, while male-male specific behaviour was characterized by high intensity in young age and then pronounced variability in later test periods. None of the studied behavioural interactions were high-ly correlated to serum testosterone. These findings support standpoint of more than one factor influencing development of sexual behaviour of ram lambs. © 2021, Massimo Morgante. All rights reserved.
T2  - Large Animal Review
T2  - Large Animal Review
T1  - Development of sexual behaviour in ram lambs and its correlation to serum testosterone
EP  - 34
IS  - 1
SP  - 31
VL  - 27
UR  - https://hdl.handle.net/21.15107/rcub_agrospace_6233
ER  - 

@article{
author = "Maksimović, Nevena and Hristov, Slavča and Milovanović, Aleksandar and Barna, Tomislav and Stojanov, Igor and Cekić, Bogdan and Milošević-Stanković, Ivana",
year = "2021",
abstract = "The drive to mate females is variable among the rams and can have a major impact on sheep production. Androgen testosterone may be a key mediator within the expression of various morphological and behavioural traits in mammals, but the factors un-derlying individual variation in circulating testosterone levels are poorly understood. The aim of this study was to investigate the development of sexual behaviour patterns in ram lambs as well as the role of testosterone in the expression of their libido. Research was carried out on the sheep farm of the Institute for Animal Husbandry, Belgrade, Serbia. The study included 20 crossbred ram lambs (autochthonous breed Pirot Pramenka x Merinolandschaf x Ile de France). All ram lambs used in the study were of same age and rearing conditions. They were weaned at 2 months of age and kept indoors from birth throughout the whole study. Animals were introduced in the study at the age of 3 months and the trial was completed at the rams’ age of 17 months. Blood samples for testosterone levels were taken bimonthly (at the age of 3, 5, 7, 9, 11, 13, 15 and 17 months), as well as were male-female and male-male interactions recorded. Male-female interactions included the following elements of behaviour: nosing (or anogenital sniffing), pawing, flehmen response, attempted mounts. Also, duration of all male activities directed towards ewe was recorded (male-female interactions in total). Male-male interactions involved the frequency of male-male mounts. Performed investigations showed that sexual behaviour of rams was age dependent, but poorly correlated to serum testosterone. The average serum testosterone levels ranged from 1.83-13.28 ng/mL, and were age dependant (P<0.05). Male-female oriented behaviour developed linearly with age, while male-male specific behaviour was characterized by high intensity in young age and then pronounced variability in later test periods. None of the studied behavioural interactions were high-ly correlated to serum testosterone. These findings support standpoint of more than one factor influencing development of sexual behaviour of ram lambs. © 2021, Massimo Morgante. All rights reserved.",
journal = "Large Animal Review, Large Animal Review",
title = "Development of sexual behaviour in ram lambs and its correlation to serum testosterone",
pages = "34-31",
number = "1",
volume = "27",
url = "https://hdl.handle.net/21.15107/rcub_agrospace_6233"
}

Maksimović, N., Hristov, S., Milovanović, A., Barna, T., Stojanov, I., Cekić, B.,& Milošević-Stanković, I.. (2021). Development of sexual behaviour in ram lambs and its correlation to serum testosterone. in Large Animal Review, 27(1), 31-34.
https://hdl.handle.net/21.15107/rcub_agrospace_6233

Maksimović N, Hristov S, Milovanović A, Barna T, Stojanov I, Cekić B, Milošević-Stanković I. Development of sexual behaviour in ram lambs and its correlation to serum testosterone. in Large Animal Review. 2021;27(1):31-34.
https://hdl.handle.net/21.15107/rcub_agrospace_6233 .

Maksimović, Nevena, Hristov, Slavča, Milovanović, Aleksandar, Barna, Tomislav, Stojanov, Igor, Cekić, Bogdan, Milošević-Stanković, Ivana, "Development of sexual behaviour in ram lambs and its correlation to serum testosterone" in Large Animal Review, 27, no. 1 (2021):31-34,
https://hdl.handle.net/21.15107/rcub_agrospace_6233 .