Oestrus induction using fluorogestone acetate sponges and equine chorionic gonadotrophin in Red Sokoto goats

The objective of this study was to evaluate the effect of a progestagen treatment (fluorogestone acetate sponge) alone or in combination with equine chorionic gonadotrophin (eCG) on oestrus response in Red Sokoto (RS) goats. One hundred RS does were treated with 30 mg fluorogestone acetate (FGA) sponges for 14 days. At the end of the progestagen treatment, does that retained the sponges were allocated to two groups; FGAeCG and FGA. The FGAeCG group (n = 28) received 200 IU eCG i.m. concurrently with the sponge removal, while the FGA group (n = 28) did not receive eCG at sponge removal. Oestrus was detected twice daily (at 07:00 - 10:00 and 15:00 - 18:00) using sexually active bucks for five days following progestagen withdrawal. There was no significant difference in oestrus response between groups FGAeCG (82.1%) and FGA (78.6%). There was a significant difference in the time to the onset (29.3 ± 4.6 and 44.2 ± 6.3 h for the FGAeCG and FGA, respectively) and duration of the induced oestrus period (38.9 ± 5.1 and 22.7 ± 4.6 h for the FGAeCG and FGA groups, respectively). It is concluded that although both groups showed good oestrus synchronization rates, administration of eCG shortened the time to onset of oestrus and increased the duration of oestrus in Red Sokoto does.Keywords: Oestrus, synchronization, fluorogestone acetate, eCG, Red Sokoto goat