Different Sources of Protein Effect in the Flushing Rations on some Blood Parameters and the Reproductive Performance of Ghezel Sheep

Sixty Ghezel ewes (age 3.5 years) were used to study the effect of different nitrogenous supplements in flushing ration on reproductive performance. Experimental treatments were divided in five groups: group A: urea; group B: soybean meal (SBM); group C: corn gluten meal (CGM); group D: barley grain and group E: control or basal diet (no flushing). The four flushing rations had nearly the same amounts of nitrogen and energy (crude protein (CP)=10.5% and metabolizable (ME)=2.1 Mcal/kg). CGM and control groups had the highest and lowest number of progeny, respectively (16 vs. 9 lambs). Flushing rations increased average blood glucose, insulin and blood serum protein compared to the control group; however, glucose, insulin, cholesterol and BUN reached their highest levels in SBM, CGM, barley and urea treatments, respectively. Using suitable protein sources especially bypass or rumen undegradable protein (such as CGM) in the flushing ration can improve the reproductive performance and herd recovery efficiency, maximizing profitability of sheep farming enterprise.