The agouti (Dasyprocta sp.) is a hystricomorph rodent found in some regions of the Americas. It is an important cynegetic species, which indicates that the overhunting is a threat to their conservation. Very little is known about this wildlife in relation to what already has been studied in domestic animals. Thus, the knowledge on reproduction of wildlife becomes necessary and essential for the management and conservation of these natural resources. Specifically, studies regarding hormonal monitoring are important as a basic tool for research in modern reproductive biotechnology, and currently, there is no information on the progesterone changes during pregnancy of Dasyprocta sp., compared to other hystricomorphs. The aim of this study was to describe the profile of plasmatic progesterone during pregnancy, and report the restart of ovarian cycle in agouti after parturition. For this purpose, 18 black-rumped agoutis (Dasyprocta prymnolopha) born in captivity were used, and one or more consecutive pregnancies were observed. Copulation was confirmed by the presence of spermatozoa observed in the colpocytological examination. Blood samples were collected two times per week, and concentrations of progesterone, assessed in ten agoutis, were determined by radioimmunoassay. The onset of ovarian activity in six females was observed daily by colpocytological examination, starting on the seventh day postpartum. The gestational period observed in this study was 104.04 days (SD = 1.31) (101-106 days) (Number of cases, N = 26), and the interval between births was 126.03 days (SD = 18.40) (109-184 days). The plasmatic profile of progesterone during pregnancy showed a progressive increase from the 1st to the 5th week. The higher progesterone levels over this period (6.88 ng / mL, SD = 3.01) were detected in the 5th week. This value was similar (One-Way ANOVA, p > 0.05) to that observed in the 4th and 6th weeks, but was statistically different (One-Way ANOVA, p < 0.05) when compared to the other weeks. After the 6th week there was a progressive decrease in plasmatic progesterone levels. The animals showed a postpartum estrus of 12.04 days (SD= 4.29) (7-24 days) (N= 23). It was observed that 80.95 % (N= 19) of copulations during this period were fertile. This work contributed to understanding the dynamic changes in the progesterone levels during the pregnancy in agouti. Nevertheless, more studies are needed for a better appreciation of other endocrine and biological changes, in the mother and feto-placental unit of the agouti.

No abstract

The red-rumped agouti (Dasyprocta leporina) produces precocial young and is the most hunted and farmed game species in several Neotropical countries. An understanding of the reproductive biology, including the relationship between litter size and teat functionality is crucial for conservation management of this animal. In precocial mammals, as the red-rumped agouti, maintaining maternal contact to learn foraging patterns may be more important than the energy demands and nutritional constraints during lactation and suckling may not play important roles when compared to altricial mammals. Therefore, in this study we evaluated the relationship between mammary functionality with litter size, litter birth weight, and parturition number in captive red-rumped agouti. Functionality was assessed by manual palpation of teats from un-sedated females (N=43). We compared the average birth weight of all newborns, male newborns and female newborns among agoutis with different litter sizes and different parturitions by one way ANOVA's, while Pearson's Chi-squared tests were used to detect relationships between teat functionality, litter size, and parturition number. Parturition number had no effect on the mean birth weight of all young (F 0.822 , P > 0.05), male young (F 0.80 , P > 0.05) or female young (F 0.66 , P > 0.05) in the litters. We found (i) no significant correlations (P > 0.05) between teat functionality and litter size and (ii) no significant correlations (P > 0.05) between teat functionality and parturition number. This suggests that whilst all teat pairs were functional, functionality was a poor indicator of litter size; suggesting that female agouti young may not have a high dependency on maternal nutrition; an possible evolutionary strategy resulting in large wild populations; hence its popularity as a game species.Keywords: animal reproduction, agouti, Dasyprocta leporina, teat functionality, weaning age. Compreendendo a atividade mamária na cutia e as implicações para o manejo e a conservação desta espécie cinegética Neotropical ResumoA cutia (Dasyprocta leporina) produz filhotes precoces, e é a espécie cinegética mais caçada e criada em muitos países neotropicais. O entendimento da biologia reprodutiva, incluindo a relação entre o tamanho da ninhada e a funcionalidade das glândulas mamárias é crucial para o manejo conservacionista deste animal. Nos mamíferos precoces, como a cutia, manter o contato materno para a aprendizagem de padrões de forrageamento pode ser mais importante do que a demanda energética e de restrição nutricional durante a lactação, e a amamentação pode não desempenhar um papel importante quando comparado aos mamíferos altriciais. Portanto, neste estudo nós avaliamos a relação entre a funcionalidade mamária com o tamanho da ninhada, peso ao nascer da ninhada, e o número de partos em cutias cativas. A funcionalidade foi avaliada por meio de palpação manual das glândulas mamárias em fêmeas não sedadas (N=43). Nós comparamos a média do peso ao nascer de todos os recém-nascidos, macho ...

towards eating smaller kid goat meat has developed in many counties but more so in the tropical regions of the Indian subcontinent which includes Pakistan, India, Bangladesh, Nepal, Sri Lanka etc. An average carcass weight of 10-14 kg for the goat is considered normal but the tender meat of goats of dressed carcass weight as low as 3-4 kg has emerged for certain tastes. It is achieved by early slaughtering of teddy breeds of goats in India and Pakistan. Sometimes these small goats look like big cats roaming the slaughterhouse floors in these countries.Quality traits of any kind of red meat can be divided into three broad lines, composition of the meat to indicate nutritive value, physical characteristics for visual acceptance and processing ease as it relates to the biochemical parameters indicative of normal processing treatments. Goat meat has brick red color and chalk white fat; both colors darken with the age of the animal. The processing characteristics of chevon are known to be as good as of other meats, so it can be easily put in place of beef or beefalo. In some respects like its use in emulsion products, it is as good as lamb and better than beef.From the nutritional point of view goat meat is a very important source of animal protein in most developing countries, however, not enough research seems to have been carried out on its different nutritional properties and aspects. An average composition of goat meat is as follows, moisture 74-76%, protein 20.6-22.3%, fat 0.5-2.5% and ash about 1.0%. Chevon contains more essential amino acids like arginine, leucine and iso-leucine than sheep meat. Goat meat has a lesser fat content and appears to have more oleic acid in its fat depots than sheep. Goat meat has higher content of thiamine and riboflavin in the liver but it is low in niacin. Management factors and practices affect goat meat yield and meat quality, like tenderness and juiciness. The paper reviews most of the related aspects of goat meat to conclude some important points.

No abstract