Oestrus synchronization with fixed-time artificial insemination in smallholder pig production systems in north-east India: Success rate and benefits

Pig production is an important component of the farming systems that are practised in the north-eastern region of India and it has special significance for improving the socio-economic status of tribal farmers in the region. In an effort to optimize the production efficiency of rural pig production systems, the potential influence of oestrus synchronization and fixed-time artificial insemination (AI) on synchronizing husbandry programmes was investigated. A total of 117 crossbred sows, selected from various village production units, were randomly allocated to two (control and treatment) groups. The sows in the treatment group (n = 81) received 800 IU of equine chorionic gonadotropin (eCG), followed by 500 IU of human chorionic gonadotropin (hCG) 72 hours after the eCG injection. The sows in the control group (n = 36) served as the untreated control. The onset of oestrus, oestrus signs, oestrus intensity, and duration of oestrus were observed after treatment. The oestrus sows were inseminated twice at 24 h and 36 h, respectively, after hCG injection at various village production units. Results revealed that 86.4% of sows in the treatment group exhibited all the behavioural and physical signs of oestrus. The average interval between treatment and onset of oestrus was 84.8 ± 2.43 hours. The mean oestrus intensity of sows in the treatment group was 2.3 (when assessed on a scale of 1 to 3), which did not differ significantly from the oestrus intensity exhibited by the control group. The duration of oestrus varied from 36 to 56 hours in the treated sows, which was significantly longer when compared with the duration of oestrus in the control group. The study obtained a farrowing rate of 82.6% and litter size of 9.2 ± 0.32 after oestrus synchronization with timed insemination. Oestrus synchronization facilitated the insemination of a batch of sows at particular locations covering two to three village clusters, which drastically reduced the transport costs for the semen. Oestrus synchronization facilitated the effective implementation of AI by coordinating the insemination of batches of sows, thus reducing shipping and insemination costs. Improving heat detection contributed to shortening the weaning to oestrous interval in smallholder pig production system, which in turn decreased production costs.______________________________________________________________________________________Keywords: Assisted reproduction, farrrowing rate, insemination cost, reproduction efficienc

Effect of breed and season on rabbit production under subtropical climate

[EN] The productive and reproductive performances of New Zealand White and Soviet Chinchilla breeds of rabbit were studied in the sub-tropical climate of Tripura, India. Data from 317 litters were collected and studied. The only signifi cant differences between the two breeds involved the number of services per conception and the inter-kindling interval which were signifi cantly (P<0.01) higher in the New Zealand White than in the Soviet Chinchilla breed. Neither breed nor gender had any signifi cant effect on individual body weight at weaning (42 d) or at day of slaughter (90 d). The season of kindling exerted a highly signifi cant (P<0.01) effect on the service period, kindling interval, and individual weight at weaning and at slaughtering age. Winter (November-March) was the most favourable season for kindling, whereas summer (April-June) proved to be the most unfavourable season in terms of both productive and reproductive effi ciency. The season of kindling did not affect age at the fi rst fertile service, age at fi rst kindling, the gestation period or the litter size at birth.Ghosh, S.; Das, A.; Bujarbaruah, K.; Das, A.; Dhiman, K.; Singh, N. (2010). Effect of breed and season on rabbit production under subtropical climate. World Rabbit Science. 16(1). doi:10.4995/wrs.2008.63816

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Not AvailablePresent study was conducted to evaluate the growth performance of Vanaraja chicken under backyard and intensive system at agroclimatic conditions of Meghalaya. Day-old chicks (525) of Vanaraja were procured from Project Directorate on Poultry, Hyderabad. Transit loss of day-old chicks was about 0.76%. After 6 weeks of brooding, 300 Vanaraja chicks were distributed to 15 farmers belonging to 6 villages of East Khasi hills and Ri-Bhoi districts of Meghalaya (12 females and 8 males to each farmer). The growth performance of Vanara ja birds were studied in terms of average body weights at fourth dAy, 2, 4, 6, 8, 10, 12, 16 and 18 weeks of age for male, female and combined sex under intensive system of rearing. There was significant difference in body weights between male and female birds from 2 weeks onwards. Feed conversion ratio and mortality percentage up to 6 weeks of age under intensive system.Not Availabl

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Not AvailableA preliminary study on the seroprevalence of infectious bovine rhinotracheitis (IBR) in different strains of mithun maintained at the National Research Centre on Mithun, Nagaland, India, revealed that the overall prevalence of IBR in these mithun was 19%. This paper examines the results of that preliminary study. To the knowledge of the authors, this is the first report on the seroprevalence of IBR in mithun in India. The highest prevalence of IBR was observed in mithun found in Arunachal Pradesh (38.46%), followed by those found in Mizoram (18.18%) and Nagaland (15.15%). None of the animals from Manipur were found to test positive for antibodies against IBR. The sex of the animal had no influence on IBR prevalence. The prevalence was found to be highest (27.03%) in mithun above three years of age and lowest (7.69%) in mithun aged between six months and one year. The prevalence of IBR was found to be 88.9% in breeding mithun bulls. In this paper, the authors briefly discuss the possible roles of feral fauna and domestic livestock in the transmission of this disease to mithun and vice versa. Various measures that may help in the prevention and control of IBR in mithun are also surveyed. However, it should be emphasised that this study is a preliminary one, and the authors are currently engaged in further research.Not Availabl

Changes in Mithun (Bos frontalis) spermatozoa during epididymal passage

Genital organs of 10 healthy, adult Mithun bulls (6-8 years old) that were slaughtered at the dwellings of tribal people for meat were collected. Immediately after collection, spermatozoa from 3 different regions of the epididymis, i.e. the head, body and tail, were obtained to study morphological changes of the spermatozoa during passage through these regions. The prevalence of proximal cytoplasmic droplets significantly decreased from the head to the tail of the epididymis. Conversely, the percentage of distal cytoplasmic droplets increased significantly from the head to the tail region. The incidence of tailless heads rose significantly from head to body and then reduced significantly in the tail region. The percentage of total head abnormalities did, however, not change markedly, but total mid-piece and tail abnormalities differed significantly between the three epididymal regions