Behavioral Estrus Research Articles

The Effect of a Synthetic Scent on Cheetah Behaviour.

In cheetahs, age at first parturition correlates negatively with reproductive lifespan (asymmetric reproductive aging); therefore, breeding cheetahs at a young age is essential to maximize reproductive performance in this species. However, younger females display a significantly reduced frequency of copulatory behaviour, which negatively affects breeding. Volatile organic compounds (VOCs) are known to regulate appropriate behavioural responses in various species, including reproductive behaviour; moreover, they have proven to play a role in captive breeding methods in cheetahs, as well as mate choice. Therefore, the objective of this study was to evaluate the effect of a synthetic scent (SS) on the frequency of the five oestrous behaviour(s) (sniff, rub, roll, spray, and meow-chirp) known to be indicative of oestrus in female cheetahs. Based on the results of a previous study from our research group, five VOCs, identified in the marking fluid of male cheetahs, and known to be pheromones involved in reproductive behaviour, were used to create the SS. This was accomplished by mixing benzaldehyde, acetophenone, indole, dimethyl disulphide and phenol with (99.9%) ethanol. Seven female cheetahs were then observed for one oestrus cycle without stimulation (control) and then once again while exposed to the SS (treatment), which was sprayed on foil trays placed around the outside of each enclosure. The occurrence of the five oestrous behaviours was recorded and tallied per day of observations. Although the SS did not have a significant effect on the frequency of oestrous behaviours displayed by the females used in this study, five of the seven (71%) did show an increase in their behaviour with the SS when oestrogen concentrations were at their highest (peak oestrus), including three of the four younger females. The SS also significantly increased the sniffing behaviour in general. Although the results of this study do indicate that VOCs influence cheetahs and their behaviour, firm conclusions cannot be drawn due to the low number of animals used, as well as the significant effect the observation methods had on the results. Nonetheless, this study represents the first of this kind in cheetahs, therefore representing an important step in determining the role of VOCs in aiding breeding in captivity.

Estrus Behaviour and Estrus Intensity Score in Relation to Hormonal Profile in Kankrej Cows at an Organized Farm

The present investigation was undertaken to study the estrus behaviour in Kankrej cattle at an organized farm during 3 different seasons. In each of three seasons, seven (07) Kankrej heifers and seven (07) Kankrej cows showing estrus were considered. In Kankrej cattle, majority of the animals showed acceptance of teaser bull (100%), estrual mucus discharge (88.10%), homosexuality (78.57%), excitement, and edema erythema and wetness of vulva (76.19% each), frequent micturition (59.52%) and bellowing (16.67%). None of the Kankrej cattle went partial or complete off-feed during estrus phase. Overall it was revealed that the estrus signs were manifested more during summer season than monsoon and winter, which shows the heat tolerance capability of the Kankrej cows in the area. Nearly three forth (73.81%) of the total Kankrej cows exhibited normal and above normal estrus intensity score, whereas one forth (26.19%) animals showed weak estrus intensity score. The difference between Kankrej cows and heifers for overall intensity score was found non-significant (p>0.05). The serum estradiol concentrations in Kankrej heifers and cows were significantly higher on the day of estrus than the corresponding levels on 11th day of estrus with inverse trend of serum progesterone in all three seasons. On the day of estrus the mean estradiol level in Kankrej heifers and progesterone levels in cows were higher in summer than winter and monsoon.

