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Camelid Mating - Anatomy & Physiology (view source)
Revision as of 07:52, 4 August 2008
, 07:52, 4 August 2008→Female
= Female =
= Female =
== Puberty ==
* Sexually active at 2 - 3 years of age but usually they are not bred until they are 4 years old.
* Several factors that can influence the age of the onset of puberty, such as nutrition, season of birth and breed.
** The most important factors being the nutrition and adequate growth, as these influence the onset of ovarian activity and chances of conceiving and carrying the pregnancy to term.
** If females are bred before they reach 70% of their adult body weight they run a greater risk of abortion.
== Seasonality ==
* Seasonal breeders, with a relatively short breeding season.
* Outside of the breeding season mating activity ceases and the ovaries are inactive or only have a few, small follicles.
* Breed at a time of low climatic temperature, rain and better grazing conditions.
== Endocrinology of Seasonality ==
* Plasma levels of oestradiol 17β very considerably from one month to another but there does not seem to be any association between the level of this hormone and breeding activity. * Concentrations of LH are higher during the breeding season than during the non-breeding season.
** During the breeding season the pituitary gland is more sensitive to and releases more LH in response to Gonadotrophin Releasing Hormone (GnRH) release from the hypothalamus.
== Oestrous Behaviour ==
The proportion of females displaying strong oestrus behaviour is usually small and not all the females will show all these signs, despite the presence of a mature follicle. Also, receptivity to the male can be displayed by females with no follicles in the ovaries and for up to 7 days after ovulation or when pregnant and progesterone levels are high. Oestrous behaviour therefore cannot be used reliably to decide the timing of breeding.
* Mounting other females
* Restlessness
* Swelling of the vulva
* Straddling the hind legs and urinating
* Vaginal mucus discharge
* Receptivity to the male
* lasts on average 4 - 6 days, but can vary from 1 - 21 days.
= Copulation =
= Copulation =