December 2009

Veterinary Practitioner Vol. 10 No' 2

Eprrcacy oF pnooesrERoNE TnearruENTS FoR Oesrnus lruoucrloN

AND

GorucepTtoN tN GOATS DUntruc Noru-Bnreolnc sensoN

Arvind sharmal and Govind Narayan Purohit2

Department of Animal Reproduction, Gynaecology and obstetrics
India
College of Veterinary and Animal Science, Bikaner-334001 , Rajasthan,

ABSTRACT

To induce oestrus out of the season in breeding goats maintained

at a commercial farm were randomly
prepared progesterone(Po) sponges (n=150)
treated with three regimes of progestagen treatments- i) 300
mg
prepared prog"lt"rone (Po) s.ponges tor ia days followed by 300 lu ecG on the day of
for 1g days, ii) 300 mg (n=130) iv) untreated control (n=50)'
po in oit25 mg given daity i/m for 1o days and
implantwithdrawl (n=220) iii) a mature follicle on either of
the presence of
oestrus was detected by vasectomiseo mlles and validated by semen collected from
the ovary seen ultrasonographically. Goats in oestrus *"r" inr".inated with liquid
ultrasonography done every 15 days from day 20 and
bucks. pregnancy diagnosis was done by trasnsrectal goats responded, 36% (54/150)
In treatment witrr'eosponges, 76% (1141150)-of the
followed up to kidding.
and ecG treatment, 80% (1761220) of the
became pregnant ana szkidded normaily (y'abortions). ln .Poipong"t
goatJ aborted whereas 96 kidded normally' In Po
goats responded ,45.5% (1OO:22O) became pregnant ano a"
38 goats
in oittreatment,4g% (64/130) goats re.ponolo,-gz.go/, (21164) became pregnant and with 4 abortions
g% goats came in oestrous but only 9% goats became pregnant' The oestrous
kidded. ln untreated control, only
(p<0.05) in poand Po + eCG treatments as compared to Po in oiltreatment
or
response was significanily higher
(P<0'05) in Po + sg6
was significantly higher
untreated control. The pregnancy rate at induced obstrus
as compareo io e'0, po in oil treatment and control. Although, the oestrous response and pregnancy
treatment
rates were lower in po in oil treatment as compared to Po sponge
treatments' However, they were significantly
lt wis'con"ludeo that progesterone powder impregnated
higher (p<0.05) as compared to untreated control.
and progesterone injections can be used for oestrous induction in goats during the non-breeding
sponges
season.

Key words: Goat, progesterone, oestrus, pregnancy' kidding

lntroduction during the breeding and non-breeding season (fk

Reproductive seasonality is a major limitation
in goat production in sub-tropical and high latitudes
(Delgadillo et al., 2000). Various treatments have
been suggested to control this phenomenon,
including hormonal treatments (Whitley and
Jackson, 2OO4) male effect and alternating
photoperiodic cues (Chemineau et al', 1999)'
bestrous induction by altering photoperiodic cycles
usually involves a sequence of long days (2'5
monthi) followed by short days (Chemineau et al',
1992) or a melatonin implant (Donavan et al', 1994)'
Although photoperiodic alterations offer potential
benefits in bringing goats to oestrus during the non-
breeding season, a long time need to be waited'
Progesterone or progesterone analogues have
gen-rally been used to synchronize oestrus in goats
et at.,1998). The most widely used procedures for
oestrous synchronization are 12 to 21 days
fl u rog eston e acetate (FGA) or med roxyprogesterone
acetate (MAP) impregnated intra-vaginal sponge
treatments (Romano, 1996, 1998; Leboeuf et al',
1998; Romano et al., 2000) and an intramuscular
injection of PMSG at progestagen withdrawl (Ak ef
ui., 1998; Greyling and Van der Nest, 2000;
Moflomelo et al.,2oo2). The effectiveness of different
progestagen treatments is known to be variable
tCorOon, t975', Smith et al., 1981) and the
iorr"r"ially marketed implants are not available
at many locations, and their high cost has led to
development of sponges impregnated Yith
progesterone powder (Naqvi et al', 1996)' The
objective of the present study was thus to compare

lPresent address: Veterinary Officer Palsana, Sikar, Rajasthan, l1di1'

