NONSURGICAL EMBRYO COLLECTION IN GOATS TREATED WITH PROSTAGLANDIN-F2-ALPHA AND OXYTOCIN

Embryos were collected transcervically from 38 unanesthetized goats in a standing position. Goats of the Beer breed were superovulated by in jecting them with 16 mg of pFSH containing 40% LH. Collection took pla ce 6 d after the last mating. A luteolytic dose of PGF(2 alpha) was in jected 16, 8, or 0 h before flushing the uterine lumen. One half of ea ch group received an additional injection of oxytocin just before flus hing. The flushing catheter was introduced transcervically, and 24 flu shings were performed, with a 2-h pause between the first 12 and the l ast 12 flushings. Injection of PGF(2 alpha) 16 or 8 h before transcerv ical embryo collection resulted in a significant increase (P < .001, c hi-square test) in embryo recovery (-16 h: 91% with oxytocin, 85% with out; -8 h: 91% with oxytocin, 80% without) compared with an injection at the time of collection (52% with oxytocin, 66% without). The recove ry rate which was estimated as the percentage of embryos recovered rel ative to the number of corpora lutea counted endoscopically, was compa rable to that achieved by surgical collection. There were no differenc es among groups with regard to embryo morphology. Embryos were transfe rred, and healthy kids were born. The nonsurgical collection of caprin e embryos may be considered a viable alternative to conventional surgi cal procedures.