Serum progesterone profile in Sudanese dromedary she camels bred under intensive systemization : III

Abstract EN

This study was conducted at Tumbool Camel Research Center (TCRC) that embeds on the middle western edges of the Butana area (east/ central Sudan) where, sizable Arabic herd camel ecotype Darfur (western Sudan) was kept under closed moderate intensive managemental system.

Monthly serum samples were collected from 8 mature female camels and three of their progeny heifers at two-year age and serum progesterone (P4) concentrations were measured.

After successful mating of the mature dams P4 increased and found ranging between 7.4 to 13.8 ng/ ml.

It remained elevated with pregnancy at a monthly mean of 10.85±7.12 ng/ml recording peak concentration at the 9th month of gestation (37.66 ng/ ml), and then declined to baseline concentration at parturition.

She camels carried male feti were found to had insignificant lower (P>0.05) progesterone levels (10.70±5.73 ng/ml) than those carrying female feti (11.41 ± 8.53 ng/ml).

She-camels carrying male feti found to had insignificant lower (P>0.05) progesterone levels (10.70±5.73 ng/ml) than those carrying female feti (11.41±8.53 ng/ml).

Contrarily dams carrying male and female feti respectively recorded gestation lengths of 386.67±2.67 and 382.5±2.63 days (P>0.05) respectively.

Sexual activity of the camel heifers was observed to begin at 30 month old and P4 concentrations started to increase to a measurable level (1.0 -5.0 ng/ml) at 30-32 months old with detectable oesrus signs