The study evaluated the effect of duration of progestagen treatment and breed on response to oestrous synchronisation and pregnancy rate following AI in 47 Boer and 27 unimproved indigenous goats. Each breed was subdivided into two groups, based on the duration of progestagen treatment. In the long-term progestagen treatment, controlled internal drug release dispensers (CIDRs) were inserted for 16 days, while in the short-term progestagen treatment, CIDRs were inserted for 9 days. Oestrous detection was performed for a period of 72 h, starting at CIDRs withdrawal. AI was performed 48 h following CIDRs removal with raw or frozen/thawed semen. Pregnancy diagnosis was performed at day 35 following AI. Boer goat exhibited a significantly (p B 0.05) higher oestrous response (100%) than unimproved indigenous goats (88.9%). Breed had no effect on the onset of oestrus. Boer goat does recorded a longer duration of the induced oestrous period, compared to the unimproved indigenous goats. No significant difference was observed between short or long-term progestagen, with respect to the oestrous response, onset and duration of the induced oestrous period. The pregnancy rate was not affected by breed and semen cryopreservation. However, long-term progestagen treatment drastically reduced pregnancy rate. In conclusion, breed had an effect on oestrous response and the duration of induced oestrous period. The interaction of breed and duration of progestagen treatment had no effect on response to oestrus and onset of oestrus. The pregnancy rates of the current study were generally low and were affected by the duration of progestagen treatment.

The aim of the study was to characterize and compare seminal plasma constituents of unimproved indigenous and Tankwa goats. In this study, unimproved indigenous (11) and Tankwa (11) goats were used. Their average age was 3 ± 0.8 years and average bodyweights were 35.5 ± 2.1 kg and 59.8 ± 1.9 kg, respectively. Semen samples were collected with an electro ejaculator, and evaluated for macroscopic and microscopic semen characteristics and seminal plasma constituents. Both unimproved indigenous and Tankwa goats had normal semen characteristics for goats, with the exception of sperm cell concentration. However, Tankwa goats had higher straight-line velocity and average path velocity compared with unimproved indigenous goats. Unimproved indigenous goats had higher intact acrosome than Tankwa goats. Lipocalin-type prostaglandin-D synthase was one of the constituents that were detected, but it was below the detection limit of 0.5 mmol/L. Moreover, the semen of unimproved indigenous and Tankwa goats had the same levels of fertility-associated antigen, lactate dehydrogenase, sodium, potassium, magnesium, calcium, glucose, cholesterol, triglyceride, lipids and urea. In conclusion, unimproved indigenous and Tankwa goats had the same seminal plasma constituents. These constituents seem to be optimal for the sperm cells, as they resulted in acceptable semen characteristics, except for sperm cell concentration, which was low. Moreover, acceptable standards need to be set for all seminal plasma constituents, as they are not currently known.

The objective of the study was to determine pre-weaning performance of piglets born following artificial insemination (AI) at smallholder farms of Gauteng province. Data from 496 piglets originating from 73 multiparous crossbred sows were used in the study. Litter size, number of piglets born alive, number of piglets weaned, birth and weaning weights were recorded. Data was analysed using the Proc Univariate procedure of SAS. The average litter size was 11.8. The average birth weight and weaning weights were 1.9 and 6.2 kg, respectively. No significant differences were found between male and female piglets for all the growth performance characteristics. Piglets born during winter had a significantly higher (P < 0.05) birth and weaning weight as compared to autumn and summer months. Season had a significant effect on birth and weaning weight (P < 0.01). However, sex of piglets had no significant effect on all the characteristics recorded (P > 0.05). The interaction between sex and season was only confirmed on the total number of weaned piglets (P < 0.01). A highly significant positive correlation was found between litter size and number of piglets born alive (r = 0.86) and total number of piglets weaned (r = 0.50). A highly significant correlation was found between total number of piglets born alive and total number of piglets weaned (r = 0.55). In conclusion, season of birth had the greatest impact on birth and weaning weight, with the highest birth and weaning weights recorded during winter season. However, sex did not affect the pre-weaning performance of piglets.

