HEART-RATE RESPONSES AND PLASMA-CORTISOL CONCENTRATIONS IN EWES - COMPARISON BETWEEN CERVICAL AND LAPAROSCOPIC INTRAUTERINE INSEMINATION AND THEIR ASSOCIATED HANDLING PROCEDURES

This study consisted of two experiments. In experiment 1, stress respo nses of sheep which were restrained either in a laparoscopy cradle or a roll-over cradle were compared. The results of this experiment indic ated that restraint in roll-over cradle is less (P < 0.05) stressful t han that in a laparoscopy cradle when assessed in terms of the elevati on and duration of both the mean heart rate and plasma cortisol respon ses. Experiment 2 compared the stress responses of sheep subjected to restraint in a laparoscopy cradle, restraint in a laparoscopy cradle w ith intrauterine artificial insemination (AI) by laparoscopy, minimal restraint with cervical Al or restraint in a roll-over cradle plus foo t-trimming. All treatments resulted in significant elevations in both heart rate and plasma cortisol concentrations (P < 0.001). The peak he art rate was significantly (P < 0.05) higher in ewes subjected to cerv ical Al than in those subjected to intrauterine insemination, with oth er treatments intermediate. The peak cortisol response did not differ among different treatments. The duration over which both the mean hear t rate and plasma cortisol concentrations remained significantly eleva ted above pre-treatment concentrations did not differ among treatment groups. The results of this study suggest that while restraint using a laparoscopy cradle is more stressful than that using a rollover cradl e, the stress inflicted by intrauterine insemination by laparoscopy it self is no greater than that due to restraint using the laparoscopy cr adle alone, cervical Al or the management practice of foot-trimming us ing a rollover cradle.