Chronic periadolescent leuprolide exposure affects the development of reproductive physiology and behavior of female and male rats differently, but both mature after treatment termination

BackgroundGnRH agonists have been used to halt the development of puberty in children with precocious puberty since the 1980s. Recently, drugs like Lupron Depot® (leuprolide acetate), have been used to suppress pubertal progression in adolescents who are questioning their gender identity. However, few preclinical studies have been conducted to investigate potential effects of using GnRH agonists in this context.MethodsThe present study tested the effects of daily leuprolide treatment (50 µg/kg, postnatal day (PD) 25–50) on pubertal onset in female (i.e., vaginal opening) and male (i.e., preputial separation) Long-Evans rats. The first estrous cycle immediately after vaginal opening was also measured. Sexual behavior and sexual motivation were tested using the partner-preference paradigm. Female rats were tested during the first behavioral estrus after treatment ended (between PD 51–64). Male rats were tested weekly for four consecutive weeks starting three days after treatment ended (PD 53).ResultsConsistent with previous findings, leuprolide significantly delayed pubertal onset in both female and male rats. In addition, the first estrous cycle during the treatment period was disrupted by leuprolide, as indicated by a failure to cycle into estrus after vaginal opening until treatment ended. However, leuprolide affected neither sexual motivation nor fertility when female rats were tested within 14 days of leuprolide treatment ending. In contrast, the development of copulatory behavior and sexual motivation was significantly delayed by leuprolide in male rats; however, mature reproductive behavior was observed by the fourth week post-treatment.ConclusionsTaken together with previous findings, the present results indicate that male rats may be more sensitive to periadolescent leuprolide administration, taking longer to overcome the effects of leuprolide than female rats. Nevertheless, not long after leuprolide treatment is discontinued, sex-typical reproductive physiology and behavior emerge fully in female and male rats, indicating that the drug’s effects are not permanent. If translatable to humans, leuprolide may be a reversible option to give adolescents more time to consider their gender identity with minimal long-term effects on sexual development.

Ultrasonography assisted estrus detection improves the submission rate in prostaglandin treated sub-estrus Murrah buffaloes

Sub-estrus is a condition in buffalo in which the ovarian picture and uterine changes suggest the presence of estrus and cyclicity, despite the absence of behavioural symptoms. The current study describes the effects of ultrasonography (USG)-aided estrus detection on submission and conception rate in sub-estrus Murrah buffaloes after a single shot of prostaglandin (PG) treatment. The study included 67 sub-estrus buffaloes between 2020 and 2021. The teaser bull was used to detect estrus, and the diameter of the pre-ovulatory follicle (POF) and corpus luteum (CL) was measured using transrectal USG. A single PG treatment induced behavioural estrus in 43.28% buffaloes (Gr. 1), while estrus were detected in 35.8% of sub-estrus buffaloes using sonographic examination (Gr. 2) that were otherwise remained undetected. The overall submission rate was 79.1 percent. The first-service conception rate was higher in Gr. 1 (55.2 vs. 33.3%), compared to Gr. 2. The CL diameter at pre-treatment was significantly larger in Gr. 1 buffaloes than in Gr.2 buffaloes. However, the POF diameter was comparable during induced estrus. Furthermore, the time elapsed between induction and breeding in both groups was comparable. Furthermore, the CL size at pre-treatment, POF size at estrus, and time elapsed to breeding had no effect on conception. Thus, the use of USG improves the submission rate in PG administered sub-estrus buffaloes, resulting in a 45.3% overall first service conception rate. However, breeding time must be optimised in order to improve the conception rate and efficient reproductive management in sub-estrus buffaloes in the field.

Monitoring estrous cycle in Brazilian dwarf brocket deer (Mazama nana) by fecal progestagen metabolites and behavior

Data on the reproductive physiology of the Brazilian dwarf brocket deer (Mazama nana) is still scarce in many aspects, such as its reproductive cycle and endocrine pattern. Therefore, this study aimed to characterize the estrous cycle (length and fecal progestagen metabolites -FPM- profile) in captive females of M. nana, by non-invasive hormonal monitoring. The study was performed with females (n = 4), housed at two different facilities: 1) in a collective enclosure at the Danilo José Galafassi Municipal Zoo, in Cascavel, Paraná, Brazil, (n = 3). 2) in an individual pen at the Deer Research and Conservation Center (n = 1), from UNESP, Jaboticabal, São Paulo, Brazil. Fecal samples were collected three times a week during two complete estrous cycles, based on behavioral observations. FPM profiles were analyzed by enzyme immunoassay (EIA). The estrous cycle length was defined as the intervals between behavioral estrus observations and fecal hormonal monitoring. The mean duration (± SEM) of the estrous cycle was 23.9 ± 0.6 days, and the mean duration of behavioral estrus was 1.6 ± 0.3 days. Mean concentrations (± SEM) of FPM for the luteal phase and inter-luteal phase were 6183.0 ± 2268.7 ng/g and 754.5 ± 216.1 ng/g, respectively.

