Hostname: page-component-78c5997874-fbnjt Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-11-19T08:16:53.425Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false

Reproduction in the gilt 3. The effect of exogenous oestrogen on the attainment of puberty and subsequent reproductive performance

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  02 September 2010

P. E. Hughes
Affiliation:
University of Nottingham School of Agriculture, Sutton Bonington, Loughborough, Leicestershire, LE12 5RD
D. J. A. Cole
Affiliation:
University of Nottingham School of Agriculture, Sutton Bonington, Loughborough, Leicestershire, LE12 5RD
Get access

Abstract

Ten Landrace × (Landrace × Large White) young female pigs were allocated to each of four treatments. The experiment was arranged as a 2 × 2 factorial design, the variables being oestradiol benzoate v. ethyl oleate and boar v. visual testing. The oestradiol benzoate (or ethyl oleate) was administered at 140 days of age, the treatment consisting of six injections, over a 3-day period, of 0·5 ml of either ethyl oleate or a solution of 0·4 mg/ml β-oestradiol-3-benzoate in ethyl oleate. Subsequently the gilts were either inspected visually each day or taken to a vasectomized boar for oestrus detection. All gilts were mated at the second oestrous period, and slaughtered on the 20th day of gestation. Those gilts receiving exogenous oestrogen attained puberty significantly earlier (P<0·01) than the control gilts. Of the 20 gilts treated with oestrogen, 12 (60%) attained puberty within 5 days of the start of treatment. No significant difference was found between boar testing and visual testing, although receptivity to mating appeared to be lower for visually tested gilts. There are no significant differences between treatments in ovulation rate, conception rate or embryo survival.

Type
Research Article
Copyright
Copyright © British Society of Animal Science 1978

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

Bronson, F. H. 1975. Male-induced precocial puberty in female mice: confirmation of the role of estrogen. Endocrinology 96: 511514.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Bronson, F. H. and Desjardins, C. 1974. Circulating concentrations of FS, HLH, estradiol and progesterone associated with acute male-induced puberty in female mice. Endocrinology 94: 1658–1658.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Brooks, P. H. and Cole, D. J. A. 1969. The effect of boar presence on age at puberty of gilts. Rep. Sch. Agric. Univ. Nott., pp. 7477.Google Scholar
Brooks, P. H. and Cole, D. J. A. 1973. Meat production from pigs which have farrowed. 1. Reproductive performance and feed conversion efficiency. Anim. Prod. 17: 305–305.Google Scholar
Dyrmundsson, Ø. R. 1972. Studies on the attainment of puberty and reproductive performance in Clun Forest ewe and ram lambs. Ph.D. Thesis, Univ. Wales.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Haresign, W., Foster, J. P., Haynes, N. B., Crighton, D. B. and Lamming, G. E. 1975. Progesterone levels following treatment of seasonally anoestrous ewes with synthetic LH-releasing hormone. J. Reprod. Fert. 43: 269–269.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Hughes, P. E. and Cole, D. J. A. 1975. Reproduction in the gilt. 1. The influence of age and weight at puberty on ovulation rate and embryo survival in the gilt. Anim. Prod. 21: 183–183.Google Scholar
Hughes, P. E. and Cole, D. J. A. 1976. Reproduction in the gilt. 2. The influence of gilt age at boar introduction on the attainment of puberty. Anim. Prod. 23: 89–89.Google Scholar
Smith, E. R. and Davidson, J. M. 1968. Role of estrogen in the cerebral control of puberty in female rats. Endocrinology 82: 100–100.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Stiff, M. E., Bronson, F. H. and Stetson, M. H. 1974. Plasma gonadotropins in prenatal and prepubertal female mice: disorganization of pubertal cycles in the absence of a male. Endocrinology 94: 492–492.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Zimmerman, D. R., Carlson, R. and Nippert, L. 1969. Age at puberty in gilts as affected by daily heat checks with a boar. J. Anim. Sci. 29: 203 (Abstr.).Google Scholar