Small Ruminant Research 55 (2004) 1519

Synchronization of estrus using CIDR, FGA or MAP intravaginal

pessaries during the breeding season in Nubian goats
J.E. Romano,1
Department of Large Animal Medicine & Surgery, College of Veterinary Medicine. Texas A&M University,
College Station, TX 77840-4475, USA
Received 5 July 2002; received in revised form 24 October 2003; accepted 29 October 2003

Abstract
During the breeding season (Autumn) 60 Nubian does were allocated to groups for estrous synchronization, using intravaginal pessaries impregnated with fluorgestone acetate (FGA; n = 20), medroxyprogesterone acetate (MAP; n = 20) or
controlled internal drug release devices (CIDR; n = 20). All intravaginal progestagens were administered for a period of
13 days. At pessary removal all does were injected with 5 mg prostaglandin F-20. Estrous detection was done using two
vasectomized bucks. Goats were intra-cervically inseminated with fresh, diluted and cooled semen at 12 and 24 h after onset
of estrus. Estrous response for all treatments groups was 100%. The onset of estrus for the CIDR, FGA and MAP groups was
(meanS.D.) 40.210.5, 32.99.7 and 48.812.0 h, respectively. Onset of estrus was shortest in the FGA group (32.99.7),
compared to the MAP (P < 0.01) and CIDR (P < 0.05) groups. In the CIDR group onset to estrus (40.2 10.5) was shorter
than in the MAP group (P < 0.05). The induced estrous duration for the CIDR, FGA and MAP groups were 39.2 10.9,
43.813.8 and 40.011.3 h, respectively. Kidding percentage recorded following AI in the CIDR, FGA, and MAP treatments
was 63, 65 and 63%, respectively. The use of FGA and MAP sponges and CIDRs with prostaglandin F-2 administration at
the time of pessary removal induced an efficient estrous response and acceptable fertility. The use of CIDR can be considered
a worthy alternative to replacing intravaginal sponges for estrous synchronization during the breeding season in Nubian goats.
2004 Published by Elsevier B.V.
Keywords: Goats; Estrous synchronization; Fluorgestone; Progesterone; Medroxyprogesterone

1. Introduction
Intravaginal sponges impregnated with progestagens have been extensively used in sheep and goats to
control estrus and ovulation during the breeding and
non-breeding season (Corteel, 1973; Corteel et al.,
1982; Robinson, 1979). One of the main problems associated with controlled breeding is the estimation of
Tel.: +1-979-845-3541; fax: +1-979-847-8863.
E-mail address: juanromano@sbcglobal.net (J.E. Romano).
1 Present address: 2186 South SanctuaryDr. New Berlin, WI
53151.

0921-4488/$ see front matter 2004 Published by Elsevier B.V.

doi:10.1016/j.smallrumres.2003.10.015

the time and degree of estrous response. Thus, if one

can pre-determine the time from withdrawal to onset of
estrus, the need for estrous detection could be reduced
or even eliminated (Corteel, 1975; Britt, 1987). In
goats, fluorogestone acetate (FGA) and medroxyprogesterone acetate (MAP) sponges, have been found
to be equally effective in estrous synchronization
(Bretzlaff and Madrid, 1989; East and Rowe, 1989;
Romano, 1996). The controlled internal drug release
(CIDR)devices have also been found to be effective in
controlling estrus and ovulation in sheep (Welch et al.,
1984; Ainsworth and Downey, 1986; Carlson et al.,
1989; Wheaton et al., 1993). In goats, CIDRs in con-

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J.E. Romano / Small Ruminant Research 55 (2004) 1519

junction with equine gonadotrophin (eCG) has been

regularly used in fixed-time AI programs in Cashmere
(Ritar et al., 1990) and feral goats (Moore et al., 1988).
Little is known however regarding this CIDR device when used in dairy goats without gonadotrophin
administration and when does are artificially inseminated following estrous detection. It is important to
avoid the use of eCG during the breeding season, as
the repeated use during the does life could lead to the
development of antibodies against eCG (Baril et al.,
1992; Drion et al., 2001) which, in turn, will decrease
the efficiency of ovarian stimulation. This is especially important when eCG is used for the induction
of estrus during the non-breeding season when there
are few alternative treatments (Corteel et al., 1982).
This study was undertaken to compare the efficacy
of three external sources of progestagens on estrous
response, onset of induced estrus, estrous duration
and fertility between intravaginal sponges impregnated with progestagens (FGA and MAP) and CIDRs
impregnated with natural progesterone during the
breeding season.