Revisiting the Timing of Insemination at Spontaneous Estrus in Dairy Cattle.

Cows show spontaneous estrus over 8-20 h but become refractory to the bull about 10-12 h before ovulation. This indicates that ovulation occurs 10-12 h after the end of estrus behavior, yet spermatozoa from the bull ejaculate need to undergo maturation and capacitation for 6 to 8 h in the female reproductive tract before they are capable of fertilization. Traditionally, the onset of estrus has been considered the best timing for artificial insemination (AI) in cattle, that is, 6 to 24 h from the first signs of estrus. However, recent findings suggest this interval should be reduced to 16 to 6 h before ovulation, bringing it closer to the end of estrus. In this review, the end of estrus rather than its onset is proposed as the best guide for AI timing in dairy cattle, and physiological indicators of late estrus are discussed such as relaxation of the intravaginal part of the uterus, a lower cervical mucus viscosity and a softer pre-ovulatory follicular consistency as simple cues indicating a cow is ready for service.

Determination of estrus in Aceh cows based on the van Eerdenburg method

Accurate determination of estrus status in an animal based on an appropriate estrus detection method can guarantee the cows' pregnancy after mating. This study aims to determine the estrus status of Aceh cows using the van Eerdenburg estrus behavior scoring method. This study was conducted from 22 January to 12 February 2021, at the Technical Implementation Unit for Animals of the Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Universitas Syiah Kuala, Banda Aceh, Indonesia. The sample used was eleven Aceh cows aged 4-6 years old. Parameters observed were the number of cows exhibiting signs of estrus using the estrus behavior scoring method. The accuracy of estrus detection was confirmed by palpation per rectum to detect the presence of uterine tone. By observing signs of estrus using the method studied, 90.9% (10/11) of the cows were determined to be in estrus. Confirmation by the presence of uterine tone showed a 100% accuracy rate. The most effective sign of estrus was the passivity of the cow when being ridden by another cow or bull. This study concluded that estrus status in local cows could be determined using the estrus behavior scoring of the van Eerdenburg method.

Pheromones, binding proteins, and olfactory systems in the pig (Sus scrofa): An updated review.

Pigs utilize multimodal communication for reproductive and other behaviors, and chemical communication is one of the key components. The success of reproduction relies on chemical communication favored by the steroid pheromones from boar saliva. These steroids were proven to be involved in advancing puberty in gilts (the boar effect) and in promoting estrus behaviors in gilts/sows, thereby helping to detect estrus and facilitating the timing of artificial insemination. The steroid pheromones bound with carrier proteins are evidenced in the mandibular (submandibular) salivary secretions of the boar. These salivary steroids bind with carrier proteins in the nasal mucus and vomeronasal organ (VNO) of the sows, eventually triggering a cascade of activities at the olfactory and endocrine levels. Besides steroid pheromones, pig appeasing pheromones (from mammary skin secretions of sows) have also been demonstrated to bind with carrier proteins in the nasal mucus and VNO of the piglets. Thus far, four different proteins have been identified and confirmed in the nasal mucus and VNO of pigs, including odorant binding proteins (OBPs), salivary lipocalin (SAL), pheromaxein, and Von Ebner's Gland Protein (VEGP). The critical roles of the chemosensory systems, main olfactory systems and VNO, have been comprehensively reported for pigs. This review summarizes the current knowledge on pheromones, their receptor proteins, and the olfactory systems of porcine species.