2corresponding author lel: igt 1s1 22023g6; Fax: +91 151 2543419. e-mail: gnpvog@yahoo'co'in

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Veterinary Practitioner Vol. No- 2
the effectiveness of progesterone impregnated
sponges/progesterone injections for oestrous
induction and conception in goats during the non-
breeding season.
Materials and Methods
Animals
The study was carried out at a commercial goat
farm (Madhu farms, NH-11, Balekhan, PO
Govindgarh, Teh. Chomu, Rajasthan, India) during
the non-breeding season (April to June 2006)'using
two breeds- Sirohi and Jamunapari. Non-pregnant
goats aged 2-3 years were maintained on uniform
conditions of feeding and management and
allocated to progestagen treatments for oestrous
induction.
Treatments
Progestagen (Po) sponges were prepared as
per methods described by Naqvi et al. (1996). A small
sponge was cut round and a long silk thread was
tied in the centre. lt was then autoclaved. Crystalline
progesterone powder (Central drug house, New
Delhi) was dissolved in ethanol (Merck, India) in a
quantity so as to give a final concentration of 300
mg progesterone per ml. The sponge was charged
witn 1 ml of the progesterone solution and
introduced in to the vagina of goat using vaginal
speculum and a glass tube. After pushing the sponge
deep in to the vagina, the glass tube and speculum
were withdrawn. Progesterone in oil (Po oil) was
prepared bY dissolving 250 mg of
hydroxyprogesterone caproate (lnj P-Depot,
Sarabhai Zydus India) in 9 ml of vitamin A (lnj Vitamin
A 600,000 Units per ml, Virbac Animal Health,
Mumbai, India) so as to give a final concentration of
25 mg per ml. Goats were randomly allocated to
one of the following treatments i) Po sponge for 18
days, ii) Posponge for 1B days with 300 lU eCG (lnj
foitigon, lhtervet Holland) at sponge withdrawl, iii)
Po in oil 25 mg daily lM injection for 10 days and iv)
uitreated control. Goats in treatment i, ii and iv were
Table 1: oestrus response, oestrus onset after last treatment and pregnancy rate
different progestagen treatments during non-breeding season'
Number of animals Oestrous response
Treatment
treated
150 114 (76%)"
P4 sponge
220 176 (80)%)
P4 sponge + eCG
130 64 (4e%)
P4 in oil
04 (0e%)
Control 50
Figures in parantheses represent percentage. Figures with different superscripts
December 2009
also injected with two injections of 2 ml of vitamin A
given 3 days aPart.
Oestrus detection and breeding
Oestrus was detected daily by parading a
vasectomised buck twice daily starting from the day
of completion of the P4 treatments. Transrectal
ultrasonography was done on the day of oestrus and
at 15 day interval starting from day 2O ol mating to
record the follicular growth and pregnancy by using
a linear array 5.0 MHz transrectal (5.0L BPL, lndia)'
Goats were inseminated from 24-36 h of oestrus
detection with liquid semen collected from South
African Boehr bucks, diluted with Tris buffer and kept
in a refrigerator (used within 4B hours of dilution) as
methods described by Purohit (2001). The pregnancy
rates were calculated from actual kiddings.
Statisfica I analYsis
The oestrous response percentage, oestrous
induction interval and the pregnancy rates were
compared by chisquare test. The effect of different
treatments on the oestrous induction and pregnancy
rates was compared by analysis of variance.
Results
The results in terms of oestrous response in
the three treatment groups were significantly higher
(P.0.05) as compared to control. Within the
treatments, the combination of P, sponge and eCG
treatment yielded the highest oestrous response
but, these were non-significantly higher compared
to Po sponge treatment alone, but significantly higher
(P.0.05) as compared to daily Po injections and
control. The oestrus onset took significantly lower
time in Po + eCG treatment as compared to Posponge
alone or Po in oil injections. The oestrus onset was
significantli (P<0.05) delayed in Po in oil injection
treatments (Table 1). At oestrus, follicles of 6 to 9
mm were visible over either of the ovaries' The
oestrous duration varied between 26.3 ! 2'4 to
28.3x2.5 hours in the three treatments but was non-
significantly different.
in goats treated with
Oestrous onset Pregnancy rate
(per cent)
24.6t2.4" 36.0"
22.7t1.8" 45.50
46.913.2" 32.3"
4.O"
in the same column differ significantly (P<0'05)'
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Veterinary Practitioner Vot' 10 No' 2