2. Materials and methods

This study was carried out on a commercial farm
in Montevideo, southern Uruguay (35B S), during the
first 2 weeks of April (Autumn). Sixty Nubian does
were allocated at random from a flock of 100. Thirtysix does were pluriparous, lactating 25-year-old
does, and 24 were nulliparous 1-year-old does. The
pluriparous does had kidded 6 months previously and
were milked twice a day with the aid of a milking
machine. The does had an acceptable body condition
score (average 3.25; Morand-Fehr et al., 1989) and
weighed between 45 and 60 kg. Before the study, each
doe was dewormed and submitted to a general physical examination and vaginal inspection. All goats
grazed together on improved pastures of rye grass
from 07:00 to 18:00 h and were housed overnight in
stalls to receive a concentrate. The amount of concentrate (a mixture of corn, oat and barley containing
15% of crude protein) consumed per doe per day varied between 400 and 500 g. A mineral salt lick and
drinking water was available ad libitum.
The does were randomly assigned to three treatment
groups, each consisting of 20 does (12 pluriparous

lactating and 8 nulliparous goats per group). The goats

were treated for 13 days with intravaginal sponges
containing either 30 mg fluorgestone acetate (FGA;
Chronogest, Intervet International B.V. Boxmeer,
Holland), or 60 mg medroxyprogesterone acetate
(MAP; Sincrocel, Instituto Veterinario Uruguayo.
Montevideo, Uruguay) or Controlled Internal Drug
Release devices(CIDR) containing 300 mg progesterone (Eazi-Breed CIDR, InterAg, Hamilton, New
Zealand). At pessary removal, all does were injected
intramuscularly with 5 mg prostaglandin F-2 (Lutalyse, Upjohn, Kalamazoo, USA). Estrus was detected
once a day while the pessaries were in place and three
times a day (06:00, 14:00 and 22:00 h) for 4 days after pessary removal. Estrous detection was performed
with the aid of two vasectomized bucks equipped with
a canvas apron. The experiment was performed in two
replicates with 10 animals/treatment/replicate at a 1
week interval. Semen was collected from a 2-year-old
Nubian buck of proven fertility by electroejaculation.
The buck had been previously evaluated according
to the criteria of the Society for Theriogenology for
breeding soundeness (Ott and Memon, 1980). Each
ejaculate was evaluated for volume and motility. Only
ejaculates of more than 0.5 ml and good motility
(three out of five) were used. Semen was diluted to
a constant sperm concentration of 1000 million spermatozoa/ml by using the hemocytometer method for
counting sperm. Dilution was performed in one step
at 32 C by addition of sterilized skimmed cow milk,
containing 1000 IU sodium G penicillin and 1000 g
of dihydrostreptomycin sulfate per ml of diluent.
Semen was then aspirated in 0.25 ml French straws,
sealed and cooled slowly to 45 C for 2 h. The semen
was equally distributed for insemination to the different groups and was maintained at this temperature for
up to 12 h after collection. Each doe was inseminated
intra-cervically 12 and 24 h after the onset of estrus.
The females were considered to be in estrus when
allowing to be mounted by the buck. Estrous duration
was defined as the time between the first and last accepted mount of the bucks. Kidding percentage was
recorded as the number of does kidded in relation to
number of does inseminated.
Treatment groups were compared using a one-way
ANOVA for onset of estrus and estrous duration. The
least significant difference (LSD) was used to compared the means between treatments. Estrous response

J.E. Romano / Small Ruminant Research 55 (2004) 1519

17

Table 1
The effect of progestagen treatment on estrous response, time to onset of estrus, duration of estrus and kidding percentage
Treatment groups
CIDR
FGA
MAP

n
19
19
20

Estrous response
(100)a

19
19 (100)a
20 (100)a

Onset to estrus (h) S.D.

Duration of estrus (h) S.D.

Kidding (%)

40.2
32.9 9.7a
48.8 12.0c

39.2
43.8 13.8a
40.0 11.3a

12/19 (63)a
12/19 (63)a
13/20 (65)a

10.5b

10.9a

Values with different superscripts (ac) in the same column differ significantly.

and reproductive performance were analyzed by the

Chi-square test. Differences were considered significant at a level of P < 0.05 (Snedecor and Cochran,
1967).

3. Results
Results on estrous response, onset of estrus, estrous
duration and reproductive performance are set out in
Table 1. No differences were found between the first
and second experimental replicate, therefore, the results are presented together. No pessaries were lost
during the trials. Two goats, one from FGA and one
from CIDR group were excluded from the statistical
analysis because of hoof problems. None of the goats
showed estrus while the pessaries were in place. There
was no significant difference in estrous response in all
groups (100%). The FGA group exhibited estrus significantly earlier when compared to CIDR (P < 0.05)
and MAP (P < 0.01). The time interval to estrus in the
CIDR group was shorter (P < 0.05) than in the MAP
group. The induced estrous duration for the CIDR,
FGA and MAP groups was 39.2 10.9, 43.8 13.8
and 40.011.3 h, respectively, with no differences between treatments. The kidding percentage was 12/19
(63%), 12/19 (63%) and 13/20 (65%) for the CIDR,
FGA and MAP groups, respectively.

