Association of fertility with group mating behavior in ewes

•Greater estrus expression was associated to increased fertility in adult ewes.•Greater estrus expression was linked to increased number of lambs born.•Greater estrus expression was linked to increased survival of the embryo.•Ewes with greater estrus expression had increased concentrations of estradiol. It was hypothesized that values for fertility variables would vary with number of rams ewes mated with in a group mating management system. In Experiment 1, for adult ewes (n = 872) joined with rams for 35–38 days, 19.0 ± 2.2 %, 19.2 ± 3.5 %, 34.4 ± 1.3 % and 27.4 ± 3.3 % were marked by zero, one, two or three rams during the first 17 days, respectively. In general, as number of rams with which ewes mated increased, number of lambs born (NLB) increased, however, ovulation rate (OR) did not. In mated ewes, embryo survival (ES) increased (P < 0.05) as number of rams with which ewes mated increased. In Experiment 2, ewes that mated with zero or one ram had lesser concentrations of estradiol than ewes that mated with two or three rams when evaluated 30 h after initiation of the follicular phase. Following breeding on the subsequent estrus, number of fetuses at mid-gestation was less in ewes that had mated, in the previous estrus, with zero or one ram compared to two or three rams. In summary, ewes mating with a larger number of rams had greater values for the fertility variables that were evaluated compared with those mating with fewer rams. When ewes mated with fewer rams during the estrous period there were lesser concentrations of estradiol, potentially associated with the decreased ES.