Hostname: page-component-cd9895bd7-lnqnp Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-12-29T10:50:20.890Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Artificial insemination of farmed red deer (Cervus elaphus)

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  02 September 2010

P. F. Fennessy ,
C. G. Mackintosh  and
G. H. Shackell
P. F. Fennessy
Affiliation:
MAF Technology, Invermay Agricultural Centre, Mosgiel, New Zealand
C. G. Mackintosh
Affiliation:
MAF Technology, Invermay Agricultural Centre, Mosgiel, New Zealand
G. H. Shackell
Affiliation:
MAF Technology, Invermay Agricultural Centre, Mosgiel, New Zealand
Get access

Abstract

Six experiments involving the artificial insemination (AI) of a total of 300 female red deer (hinds) with frozen-thawed red deer semen (collected by electro-ejaculation) were conducted over 3 years. Insemination took place at fixed times following various oestrous synchronization procedures using progesterone withdrawal and treatment with pregnant mare's serum gonadotropin (PMSG). In the 1st year, the experiments evaluated basic AI techniques in which pregnancy rates were 45% in 20 hinds receiving two inseminations per vaginam (PV) and 56% in 27 hinds inseminated by the laparoscopic intrauterine method (IU). In the 2nd year, the experiments involved comparisons of the progesterone regime, one or two PV inseminations, and the timing of a single PV insemination. There was no effect of replacement of the progesterone device after 9 days and withdrawal 3 days later compared with the use of one device for the whole period in two experiments. The pregnancy rate for a double PV insemination was significantly higher than for a single PV insemination (58 and 34%; P < 0·05) and there was also a small effect of timing of insemination relative to the synchronization treatment. In the 3rd year all hinds were inseminated by the IU method. The experiments involved a comparison of various times of AI following progesterone withdrawal and a comparison of the progesterone regime. The overall pregnancy rate for 63 hinds inseminated was 56% with no difference between three times of insemination (48, 52 and 55 h). In the second experiment, the difference in pregnancy rate between treatment with progesterone for 15 days and 12 days (44 and 72% for 18 hinds per group) was not significant, but the interaction between the length of progesterone treatment and insemination time was significant (P < 0·05), with the 12-day progesterone/55 h insemination giving a much higher pregnancy rate than the 15-day/55 h insemination (89 and 20% respectively). Although no experiments involved direct comparisons of the routes of insemination, overall pregnancy rates were 56% for IU, 53% for double PV and 35% for single PV inseminations.

Keywords

artificial inseminationconceptionred deersemen preservation
Type
Research Article
Information
Animal Production , Volume 51 , Issue 3 , December 1990 , pp. 613 - 621
Copyright
Copyright © British Society of Animal Science 1990