4. Discussion
The estrous response was the same for all treatments and in agreement with Crosby et al. (1983). As
could be expected no does showed estrus while the
intravaginal pessaries were in place. Therefore, it can
be accepted that the dose of progestagen in the MAP,
FGA and CIDR devices absorbed from the vagina during treatment was sufficient to suppress the preovula-

tory discharge of pituitary gonadotropins (Baird et al.,

1975). Once the intravaginal pessaries were removed,
the estrous response was complete for all treatments
within 4 days (Holst and Moore, 1970). This shows,
that even though the CIDR contains a less potent hormone (i.e. progesterone), its efficiency was comparable to that of FGA and MAP (Robinson et al., 1967).
No CIDRs or intravaginal sponges were lost
throughout the experimental period. Other studies
have reported a high number of CIDRs lost in ewes
(Welch et al., 1984; Ainsworth and Downey, 1986;
Maxwell and Barnes, 1986; Rhodes and Nathanielsz,
1988). In addition, other disadvantages described by
Greyling and Brink (1987) while using CIDR dispensers, such as difficult insertion were not observed
in the present study. Previous experience with the use
of CIDRs in ewes and the technique for pessary insertion probably contributed to the success in this trial
and accounts for the less than 3% loss in practice.
The FGA group exhibited estrus significantly earlier
than the MAP group, which is in agreement with a
previous study (Romano, 1996). This could be due to
the difference in rate of absorption and metabolization
of each progestagen (Robinson et al., 1967; Romano,
1996). This fact is important as it could affect the
efficacy of fixed-time artificial insemination programs.
In the present study, the onset of estrus is in agreement
with previous reports in ewes that showed estrus to
start earlier in CIDR than in MAP devices (Welch
et al., 1984; Greyling and Brink, 1987; Rhodes and
Nathanielsz, 1988). Nevertheless, these results are not
in agreement with Shackell (1991) who found animals
treated with CIDRs to exhibit estrus earlier than FGA
or Maxwell and Barnes (1986) who did not record any
differences between FGA and CIDR pessaries.
Prostaglandin F-2 and eCG are factors that could
influence onset of estrus. In previous studies on goats,
prostaglandin F-2 was not administered at pessary
removal and only eCG was used (Moore et al., 1988;

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J.E. Romano / Small Ruminant Research 55 (2004) 1519

Ritar et al., 1990). Thus, the possibility that some animals maintained functional corpora lutea at pessary
removal was not eliminated. ECG is also known to reduce the interval between pessary removal and onset of
estrus (Corteel, 1975; Greyling et al., 1985) and to affect the duration of estrus (Greyling and Van Nierkerk,
1990).In this study, a luteolytic agent was used to remove any potential corpus luteum, and the use of eCG
was eliminated.
This study showed that, eventhough CIDR did not
advance the onset of estrus when compared to FGA, it
produced a more compact synchronization of estrus.
In the CIDR group, 79% of the does were detected
in estrus between 36 and 44 h following device withdrawal. This effect could make CIDRs a more desirable method of estrous synchronization, especially in
fixed-time artificial insemination programs.
The duration of estrus was similar for all treatments.
This is in agreement with a previous report that compared FGA with MAP in goats (Romano, 1996). Moreover, it was in accordance with a study that showed
that when the does where not mated, the duration of
estrus is longer (Romano, 1993). In sheep, CIDRs induced an estrous period of shorter duration than MAP
(Greyling and Brink, 1987).
The fertility (kidding percentage) results are similar to those recorded when MAP and FGA sponges
were used (Romano, 1996) and in data by Crosby
et al. (1983), working in ewes during late anoestrus. In
ewes, some researchers obtained a higher pregnancy
rate by using synthetic progestagens (FGA and MAP)
compared to progesterone (in sponges or CIDRs), particularly in the breeding season (Crosby et al., 1991).
On the basis of this study, it may be concluded
that a 13-day treatment with intravaginal CIDRs is
comparable to intravaginal sponges (FGA or MAP) for
the control and synchronization of the estrous cycle
in pluriparous, lactating and nulliparous dairy goats
during the breeding season. In addition, CIDRs offer
other important advantages. Firstly, the CIDR contains
low doses of natural progestagen, i.e. progesterone.,
and this may be a better option for animals bred for
meat production. Secondly, there is no need to break
the hymen 2 weeks prior to the time of intravaginal
sponge insertion (personal experience). This reduces
the chances of vaginal adhesions and the times the
animals are to be handled. Finally, at CIDR removal
the accumulation of vaginal mucous secretions were

not noted nor was difficult withdrawal experienced, as

is often the case in intravaginal sponges.
Results indicate that the use of CIDR, MAP and
FGA treatments plus prostaglandin F-2 following
progestagen withdrawal to be equally efficient in synchronizing estrus in goats, with similar fertility between treatments.

Acknowledgements
The author acknowledges the invaluable help of Mr.
Giancarlo Moneta and Miguel Serratto from the farm
Rincn de la Colorada, Montevideo, Uruguay.
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