The effects of dose of oestrogen and season on the expression of oestrous behaviour was studied in 60 spayed and 16 intact ewes.
In progesterone-primed spayed ewes the incidence and duration of oestrous behaviour increased and the interval between injection of oestrogen, and onset of oestrous behaviour decreased as the dose of oestrogen was increased. The linear regression of duration of oestrus on log dose of injected oestrogen provided the most precise measure of the effect of changing dose level of oestrogen on oestrous behaviour.
The sensitivity of spayed ewes to constant levels of oestrogen increased to a maximum near the middle of the breeding season and then declined to a minimum during the non-breeding season. In progesterone-synchronized intact ewes the interval between the end of progesterone treatment and onset of oestrus was at a minimum, and duration of oestrus at a maximum, near the middle of the breeding season. By bioassay it was estimated that endogenous oestrogen production was greater near the middle of the breeding season than at either the beginning or end.
It is concluded that seasonal variation in the expression of oestrous behaviour in intact ewes is controlled by changes in both the production of endogenous oestrogen and the sensitivity of ewes to it.
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