A review on recent oestrus synchronisation programs available for farm animals

It is still possible to maintain good reproductive performance in dairy herds without estrus synchronization, but it requires a sound heat detection program. Unfortunately maintaining an efficient heat detection program and quality heat detection personnel can be a never-ending challenge in today’s expanding herds. The major factor limiting optimum reproductive performance on many dairy farms is failure to detect cows in heat in a timely and accurate manner. Poor heat detection results in excessive number of days not pregnant (days open) which causes long calving intervals. This is economically important to the dairy business because for every day a cow is not pregnant beyond 120 days after calving it costs about Rs 100 per cow per day. For a 250-cow herd with an average of 140 days open, the cost would be Rs 200 per cow or Rs 10,000 per year compared to 120 days open. Oestrus synchronization is a management technique that makes use of hormones to control or reschedule the oestrus cycle. The present paper discusses the different oestrus synchronization protocols available for farm animals with their success ratio.