The post-ovulatory rise in progesterone is lower and the persistence of oestrous behaviour longer during the first compared with the second cycle of the breeding season in mares.

Mares are seasonally polyoestrous breeders. Therefore, the first ovulation of the season, following winter anoestrus, is the only cycle in which mares ovulate without the presence of an old CL from the previous cycle. The objective of this study was to compare the length of oestrous behaviour, and plasma progesterone concentrations during the early post-ovulatory period between mares after the first and second ovulation of the breeding season. Overall, 38 mares and 167 oestrous periods were used in the study. From those, 11 mares were used during the first and subsequent oestrous period to measure and compare the post-ovulatory rise in progesterone concentration, whereas all the mares were used to compare the length of the post-ovulatory oestrous behaviour between the first and subsequent cycles of the breeding season. The persistence of the post-ovulatory oestrus was longer (p< .001) following the first ovulation of the year (median of 52 h) compared with the subsequent ovulations (median of 36 h for second and later ovulations groups; n= 38 mares). The progesterone concentration at any of the four 8h-intervals analysed (28, 36, 76 and 84 h post-ovulation) was lower (p< .01) following the first versus the second ovulation of the year. By 36 h post-ovulation the progesterone concentration of mares at the second ovulation of the year had passed the threshold of 2ng/ml (2.1± 0.33 ng/ml), whereas in the first cycle it was 1.2± 0.13 ng/ml. In conclusion, mares had lower progesterone concentrations in their peripheral circulation and longer persistence of oestrous behaviour following the first ovulation of the year compared with the second and subsequent ovulatory periods of the breeding season.

Relationship between the leptin, progesterone, body weight, and onset of puberty in ewe lambs

The current study aimed to determine the relationship between serum level of leptin, progesterone hormones, bodyweight with the onset of puberty in the ewe lambs. Eight healthy weaned local breeds of ewe lambs at the age of 90 days were introduced in the study. Body weights were recorded, blood samples serum was collected and stored at -20°C until hormonal assays. Ovaries and ovarian follicles were checked by ultrasound to measure follicular diameter until estrus was detected every two weeks. The result showed that the earliest estrus behavior was noticed at age 202. Significantly increased body weight was recorded during the trial times at P

PSXIII-B-16 Relationship of Genomic Estimated Breeding Values for age at Puberty, Birth Weight, and Growth in Cyclic and Anestrus Gilts

Abstract Prebreeding anestrus (failure to express estrus) affects 10-30% of gilts. Two main types of anestrus are delayed puberty (prepubertal anestrus; PPA) and ovulation without behavioral estrus (behavioral anestrus; BA). We hypothesized that growth of cyclic gilts during development is greater than PPA and BA gilts. The objectives of this study were to determine if birth weight and growth differed between cyclic and anestrus gilts and the relationship of age at puberty (AP) with growth. Individual body weights were recorded at birth (BTW), and at 4, 8, and 20 weeks of age for cyclic (n=4,982), PPA (n=578), and BA (n=428) gilts. Because anestrus gilts lack puberty records, genomic best linear unbiased prediction was used to predict genomic estimated breeding values for AP (GEBV-AP) for PPA and BA gilts using AP of cyclic gilts. A mixed model was fit using phenotypic group, sire line, and dam parity (1-4) as fixed effects and contemporary group as a random effect. The PPA gilts had a greater GEBV-AP (P&amp;lt; 0.05) compared with cyclic and BA gilts and were heavier at birth than cyclic gilts (P&amp;lt; 0.05). The BA gilts had a greater lifetime growth rate (LGR; ADG from birth to 20 weeks) than cyclic and PPA gilts (P&amp;lt; 0.05). The LGR and GEBV-AP did not differ between dam parities. Relationship of AP and growth was evaluated using GEBV for cyclic and anestrus gilts in a mixed model regression. A positive relationship between GEBV-AP and GEBV-BTW and a negative relationship between GEBV-AP and GEBV-LGR was observed. Results suggest that earlier attainment of puberty could be improved by avoiding the heaviest gilts at birth and selecting for faster growing gilts during grow-finish. However, the latter could increase the risk for more BA gilts due to possible antagonistic effects of growth on behavioral estrus.The USDA is an equal opportunity provider and employer.

