Creole goat and sheep reproduction in Guadeloupe and Martinique

Abstract

Ovine and caprine breeds from Martinique and Guadeloupe demonstrated a permanent sexual activity all over the year. In adult non-pregnant females ovulatory and oestrous cycles persisted continuously; in the adult, male sperm production and sexual behaviour are continuous during the year. In the young female onset of puberty is precocious, it nevertheless, occurred only during the last six months in the year. Resumption of post-partum sexual activity, even depending on season of parturition and on number of young suckled, is rapid. These characteristics allowed local ewes and she-goats to easily follow the reproductive rhythm of 3 gestations over two years, innatural mating. It is, however, necessary to complete an efficient organization of the mating periods by systematically using the « male effect » and by limitating their duration. The « plasticity of reproduction » of these breeds, coupled with their relatively high ovulation rate and litter size, placed them among the better productive ones of the tropical zone.