Effects of equine chorionic gonadotropin (eCG) on the sexual behaviour and ovulatory characteristics of female african N'Dama cattle.

This paper evaluated the effects of eCG on the characteristics of oestrus and ovulation after heifers and cows had been synchronised following vaginal administration of progesterone for seven days (Controlled Internal Drug Released) and a PGF2α injection two days after the end of treatment. The animals were randomly split into a non-treated control group (n=26) and four groups with increasing doses of eCG: 300 IU (n=25), 400 IU (n=24), 500 IU (n=23) and 600 IU (n=23), which were injected on the day of CIDR withdrawal. The animals were then followed (24 hours a day) for six days. Oestrus was confirmed on the basis of identifying 'standing oestrus', i.e., when the cow stood to be mounted. Seven to ten days after the CIDR® was withdrawn, the animals were slaughtered, and their ovaries were examined to identify and count the number of follicular and/or luteal structures. The onset of heat was 48.6 ± 5.3 hours after eCG injection, and the average length of oestrus was 9.9 ± 2 hours. The eCG dosage had no significant effect on these two parameters. In contrast, the observed rate of oestrus was significantly (p<0.05) higher in animals that had been treated (70.8 to 84.0%) in comparison with animals that had not been treated (50%). Similarly, the ovulation rate was significantly (p<0.05) higher in treated animals (88.0 to 100%) than in untreated animals (73.1%). The percentage of animals that presented multiple ovulations increased significantly (p <0.001) with the dosage of eCG administered (4.5% to 36.4%).