291 Synchronization and Seasonality Effects on Follicular Development, Estrus Expression, and Pregnancy in Brahman Females

Abstract Control of follicular development is essential for estrous synchronization. This experiment determined differences in follicular development during synchronization in Brahman females. Cows (n=219) and heifers (n=90) in Fall (n=170) and Spring (n=139) were synchronized with a CIDR insert and administration of GnRH or PG treatment on d0 (1/2GnRH: n=106, GnRH: n=103, PG: n=100), and CIDR removal and PG administration on d6 followed by estrus detection and AI for 96h. Blood samples were collected on d0, d6, and d8 and/or AI to determine circulating progesterone (P4) concentrations. Transrectal ovarian ultrasonography occurred daily. Cows were grouped by CL presence (d0CL, d6CL) and P4 concentrations (d0P4, d6P4, d8P4, Low&amp;lt; 1 ng/mL, High≥1 ng/mL) on d0 and d6. The GLIMMIX procedure of SAS was used to analyze follicular wave initiation, wave emergence day, estrus expression, and pregnancy success. There were significant interactions of treatment by d0CL (P=0.0237), and season by d0P4 (P=0.0118) on wave initiation. Cows receiving 1/2GnRH with a CL on d0 (97±2%) and Fall cows having High d0P4 (96±3%) had the greatest probability of wave initiation. Age significantly impacted wave initiation (P=0.0213; heifers: 93±4%, cows: 79±5%). Interactions of treatment by season (P=0.0405) and treatment by d0CL (P=0.0379) significantly impacted wave emergence timing. Season (P&amp;lt; 0.0001; Fall: 23±5%, Spring: 65±6%), and the interactions of treatment by d0P4 (P=0.0291) and new wave by d0P4 (P=0.0357) influenced estrus expression. Cows receiving 1/2GnRH with High d0P4 and cows with High d0P4 that initiated a new wave had the greatest probability of estrus expression. Pregnancy rate differed by estrus expression (P=0.0055; no estrus=25±6%, estrus=54±8%) and semen type (P=0.0105; conventional=52±9%, sexed=26±6%), and tended to differ by d8P4 (P=0.0570; Low=30±7%, High=48±8%). These results suggest that differences in follicular development and behavioral estrus in synchronized Brahman females may be due to seasonality and endogenous progesterone production.

PSXII-18 Genome-Wide Association for Behavioral Anestrus in Swine

Abstract Gilts represent a significant portion of breeding females, and producer success largely depends on lifetime prolificacy and number of lifetime litters produced. Expression and precise detection of first estrus are key components for successful breeding. Failure to express behavioral signs of estrus, also known as prebreeding anestrus, affects 10-30% of gilts resulting in premature culling. Behavioral anestrus (BA), that is ovulatory cycles of the ovary without signs of estrus, is a major type of prebreeding anestrus that affects up to 5% of the gilt population at the U.S. Meat Animal Research Center. Examination of ovaries revealed that 38% of BA gilts had exhibited more than one ovulatory cycle. Identification of genomic predictors of BA could minimize prebreeding anestrus in gilts. Data collected from normal cyclic (n=2,421) and BA gilts (n=515) from a multigeneration Yorkshire-Landrace-Duroc composite population were used for a case-control genome-wide association to identify candidate genes and cell signaling pathways associated with BA in gilts. The genomic heritability for BA in the population was 0.35. Fifty-six genome-wide significant SNP were identified with proportion of phenotypic variance explained by each SNP ranging from 0.009 to 0.06. Quantitative trait loci identified for BA harbor candidate genes involved in olfaction (OR13H1) and behavioral disorders (PLCB4). Biologically this is expected because, activation of olfactory pathways by boar pheromones is important to stimulate female lordosis behavior and sexual receptivity to boar. Several candidate genes identified for BA (IGSF1, MSTN, RXRG) were previously reported for age at puberty in humans and cattle suggesting the pleiotropic nature of these genes influencing multiple estrus related traits in different species. To our knowledge this is the first large scale association analysis performed for BA in pigs and these data are an important first step to facilitate future studies to identify functional polymorphisms regulating estrus behavior in gilts.The USDA is an equal opportunity provider and employer.

