| Issue |
Reprod. Nutr. Dev.
Volume 46, Number 6, November-December 2006
|
|
|---|---|---|
| Page(s) | 657 - 661 | |
| DOI | https://doi.org/10.1051/rnd:2006039 | |
| Published online | 15 December 2006 | |
DOI: 10.1051/rnd:2006039
Positive correlation between the body weight of anestrous goats and their response to the male effect with sexually active bucks
Francisco G. Véliza, Pascal Poindronb, Benoît Malpauxb and J. Alberto Delgadilloaa Centro de Investigación en Reproducción Caprina, Universidad Autónoma Agraria Antonio Narro, Periférico Raúl López Sánchez y Carretera a Santa Fe, CP 27054, Torreón, Coahuila, México
b Physiologie de la Reproduction et des Comportements, UMR 6175 INRA-CNRS-Université de Tours-Haras Nationaux, INRA, 37380 Nouzilly, France
(Received 17 February 2006; accepted 7 July 2006; published online 15 December 2006)
Abstract - In the present study, we analyzed the results of two
years of response to the male effect in seasonally anestrous goats to
investigate whether the activation of female reproductive activity by the
male effect is related to the body weight of the females. Seventy-nine
adult female Mexican mixed breed goats were used. The anestrous females were
exposed during 15 days to sexually active males, and were classified into
three categories according to their mean body weight 
SD (42 9 kg)
(Light: 
33 kg, n = 19; Medium: 34-50 kg, n = 46; Heavy: 
51 kg,
n = 14). More than 98% of the goats from the Medium and Heavy groups
showed at least one estrus behavior within the first 15 days following the
introduction of the bucks, versus only 63% of the females from the Light
group (
P < 0.01). The interval between the introduction of the males and
the onset of estrus behavior was longer in the females of the Light and
Medium groups (4.2 0.8 and 3.3 0.3 days) than in the females
of the Heavy group (2.0 0.2 days;
P < 0.03). Also, body weight was
negatively correlated with latency to first estrus (Spearman r = -0.57;
P < 0.001). These results are in agreement with the hypothesis that the ability
of anestrous goats to respond to the male effect is positively influenced by
their body weight.
Key words: seasonality / live weight / estrus induction / teasing / body condition / biostimulation / subtropics
Corresponding author: joaldesa@yahoo.com
© INRA, EDP Sciences 2006