OESTRUS BEHAVIOUR AND HORMONAL CHARACTERISATION OF THE OESTROUS CYCLE OF JENNIES SYNCHRONIZED WITH SINGLE TREATMENT OF PGF2α (LUTALYSE®) AND JENNIES NOT SYNCHRONIZED, IN ZARIA NIGERIA.

Abstract

This study was carried out to evaluate oestrus behaviour and hormonal changes during the oestrous cycle of Jennies synchronized with single treatment of PGF2α (lutalyse®) and Jennies not synchronized, in Zaria Nigeria. Eight (8) cycling Jennies aged 3.2±1.0 years were used for this study. The jennies were randomly assigned to 2 groups of 4 jennies each; Group 1 (n=4) Jennies not treated with any synchronizing agent; Group 2 (n=4) Jennies treated with a single injection of 10mg of Lutalyse®. The treated and untreated group were observed for behavioural oestrus three times daily (8-10 am, 12-2 pm and 4-8 pm) for two oestrous cycles. Blood was collected from the jennies for extraction of serum, for progesterone and oestradiol estimation using Enzyme-linked Immunosorbent Assays (ELISA). One-way ANOVA and T-test were used
to analyze the results. The characteristic oestrus behaviour of jennies was; tail raising from the perineum, opening and closing of mouth (mouth clapping), flehmen and winking of the vulva. From this study it was established that the average oestrus period of Nigerian indigenous jennies was 8.0 ± 0.5 days and their average oestrous cycle length was 30.0 ± 5.0 days. It was concluded from this study that synchronization of Jennies is possible using exogenous PGF2α. This study has shown that, plasma progesterone and oestradiol analyses is a valuable tool for the study of fundamental reproductive endocrinology in Nigerian indigenous jennies.