Use of a cow-side oestrus detection test for fertility management in Kenyan smallholder dairy herds.

Background: The use of artificial insemination (AI) has great potential to improve smallholder dairy herds in Africa, however poor success and, in some situations, high costs in Kenya, have been discouraging. Effective AI requires accurate oestrus detection and the measurement of progesterone (P4) can be used to indicate oestrus as well as non-pregnancy. A cow-side progesterone lateral flow test, P4 Rapid, was evaluated as an aid to detect oestrus and non-pregnancy in Kenyan dairy cows, and assessed for association with AI efficiency. Methods: A total of 527 cows were enrolled in the study, from two counties in central and southern Kenya. Cattle in the test group (n = 308) were presented when suspected to be in oestrus and tested with the P4 Rapid (low P4 = oestrus, medium P4 = inconclusive, high P4 = not in oestrus/pregnant). Cattle with low P4 were inseminated. Cattle in the control group (n = 219) were inseminated when oestrus behaviour was detected i.e. standard practice. Results: Of the total P4 Rapid tests performed (n = 745), 1.5% were inconclusive, with the true accuracy of the test between 87-97%. Conception rates were not significantly higher in the test group (83.9%) compared to the control group (77.9%). Abortion rates were not significantly different between the control (9.5%) and test groups (8.2%). In the test group, 6.2% (19/308) cows showed a medium or high P4 level on day 0 and nine of these were subsequently found to have been already pregnant. Conclusions: The data indicated that the P4 Rapid test can be a useful tool to assist farmer decision-making in the confirmation of correct timing for AI, and importantly may avoid unnecessary inseminations in pregnant animals, thus reducing the risk of AI-induced abortion.

Detection Method of Cow Estrus Behavior in Natural Scenes Based on Improved YOLOv5

Natural breeding scenes have the characteristics of a large number of cows, complex lighting, and a complex background environment, which presents great difficulties for the detection of dairy cow estrus behavior. However, the existing research on cow estrus behavior detection works well in ideal environments with a small number of cows and has a low inference speed and accuracy in natural scenes. To improve the inference speed and accuracy of cow estrus behavior in natural scenes, this paper proposes a cow estrus behavior detection method based on the improved YOLOv5. By improving the YOLOv5 model, it has stronger detection ability for complex environments and multi-scale objects. First, the atrous spatial pyramid pooling (ASPP) module is employed to optimize the YOLOv5l network at multiple scales, which improves the model’s receptive field and ability to perceive global contextual multiscale information. Second, a cow estrus behavior detection model is constructed by combining the channel-attention mechanism and a deep-asymmetric-bottleneck module. Last, K-means clustering is performed to obtain new anchors and complete intersection over union (CIoU) is used to introduce the relative ratio between the predicted box of the cow mounting and the true box of the cow mounting to the regression box prediction function to improve the scale invariance of the model. Multiple cameras were installed in a natural breeding scene containing 200 cows to capture videos of cows mounting. A total of 2668 images were obtained from 115 videos of cow mounting events from the training set, and 675 images were obtained from 29 videos of cow mounting events from the test set. The training set is augmented by the mosaic method to increase the diversity of the dataset. The experimental results show that the average accuracy of the improved model was 94.3%, that the precision was 97.0%, and that the recall was 89.5%, which were higher than those of mainstream models such as YOLOv5, YOLOv3, and Faster R-CNN. The results of the ablation experiments show that ASPP, new anchors, C3SAB, and C3DAB designed in this study can improve the accuracy of the model by 5.9%. Furthermore, when the ASPP dilated convolution was set to (1,5,9,13) and the loss function was set to CIoU, the model had the highest accuracy. The class activation map function was utilized to visualize the model’s feature extraction results and to explain the model’s region of interest for cow images in natural scenes, which demonstrates the effectiveness of the model. Therefore, the model proposed in this study can improve the accuracy of the model for detecting cow estrus events. Additionally, the model’s inference speed was 71 frames per second (fps), which meets the requirements of fast and accurate detection of cow estrus events in natural scenes and all-weather conditions.

