Preliminary results on the use of diagnostic ultrasonography as a management tool to quantify egg production potential in breeding ostrich (Struthio camelus australis) females
| Autor: | H. Lambrechts, J.P.C. Greyling, Schalk Cloete, D. Swart |
|---|---|
| Jazyk: | angličtina |
| Rok vydání: | 2002 |
| Předmět: |
Male
medicine.medical_specialty Diagnostic ultrasonography Future studies Time Factors Struthio camelus australis Oviposition Flock Breeding Biology Breeding Diagnostic Ultrasonography Management tool Animal science Ovarian Follicle Internal medicine Follicular phase medicine Seasonal breeder Animals Ultrasonography Struthioniformes lcsh:Veterinary medicine General Veterinary Ovary Breeding Ostriches Follicular Activity General Medicine Endocrinology lcsh:SF600-1100 Female Flock |
| Zdroj: | Journal of the South African Veterinary Association, Vol 73, Iss 2, Pp 48-52 (2002) Scopus-Elsevier |
| ISSN: | 2224-9435 1019-9128 |
| Popis: | An ostrich breeding flock, joined as individual breeding pairs (n = 136 pairs), was used to investigate the possibility of diagnostic ultrasonography as a method to predict the reproductive performance of ostrich females during a breeding season. Follicular activity was easily detected and quantified by using diagnostic ultrasonography. One to 8 follicles were recorded in 25 % of females scanned at the beginning of the 9-month breeding season. At the end of the breeding season, 1-3 follicles were observed in 28.7 % females. Females in which follicular activity was observed came into production earlier than those in which no follicles were observed, with the mean (±SE) number of days to the production of the 1st egg being 22.3 ± 12.5 and 87.4 ± 7.2 days, respectively. Females in which follicular activity was observed at the beginning of the breeding season, produced on average 181 % more eggs during the 1st month of the breeding season (P 0.01) than females in which no follicular activity was observed (6.67 ± 0.70 vs 2.37 ± 0.41 eggs). Egg production over the first 2 months of breeding and over the entire breeding season were similarly affected (P 0.01), with the mean number of eggs produced over the first 2 months of the breeding season being 14.7 ± 1.5 for females with observed follicular activity and 7.4 ± 0.9 eggs for females with no observed follicular activity. Females in which follicular activity was observed at the end of the breeding season produced on average 108 % more eggs (P0.01) during the last month of the breeding season than females in which no follicular activity was observed (2.77 ± 0.43 vs. 1.33 ± 0.27 eggs). There was a tendency (P = 0.06) for egg production over the last 2 months to be similarly affected (6.10 ± 0.85 vs 4.19 ± 0.54 eggs). No relationship with egg production over the entire breeding season was found for the end-of-the-breeding-season observations. Diagnostic ultrasonography can thus be used as a management tool to identify reproductively healthy ostrich females and also females with a higher egg production potential over a period of 2 months after or prior to assessment. Future studies should focus on the development of the technique to predict reproductive performance over entire breeding seasons for selection purposes. |
| Databáze: | OpenAIRE |
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