Ovarian superstimulation and in vivo embryo production using a short or long-term progesterone treatment and different porcine FSH presentations in acyclic Toggenburg goats

This 2 × 2 factorial study evaluated different progesterone treatment durations and porcine follicle-stimulating hormone (pFSH) presentations for superovulation in acyclic Toggenburg goats. Goats (n = 56) received short (six days, G6) and long-term (17 days, G17) progesterone intravaginal devices combined with 133 mg (G6133mg and G17133mg) or 250 IU of pFSH (G6250IU and G17250IU) administered in six decreasing doses from 48 h before to 12 h after device removal. Does were naturally mated while in estrus. To monitor ovulation and the number of corpora lutea, ovarian transrectal ultrasound evaluations were performed on the days of the first pFSH administration, device removal, and six days later. Non-surgical embryo recovery (NSER) was performed 6–7 days after the first breeding. The G6250IU group had a shorter estrus duration and required fewer matings than the other groups (P < 0.05). Overall, the interval between the last dose of pFSH and the first sign of estrus detected (46.2 ± 2.3 vs. 35.3 ± 2.5 h) and the duration of estrus (38.2 ± 1.9 vs. 31.3 ± 3 h) differed (P < 0.05) between FSH133mg and FSH250IU, respectively, regardless of progesterone treatment duration. Shorter duration of NSER proceeding and higher embryo viability rate (P < 0.05) were observed in G17 groups. However, the percentage of viable structures was higher (P < 0.05) in G6133mg (52.5%; 21/40) and G17250IU (54.5%; 30/55) groups than in the G6250IU (10.6%; 5/47) and G17133mg (23.3%; 7/30) groups. In conclusion, short-term treatment with 133 mg of pFSH is effective in achieving satisfactory embryo viability rate while minimizing the animal’s exposure to progesterone.