CowXNet: An automated cow estrus detection system

Estrus detection is essential for dairy farms to take cows for artificial insemination promptly. Conventional approaches for detecting estrus cows use electronic devices attached to cows to gather data for software analysis. However, electronic devices can be costly and make a cow moody and uncomfortable while moving. In a common approach, observers detect estrus cows by observing their behaviors. However, continuous observation can easily lead to errors due to the observer’s fatigue. Therefore, we designed CowXNet, an automatic estrus detection system for cows, to assist farmers to detect estrus cows. CowXNet requires only a camera attached in a pen and a computer to analyze recorded videos. CowXNet analyzes the estrus behaviors of each cow in a pen and helps farmers to identify estrus cows. To develop and evaluate CowXNet efficiently and effectively, we collected data from Chokchai Farm, the biggest dairy farm in Asia (14.65483∘N, 101.34853∘E). CowXNet has four modules: (i) cow detection uses YOLOv4 to detect cows in recorded videos; (ii) body part detection uses a convolutional neural network to estimate locations of body parts of detected cows; (iii) estrus behavior detection uses body part coordinates to extract a set of discriminative features, and a classification algorithm to detect estrus behaviors, and (iv) behavior analysis module displays estrus behavior for analysis purposes. We evaluated CowXNet for two instances: module-independent evaluation and end-to-end framework evaluation. Overall, CowXNet was promising; it correctly detected estrus behavior interval of cows 83% of cases.

A Lightweight Neural Network-Based Method for Detecting Estrus Behavior in Ewes

We propose a lightweight neural network-based method to detect the estrus behavior of ewes. Our suggested method is mainly proposed to solve the problem of not being able to detect ewe estrus behavior in a timely and accurate manner in large-scale meat sheep farms. The three main steps of our proposed methodology include constructing the dataset, improving the network structure, and detecting the ewe estrus behavior based on the lightweight network. First, the dataset was constructed by capturing images from videos with estrus crawling behavior, and the data enhancement was performed to improve the generalization ability of the model at first. Second, the original Darknet-53 was replaced with the EfficientNet-B0 for feature extraction in YOLO V3 neural network to make the model lightweight and the deployment easier, thus shortening the detection time. In order to further obtain a higher accuracy of detecting the ewe estrus behavior, we joined the feature layers to the SENet attention module. Finally, the comparative results demonstrated that the proposed method had higher detection accuracy and FPS, as well as a smaller model size than the YOLO V3. The precision of the proposed scheme was 99.44%, recall was 95.54%, F1 value was 97%, AP was 99.78%, FPS was 48.39 f/s, and Model Size was 40.6 MB. This study thus provides an accurate, efficient, and lightweight detection method for the ewe estrus behavior in large-scale mutton sheep breeding.

