Omega-6 diet prior to pregnancy results in more male sheep offsprings

by rpshen | June 9, 2008 at 03:55 pm

1874 views | 6 Recommendations | 47 comments

Recent research shows that a maternal diet high in omega-6 polyunsaturated fatty acid increases the chances of having male offsprings in sheep. One must wonder if farmers will start feeding their animals differently in order to produce the desire sex ratio.

Research published today in BioMed Central's open access journal Reproductive Biology and Endocrinology has demonstrated that ewes fed a diet enriched with polyunsaturated fats for one month prior to conception have a significantly higher chance of giving birth to male offspring. This study was carried out by a team of researchers from the Division of Animal Sciences at the University of Missouri and led by R Michael Roberts. Roberts explains how diet at the time of conception is the most important factor when it comes to influencing the sex of the offspring.

Polyunsaturated fats are essential nutrients. It is believed that the dietary ratio between omega-3 and omega-6 fats has important biological effects, especially in terms of inflammation, immunity and central nervous system signalling. The omega-6 fats used in this study were protected from digestion by naturally occurring rumen bacteria to ensure that they would be absorbed through the intestines of the sheep.

According to Roberts "This is the first experimental study in controlled conditions showing that supplementing maternal diet, in this case by increasing omega-6 polyunsaturated fatty acid intake, can skew the sex ratio towards males in a farm species."

These findings will be important to the livestock industry. As Roberts points out "Increasing the amount of fat in feed during the breeding period could provide a means of controlling the sex ratio of offspring born to a herd or flock."

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djshmerrill

at 15:44 on June 11th, 2008

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jnavarra

at 17:57 on June 11th, 2008

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Sara @ Three Storey Studio

at 18:26 on June 11th, 2008

This photo was taken in Kerry Co. Ireland March 2005.

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Meredith Leigh Collins

at 19:56 on June 11th, 2008

These are photographs of Dall sheep at the Anchorage zoo.

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Faith.G

at 19:56 on June 11th, 2008

These photos were taken in Lory State Park, at Arthur's Rock in Ft Collins, Colorado. It was a great hike and a lucky day for me and my camera.

Thanks for enjoying my work.

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stevenoliver08

at 20:22 on June 11th, 2008

this sheep was about to come out but decided to take a nap on the rope

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dakokichidekalb

at 20:33 on June 11th, 2008

it was a reeeaallly hot day and so, of course the sheep decided to huddle tightly together in the sunniest place possible.

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ditzygrly

at 20:41 on June 11th, 2008

all of my sheep pictures, were taken in Denali National Park in Alaska

pnwguy

at 21:05 on June 11th, 2008

Photo was taken on the bank of the Colorado River, about 4 miles south of Hoover Dam

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benstarbrains

at 21:10 on June 11th, 2008

Photos taken near Shephards Lookout, Canberra Australia

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carl.ayling

at 21:26 on June 11th, 2008

This shot was taken on Comrie Farm in Perthshire, Scotland in Spring 2008. Both sheep and deer are farmed with the population of the latter strictly controlled by legislature.

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ShawnHasIssues

at 21:28 on June 11th, 2008

This photo was taken on the way to the Parowan Gap, Utah petroglyphs.

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pasotraspaso

at 22:03 on June 11th, 2008

Thnks!
let's enjoy!
Jesus

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spycute

at 22:16 on June 11th, 2008

on The road to Bhumthung, while we are driving a car up to the Dochula mountain, both of them are across the road .just that.!

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Stephen Morrow

at 23:04 on June 11th, 2008

This photo is taken at Castlerigg Stone Circles, in the Lake District of Nth West England.

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Pete Roberts (rhayader_wanderer)

at 00:23 on June 12th, 2008

Taken on the Black mountains looking towards Waun Fach

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jphphotography

at 00:30 on June 12th, 2008

This photo was taken in a village near Ji Xian in China. This was next on the chopping block (set up at the side of the road) and its bleating really sounded haunting. It was a dreary day already and seeing this was a little depressing.

James Hildebrandt

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spitch

at 02:38 on June 12th, 2008

This photo was taken at a small petting zoo at an event in Ottawa few weeks ago.

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Ian Mears

at 03:39 on June 12th, 2008

Taken at a Berber market in Morocco near Telouet.

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smoncrieff

at 03:50 on June 12th, 2008

Taken April 2008 in Aberdeenshire, Scotland

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pieterstok

at 04:36 on June 12th, 2008

This picture was taken in the rustic area of the Pyrenees.

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abitmoor

at 04:49 on June 12th, 2008

Photo taken of the B3212 on Dartmoor (SW England). At night the warmth of the road attracts animals from adjacent moorland.

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wandelgraaf

at 06:34 on June 12th, 2008

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wandelgraaf

at 06:37 on June 12th, 2008

photo take 07-06-2008 of a herd of sheeps who are re -introduced system in the Netherlands of keeping fields, moors and forest vegetatian in balance the natural way, instes vy man-hand

rowena.williamson52

at 07:16 on June 12th, 2008

The sheep shown are not the sheep that spend most of their lives on beaches. Only at lambing time are they brought up to pastures.

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waymarkerphotos

at 08:38 on June 12th, 2008

This is a buff sheep on one of our Waymarker.ca resorts.

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itison

at 08:43 on June 12th, 2008

some sheep in donegal on a sunny day. some were slightly shaved!

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rustumlongpig

at 08:50 on June 12th, 2008

Alpacca in Cumbria. These are becoming more popular as farmers diversify after the collapse of the dairy industry in UK They are protective towards sheep and provide fine wool. they are also a curious creature to be seen where once only friesian cattle roamed!

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