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

REFERENCES

Asher, G. W., Adam, J. L., James, R. W. and Barnes, D. 1988a. Artificial insemination of farmed fallow deer (Dama dama): fixed-time insemination at synchronized oestrus. Animal Production 47: 487–492.Google Scholar
Asher, G. W., Adam, J. L., Otway, W., Bowmar, P., Reenen, G. Van, MacKintosh, C. G. and Dratch, P. 1988b. Hybridisation of Pere David's deer (Elaphurus davidianus) and red deer (Cervus elaphus) by artificial insemination. Journal of Zoology, London 215: 197–203.Google Scholar
Boshoff, P. A., Niekerk, C. H. Van and Morgenthal, J. C. 1973. Time of ovulation in Karakul ewe following synchronisation of oestrus. South African Journal of Animal Science 3: 13–17.Google Scholar
Chenoweth, P. J. 1989. Current considerations in bovine artificial breeding and reproductive management with particular reference to Bos indicus cattle. In Technological Advances in Pastoral Medicine and Production, Refresher Course for Veterinarians No. pp. 19–23.Google Scholar
Cumming, I. A., Buckmaster, J. M., Blockey, M. A De B., Goding, J. R., Winfield, C. G. and Baxter, R. W. 1973. Constancy of interval between luteinizing hormone release and ovulation in the ewe. Biology Reproduction 9: 24–29.Google Scholar
Dott, H. M. and Utsi, M. N. P. 1973. Artificial Insemination of reindeer (Rangifer tarandus). Journal Zoology, London 170: 505–508.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Drew, B. 1978. Management factors in oestrous cycle control. In Control of Reproduction in the Cow (Sreenan, J. R.), pp. 475–485. Martinus Nijhoff, The Hague.Google Scholar
Fennessy, P. F., Beatson, N. S. and MacKintosh, C. G. 1987. Artificial insemination. Proceedings of Deer Course for Veterinarians (Deer Branch, New Zealand Veterinary Association), Vol. 4, pp. 33–37.Google Scholar
Haigh, J. C. 1984. Artificial insemination of two whitetailed deer. Journal of the American Veterinary Medical Association 185: 1446–1447.Google Scholar
Haigh, J. C., Shadbolt, M. P. and Glover, G. 1984. Artificial insemination of wapiti (Cervus elaphus). Proceedings of the American Association of Zoo Veterinarians, Louisville, Kentucky, USA, p. 173.Google Scholar
Harvey, T. G., Baker, R. L. and Johnson, D. 1987. Factors affecting an efficient sheep artificial insemination programme. Proceedings of the 4th Australasian Association for Animal Production Animal Science Congress, Hamilton, New Zealand, p. 226.Google Scholar
Harvey, T. G., Johnson, D. L., Baker, R. L., Trust, B. K. and Thomson, B. L. 1986. Artificial insemination in sheep — comparison of storage time, dose rate and insemination technique. Proceedings the New Zealand Society of Animal Production 46: 229–232.Google Scholar
Hunter, R. H. F. 1985. Fertility in cattle: basic reasons why late insemination must be avoided. Animal Breeding Abstracts 53: 83–87.Google Scholar
Jacobson, H. A., Bearden, H. J. and Whitehouse, D. B. 1989. Artificial insemination trials with whitetailed deer. Journal of Wildlife Management 53: 224–227.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Krzywinski, A. and Jaczewski, Z. 1978. Observations on the artificial breeding of red deer. Symposia of the Zoological Society of London 43: 271–287.Google Scholar
McCullagh, P. and Nelder, J. A. 1983. Generalized Linear Models. Chapman and Hall, London.Google Scholar
MacMillan, K. L. and Shannon, P. 1982. Aspects of processing semen for use at ambient temperature or after rediluting thawed deep-frozen material (RDF). In Animal Production and Health in the Tropics (ed. Jainudeen, M. R. and Omar, A. R.), pp. 439–443. Penerbit Universiti Pertanian Malaysia, Serdang, Selangor.Google Scholar
Magyar, S. J., Biediger, T., Hodges, C., Kraemer, D. C. and Seager, S. W. J. 1989. A method of artificial insemination in captive white-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus). Theriogenology 31: 1075–1080.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Maxwell, W. M. C. 1986a. Artificial insemination of ewes with frozen-thawed semen at a synchronised oestrus. 1. Effect of time of onset of oestrus, ovulation and insemination on fertility. Animal Reproduction Science 10: 301–308.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Maxwell, W. M. C. 1986b. Artificial insemination of ewes with frozen-thawed semen at a synchronised oestrus. 2. Effect of dose of spermatozoa and site of intrauterine insemination on fertility. Animal Reproduction Science 10: 309–316.Google Scholar
Moore, G. H. 1987. Adaptation of wapiti (Cervus elaphus manitobensis) to changed seasons when imported from Alberta, Canada to Otago, New Zealand. Deer 7: 141–142.Google Scholar
Moore, G. H. and Cowie, G. M. 1986. Advancement of breeding in non-lactating adult red deer hinds. Proceedings of the New Zealand Society of Animal Production 46: 175–178.Google Scholar
Moore, G. H., Littlejohn, R. P. and Cowie, G. M. 1988. Live weights, growth rates, and mortality of farmed red deer at Invermay. New Zealand Journal of Agricultural Research 31: 293–300.Google Scholar
Mulley, R. C., Moore, N. W. and English, A. W. 1988. Successful uterine insemination of fallow deer with fresh and frozen semen. Theriogenology 20: 1149–1153.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Roche, J. F. 1974. Effect of short-term progesterone treatment on oestrous response and fertility in heifers. Journal of Reproduction and Fertility 40: 433–440.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Smith, J. F. and McGowan, L. T. 1982. Oestrogen and the PRID. Proceedings of the New Zealand Society of Animal Production 42: 87–89.Google Scholar
Smith, J. F. and Tervit, H. R. 1980. The successful development of a PRID regime for oestrous synchronization in New Zealand beef cattle. Proceedings of the New Zealand Society of Animal Production 40: 272–279.Google Scholar
Visser, A., Shannon, P. and Wickham, B. W. 1988. Factors affecting AB conception rates in cattle. Proceedings of the New Zealand Society of Animal Production 48: 61–63.Google Scholar
Wishart, D. F. and Young, I. M. 1974. Artificial insemination of progestin (SC21009)-treated cattle at predetermined times. Veterinary Record 95: 503–508.Google Scholar