title: Sexually active bucks are able to stimulate three successive groups of females per day with a 4-hour period of contact.
abstract: Bucks rendered sexually active by a photoperiod treatment of long days can induce fertile ovulation in a group of goats with only 4 h of contact daily with a male:female ratio of 1:10. Here we tested whether such bucks could induce fertile ovulations when stimulating successively three different groups of anovulatory goats when interacting 4 h per day during 15 consecutive days. Control males (n=3) were introduced in the control group (n=25) of does at 8:00 h and were removed at 12:00 h. Experimental males (n=3) were in contact with the experimental groups of does: from 8:00 h to 12:00 h with a first group (n=27), from 12:00 h to 16:00 h with a second group (n=26) and with a third one (n=27) from 16:00 h to 20:00 h. Bucks were then placed until next day in another pen. Both in the control and the experimental groups, more than 85% of females ovulated, and the proportions did not differ between the control and experimental groups (P≥0.67) or between the three experimental groups (P≥0.67). Moreover, the ovulation rate did not differ significantly between the control and the experimental females nor between the three experimental groups. Bucks were able to fertilize more than 72% of does independently of the number of females they were exposed to (P≥0.17). Finally, more than 58% of females kidded and fertility did not differ between the control and experimental groups (P=1) nor among experimental groups (P≥0.77). We conclude that sexually active bucks are able to induce fertile ovulation in three successive groups of anovulatory goats even when the period of contact between sexes is reduced to 4 h per day.
authors.affiliation: Centro de Investigación en Reproducción Caprina, Universidad Autónoma Agraria Antonio Narro, Periférico Raúl López Sánchez y Carretera a Sante Fe, C.P. 27054, Torreón, Coahuila, Mexico.
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Bedos
authors.forename: H
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Velázquez
authors.forename: G
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Fitz-Rodríguez
authors.forename: J A
authors.initials: JA
authors.lastname: Flores
authors.forename: H
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Hernández
authors.forename: G
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Duarte
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Vielma
authors.forename: I G
authors.initials: IG
authors.lastname: Fernández
authors.forename: M S
authors.initials: MS
authors.lastname: Retana-Márquez
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Muñoz-Gutiérrez
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Keller
authors.forename: J A
authors.initials: JA
authors.lastname: Delgadillo
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D005260:Female; D005298:Fertility / Q000502:physiology*; D006041:Goats; D008297:Male; D010060:Ovulation / Q000502:physiology*; D017440:Photoperiod; D055101:Semen Analysis / Q000379:methods; D012726:Sexual Behavior, Animal / Q000502:physiology*; D013997:Time Factors