EFFECT OF THE LUNAR PERIOD ON SHEEP REPRODUCTION

José Evânio  da Costa Siebra; Tatiana Gouveia Pinto  Costa; Davi Nogueira Maciel  Alves; Ednaldo Barbosa  Pereira Junior; Hugo  Vieira; Francisco  de Sales Oliveira Filho

Authors

José Evânio da Costa Siebra
Tatiana Gouveia Pinto Costa
Davi Nogueira Maciel Alves
Ednaldo Barbosa Pereira Junior
Hugo Vieira
Francisco de Sales Oliveira Filho

Keywords:

Moon Phases, Crossbred Sheep, Offspring Sex, Paraíba Backlands, Sheep Reproduction

Abstract

The study aimed to evaluate the reproductive performance of sheep according to the lunar phases. Twenty crossbred Dorper females, 20 crossbred Santa Inês females aged between 2 and 4 years, and two two-year-old PO male Dorper and Santa Inês males were used. The study was conducted at the Sheep Production Education Unit of the Animal Science Department of the Federal Institute of Paraíba, Sousa-PB Campus (IFPB), and lasted three and a half years. Controlled breeding procedures were used, where the males were confined in their own stalls, and each female in estrus, identified by the bullfighter in a semi-intensive grazing system, was led and placed with the male for a period of 12 hours. The breeding animals were kept in stables according to the breeder's breed criteria, with no breeding season or estrus stimulation through hormones. There was also no crossbreeding (mating between breeds). Data collection was performed according to the lunar phases established by the Brazilian National Observatory (ONB), which corresponded to the lunar phase with maximum thirst up to two days before and two days after the date of interest. The variables studied were offspring sex (SP), gestation length (TG), and birth weight (BW). Statistical analysis used to evaluate the proportion of male and female births related to the lunar phase used Fisher's exact test at a 5% probability level. Analysis of variance was used to assess the effects of lunar phase, type of delivery, and breed on birth weight and gestation length, with post-hoc Tukey's test at a 5% probability level of significance. R software (R Core Team; 2023) was used for all analyses. Laboratory analyses were performed at the Animal Parasitology Laboratory of the Department of Veterinary Medicine of the Federal Institute of Paraíba (IFPB). Based on the results obtained, it was possible to determine that the waning moon phase influences the reproductive process of sheep.

DOI: https://doi.org/10.56238/sevened2025.034-006