Short Communication
EFFICACY OF PROGESTERONE OR GNRH BASED ESTROUS SYNCHRONIZATION PROTOCOLS IN BEETAL GOATS DURING LOW BREEDING SEASON
Z. R. Farooqi1,2, E. Ahmad1*, M. S. Akhtar1 , T. Ahmad1 , M. I. R. Khan2, Z. Naseer3 , A. Sattar2 and İ. Serin4
1 Department of Clinical Sciences, Faculty of Veterinary Sciences, Bahauddin Zakariya University, Multan Pakistan
2 Department of Theriogenology, Faculty of Veterinary Sciences, University of Veterinary and Animal Sciences, Lahore, Pakistan
3 Faculty of Veterinary and Animal Sciences, Pir Mehr Ali Shah Arid Agriculture University, Rawalpindi, Pakistan
4 Department of Reproduction and Artificial Insemination, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Adnan Menderes University, Aydin, Turkey
* Corresponding author’s email: ejaz.ahmad@bzu.edu.pk
ABSTRACT
The present study was conducted to compare the effect of short-term and long-term progesterone and GnRH-based estrus synchronization protocols on fertility of Beetal goats during low breeding season. The goats (n=63) were divided into three groups to receive intravaginal progesterone sponges for short-term (STP; n = 20; 5days) or long-term (LTP; n = 22; 11days) and Ovsynch estrus synchronization protocols (OVS; n = 21). The STP and LTP treated goats were additionally injected with PGF2α (75µg/doe) and PMSG (300IU/doe) according to schedule for LTP and STP protocol. The OVS goats were administered 1st injection of GnRH (25µg/doe) at day 0, PGF2α at day 7 and 2nd GnRH injection at day 9. The goats were observed for estrus signs and bred at detected estrus using a fertile buck. The results indicated that estrus response, pregnancy rate, litter size, and twining rates were significantly higher (p < 0.05) in STP and LTP than OVS treated groups. In contrast, the variables like intervals from PGF2α treatment to the onset of estrus or estrus to breeding, pregnancy loss and prolificacy rate were similar (p > 0.05) among groups. In conclusions, the short-term intravaginal progesterone-based sponges successfully synchronized the estrus before breeding and could be an effective alternative to conventional long-term progesterone-based or Ovsynch synchronization protocols in Beetal goats. Also, better pregnancy, and kidding rates, with minimal pregnancy loss, could be achieved by employing progesterone-based protocols in Beetal goats.
Keywords: Estrus synchronization, Progesterone, GnRH, Fertility, Goats |