hig.her Gt
at day 20 The pregnancy rates were significantly
Pregnancy could be diagnosed easily in Po + eCb tLatment as compared to P4' P4 in oil or
hypoechoic foetus Kr
post-insJmination by finding.the The control. However' the pregnancy rates :"tl 1:t Le
lumen'
rig.lii""ntly different foi ttre P, and Po in
i;;" anechoic fluid within the uterine otl
diagnosis at
sensitivity and specificity of pregnancy treatments. The pregnancy rates repbrted
previously Le
of the goats diagnosed
this stage was low, as a few *Lr" 64 and 70% ior treatment with norgestomet Mr
were later
to be either pregnant or non-pregnant and progesterone implants respectively
(Kusina ef N:
fourrd to be incoriect' However'
all animals that were
,1., Z'OOO). Likewise pi"gn"ncy rates varied between
ij"gt"t"o to be pregnant ?t 3: days of pregnancy 65.2 to 73.7% for oestrous induction
using Nt
resulting
by ultrasonogruphy iiOO"O subsequently of 100%
Pr
of FGA, MAP, PMSG and PGF2 alpha
.otOinutions
n"gutiVe predictive value 2005)' The
into a positive
"nJ and the cotyledons in Anatolian black does (Nur ef at'' study are Pt
at this time. Tfre comflete foetus
Or"nnancy rates recorded in this
at day 50 of pregnancy' recorded
could be easily visualized comparatively lower than the earlier in goats
The pregnancy rates were significantly as .on"uption rates of 51 '7 to 87'5%
(P.0.05) higher-in the P, 1 eCG treatments sponges
rfn.r'rrf nized with intravaginal progestagen season
fompared to eo alone or el in oil' An exceptionally
breeding and non-breeding
goats oiiting thee
small proportion of unireated control
subsequently f et al.' t ggO; Gieyling and Van der Nest 2000;
evidenced ou=ir.ous and kidded f
"titut This could
Motlomelo et at.,iooz; ttur et a/., 2005). geographic
during the studY Period' possibty be due to differences in breed'
iocation or the detrimental effects of
oestrous
Discussion transport and survival in
The oestrous response during the
pre-sent study synchronization on sperm
and Robinson'
was significantiy higher with^the use of prepared the female reproductive tract (Pearce for
compared to Po The preOictive values of ultrasonography
,Jong"t used with eCG as 1985).
features
"iont-otfor 10 days' Various forms of diagnosis and
pi"gnun"y the sonographic
in oil daily injections to earlier
progestagens and different methods
of recorded in present study are similar
induce oestrus et at', tb88; Doize et al'' 1997;
uOt]nirtr"tion have been used in to reports lceartrari that
Wildeus' 1999)' Similar Gonzalez et al', 2004)' lt was concluded
t,q*""fl anO Cetaye, 1990; Mashona goats were sponges impregnated with progesterone powder or
io the present study when
treated with norgesiomet ear implants
or natural piog;tt"tone iiiections 9an be used for oestrous
season'
progesteronu tptnges,. 92 a.nd B3% were bred' indr]ction in goais during the non-breeding
respectivery, witirin It days (Kusina et al'' 2000)'
vaginal Acknowledgements
Similarly, treatment of goats with MAPPMSG at The authors are thankful to M/S Madhu
Farms'
sponges in combination *itf' ZOO
lU of lndia for allowing
goats Govindgarh, Chomu, Rajasthan'
,pon!" withdrawl allowed 100% of Damascus proportion of to undertake Present studY'
be mated (zairawi et al., lggg). The
to
-gyptian goats expressing oestrus when they were
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