The effect of season on reproductive activity of meat type goats in Texas U.S.A.
Under production conditions of the U.S. Southwest, flocks of goats are often maintained for meat production and to assist in brush control. These may be referred to as meat type or Spanish goats. These terms are largely used to distinguish them from Angora or dairy types. The animal involved is not a uniform type and some may carry various degrees of dairy breeding. In most flocks males are run with the does throughout the year, but kid production shows some degree of seasonality. Two types of investigations were conducted to determine the seasonality of reproduction and the potential for kidding more often per year. In one study, samples of does were laporatomized or slaughtered at various months throughout the year and ovarian activity (presence of corpus haemorrhagicum or corpus luteum) was recorded. The second study consisted of running males continuously with a flock of approximately 50 does for a period of 9 years and recording the kid production obtained. Both groups of does were run on the range with little or no supplemental feed or care. Both studies tend to confirm that essentially all the does were in anestrus during March and April. Based on ovarian observations most of the does were cycling from August through January. February and May, June and July tend to be transitional months. A high degree of variability was observed in the does which were cycling during June or July. Most of the kids were dropped in November, December and January. The most common occurrence was for the does to breed in August and kid in January. A small second peak of kidding occurred in April and May. This can aparently be traced to a small number or does which kid in October and November and which rebred to kid in late spring. The average kidding interval was 311.75 days
| Main Authors: | , , , |
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| Format: | Texto biblioteca |
| Language: | eng |
| Published: |
Scottsdale, AZ (EUA)
1982
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