Study of estrogen, progesterone and glucose level in cows during overt and silent estrus

Significant economic losses result from increased days open because of failure to detect estrus. Studies (Callahan, et al., 1971; Kesler,et al., 1977) suggest that the endocrine balances required to support normal estrus cycles and for the reestablishment of fertility are restored gradually after calving. Silent estrus, or the lack of behavioral estrus expression, is a common occurrence (50 to 80%) at the first postpartum ovulation. However, the incidence of silent estrus decreases in the second and third estrous cycles (Bulman,1980 ; Labhsetwar, et al., 1946; Morrow, et al., 1966). Expression of estrus in cattle is dependent on sufficient secretion of endogenous E2 to provoke the standing response (Carrick and Shelton. 1969) Estrogen plays a key role in the regulation of endocrine and behavioral events associated with the estrus cycle. E2 plays a pivotal role in the induction of estrus behavior and ovulation (Pfaff, 2005). In many experiments that are performed to study the female reproduction, estrus is artificially induced by administering E2 (Fabre-Nys et al., 1993). Estrogen plays a central role in triggering the gonadotropin surge and ovulation as well as in facilitating the estrus behavior, and thus estrogen indirectly synchronizes mating and ovulation. The patterns of GnRH synthesis and pulsatile release from the hypothalamus are mainly regulated by E2 (Smith and Jennes, 2001) and progesterone (Richer et al., 2005 ;Zalanyi, 2001). E2 stimulates LH synthesis, but at levels below a certain threshold value it inhibits the release of LH. Above this threshold, the inhibitory effect on LH release switches to stimulatory effect (Reinecke and Deuflhard, 2007), which results in the LH surge. Progesterone plays an essential role in various reproductive functions, including regulating the length of the estrous cycle, maintaining pregnancy. Progesterone is high during the luteal phase and in pregnancy, however the levels decline if the animal fails to conceive. Progesterone has been implicated in inhibiting estrogen secretion and ovulation (Echternkamp et al. 1973 and Henricks, 1971). Blood glucose appear to be one of the key nutrients affecting cyclicity in farm animals and a minimum level of 40-60 mg/ml is required to maintain the physiological processes of the body (Duke, 1970). According to Dowine and Gelman (1976), low blood glucose may be associated with infertility. Estrus is negatively affected by alterations in blood metabolites and hormone profiles including glucose, insulin, IGF-I, non-esterified fatty acids, β-hydroxybutyrate (Wathes et al., 2007). Nadiu and Rao

The efficiency of estrus synchronization protocols and artificial insemination in the Abergelle goat on-station and on-farm conditions of Northern Ethiopia

ABSTRACT This study was conducted to investigate the effect of different estrus synchronization protocols followed by artificial insemination on estrus response and the conception rate of Abergelle goats. Three estrus synchronization protocols: (i) the standard protocol associating progestogens, gonadotropins and prostaglandins (P4 + eCG + PGF2α), (ii) single injection of prostaglandin (PGFS), (iii) double injection of prostaglandin (PGFD) were evaluated and compared to a control group that did not receive a hormonal treatment. Estrus behaviour was monitored in all does and those in estrus were inseminated. The estrous response was significantly higher in P4 + eCG + PGF2α does than in counterparts in PGFS and PGFD groups (p < 0.001). Results also revealed an earlier onset of estrus in the PGFD-treated group, a longer duration of estrus for second- and third- parity -does and an earlier onset of estrus in animals having a 3.5 body condition score. Even if the conception rate (CR) was highest when using the PGFD protocol, the lowest kidding rate (KR) was obtained when using this same treatment. The P4 + eCG + PGF protocol yielded the highest litter size. Farmers’ perception surveys revealed that a higher proportion of goat keepers used a controlled mating system and had culling practices and farmers selected PGFD as a preferred protocol.

Ovarian remnant syndrome in feline: Case report

Ovarian remnant syndrome is characterized by the presence of functional ovarian tissue after ovariohysterectomy (OH). In this report, the case of a 2-year-old female cat who started to show estrus behaviors 10 months after OH, correlated with the absence of the tutor. The exams of choice to reach a first diagnosis were vaginal cytology and abdominal ultrasound. The designated treatment, was excision of the ovarian tissue fragment thought exploratory laparotomy. Histopathological examination confirmed the diagnosis.