Treatment of male goats with equine chorionic gonadotrophin during the non-breeding season does not affect their sperm characteristics during the subsequent breeding season

• Published in: Tropical animal health and production 2020, Vol.52 (1), p.211-215
• Main Authors: Beracochea, Florencia, Viera, María Noel, Santiago-Moreno, Julián, Ungerfeld, Rodolfo
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Animal breeding; Antibodies; Biomedical and Life Sciences; Breeding; Breeding seasons; Fertility; Follicle-stimulating hormone; Goats; Life Sciences; Luteinizing hormone; Pituitary (anterior); Regular Articles; Reproductive status; Seasons; Semen; Sperm; Testosterone; Veterinary Medicine/Veterinary Science; Zoology
• ISSN: 0049-4747; 1573-7438
• DOI: 10.1007/s11250-019-02004-y

Equine chorionic gonadotrophin (eCG) is a hormone having FSH/LH effects. It can be used to enhance sperm quality in male goats (bucks) during the non-breeding season. In a previous study carried out during the non-breeding season, we treated ten bucks with eCG (leaving nine untreated animals as control). Over a 20-day period, the treated bucks received an initial dose of 800 IU of eCG, followed by four doses of 500 IU. We found eCG enhanced semen quality, however, as also happens in female goats (does), eCG also induced a high titer of anti-eCG antibodies. In does, this lowers fertility. The aim of the present study was to determine if the eCG treatment carried out on bucks during the non-breeding season had any negative effects on their reproductive status during the following breeding season. We measured serum concentration of testosterone and anti-eCG antibody, as well as key testicular and seminal characteristics. This study commenced 91 days after the final dose of eCG in the previous study. The anti-eCG titer was higher in the treatment bucks than in untreated ones (181.7 ± 61.3 ng/μL vs 31.1 ± 10.7 ng/μL; P