Table 2.
Fertility Parameters.
| Characteristics | Optimal Vitamin C | (n) | Low Vitamin C | (n) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Oestrous cycle length (days) | 15.9 ± 0.7 | 35 | 15.8 ± 0.7 | 38 |
| Unsuccessful matings (n = total matings) | 30 (34.9%) | 86 | 62 (51.7%) * | 120 |
| Failure to establish pregnancy (n = total females) | 1 (2.9%) | 35 | 2 (5.3%) | 38 |
| Failure to sire progeny (n = total males) | 1 (7.7%) | 13 | 4 (23.5%) | 17 |
| Reproductive success rate (n = total animals) | 95.8% | 48 | 89.1% | 55 |
Oestrous cycle length is presented as group means ± SD and was analysed using the Mann–Whitney test. Unsuccessful matings, failure to establish pregnancy, and failure to sire progeny are presented as absolute counts with the proportion of the total shown in brackets. The overall reproductive success rate includes the total animals that were enrolled in the study. Fisher’s exact test was used to compare proportions. * indicates significance at p < 0.05.