PREGNANCY DIAGNOSIS IN GOAT BY USING VAGINAL CYTOLOGY AND TRANS-ABDOMINAL ULTRASONOGRAPHY

Abstract

The present study was conducted in a goat farm for pregnancy detection by using vaginal cytology and B-mode real time ultrasound using 5 MHz probe by transabdominal method. Seventeen pregnant does were used for this study. The objective of the study was to determine the earliest days of pregnancy and describe the chronological characteristics of pregnancy from days 22 to days 40 for vaginal cytology and days 25 to days 60 for ultrasonography of gestation. The present study revealed that the pregnancy was detected at 22-25 days after mating by detection of higher average percentages of intermediate cells and few percentage of superficial, keratinized and neutrophil cells. Parabasal cells were absent. The average percentage of intermediate, superficial, keratinized and neutrophil cells during early stage of pregnancy were 81.12%, 9.41%, 7.10% and 2.61% respectively on 22-40th days. In case of real time B-mode ultrasonography, pregnancy was detected at 25 days after mating by detection of gestational sac. The gestational sac was observed only in three does out of seventeen (17.6 %) at 25-30 days whereas the placentomes & heart beat of the foetus were first detected at 31-35 days in six does (35.3%). The foetal leg buds were first visualized at 36-40 days in four does (23.5%) whereas the foetal vertebral column was first observed at 36-40 days of gestation in only three does (17.6%). It could be concluded that vaginal cytology may be used for detection of pregnancy in doe. The real time transabdominal ultrasonography pregnancy can be easily utilized for early pregnancy diagnosis in does at field level. Further work involving large number of animal throughout the pregnant period should be needed.