No abstract

This study was conducted to assess genetic variation in Bapedi sheep using 14 microsatellite markers. Blood samples were collected from 174 unrelated Bapedi sheep on six farms in various districts of Limpopo and from the Agricultural Research Council Animal Production Institute (ARC-API) in Gauteng. Genotypes from other South African indigenous sheep, namely Zulu (N = 14), Damara (N = 11), Dorper (N = 8), and Namaqua (N = 11), were included to represent reference populations. The effective number of alleles averaged 5.6 for across the Bapedi flocks and was 4.9 for the reference breeds. Among the Bapedi flocks, the observed heterozygosity (Ho) ranged from 0.56 ± 0.05 to 0.69 ± 0.03 and expected heterozygosity (He) values were between 0.75 ± 0.04 and 0.88 ± 0.01. Thus, there is considerable genetic diversity within the Bapedi sheep populations. However, the fixation index was high, indicating the possibility of inbreeding becoming a problem for these flocks. A neighbour-joining tree was constructed from the estimates of Nei’s genetic distances among flocks. The presence of Bapedi sheep flocks on all of the main branches of the tree along with one of the reference breeds suggests the present-day Bapedi is not an entirely distinct breed and that there are genetic differences between flocks of these South African indigenous sheep. Sustainable breeding and conservation programmes are needed to control inbreeding and to foreclose possible genetic dilution of Bapedi sheep. Keywords: genetic diversity, germplasm conservation, inbreeding, indigenous sheep

Agree Nephawe and Bohani Mtileni. This open access article is distributed under a Creative Commons Attribution (CC-BY) 3.0 license.

The aim of the study was to compare the effect of age and live body weight on the oestrus response, duration, pregnancy rate and lambing rate among South African indigenous sheep breeds (Zulu sheep = 36, Bapedi sheep = 26, Damara sheep = 10 and Namaqua Afrikaner sheep = 9). Control Intravaginal Drug Release Dispensers (CIDR's) were inserted into the vagina for 10 days. The twitching of tail and standing to be mounted in the presence of the teaser ram were most targeted signs of oestrus. Data were subjected to an appropriate analysis of variance (ANOVA). The scores were subjected to 1:1 Frequency table and a Chi-Square (²) test for the equal proportions test. One Bapedi ewe loss CIDR before removal date hence was removed from the experimental animals. All Namaqua Afrikaner (100%) ewes responded to the synchronization protocol with the longest oestrus duration (70.7±7.2 h). However, Namaqua Afrikaner sheep scored the lowest rate for conception (44%) and lambing (44%). No significant different (P>0.05) observed for the onset of oestrus among the breeds. Four years old ewes responded better to oestrus synchronization than ≤3, 5 and ≥6 years. Nevertheless, ewes that were ≥6 years old had higher conception rate (94%) and lambing rate (84%). Zulu sheep had higher (89%) lambing rate than Damara (60%) sheep and Namaqua Afrikaner (44%) sheep. Lighter ewes had higher conception (83%) and lambing rate (90%) than heavier (77 and 64%) and moderate (68 and 78%) weights, respectively. In conclusion, Zulu sheep were more fertile than other South African indigenous breeds following oestrus synchronization. On the other hand, young ewes (≤3 years) produced heavier lambs and weaning weight but had higher mortality rate due to inexperience.

The objectives of the current study were to evaluate the estrous response and pregnancy rate following timed artificial insemination (TAI) with frozen-thawed semen in cows. The study was carried out in cows at different villages of KwaZulu-Natal (KZN; n = 160) and Limpopo provinces (L; n = 171). Cows were selected randomly as presented by the farmers, regardless of parity, age, breed and body weight following pregnancy diagnosis. The cows were grouped according to breed type and body condition score (BCS) on a scale of 1-5. Selected cows were inserted a controlled intravaginal drug release (CIDR ®) and removed on day 8, followed by administration of prostaglandin. Heat was observed on day 9 with the aid of heat mount detectors (HMD) that were placed on the individual cow's tail head. Cows on heat were then inseminated twice at 12 hours interval. Pregnancy diagnosis was performed by an ultra-sound scanner and rectal palpation 90 days after TAI. Data were analyzed using SAS 2006. Estrous responses were 100% in KZN and 99% in Limpopo.