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The effect of pheromones from cows in oestrus on the duration of the post-partum anoestrous period in beef cows

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  24 November 2017

I.A. Wright
Affiliation:
Macaulay Land Use Research Institute, Pentlandfield, Roslin, Midlothian EH25 9RT
S.M. Rhind
Affiliation:
Macaulay Land Use Research Institute, Pentlandfield, Roslin, Midlothian EH25 9RT
A.J. Smith
Affiliation:
Macaulay Land Use Research Institute, Pentlandfield, Roslin, Midlothian EH25 9RT
T.K. Whyte
Affiliation:
Macaulay Land Use Research Institute, Pentlandfield, Roslin, Midlothian EH25 9RT
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Extract

The term pheromone is used to describe a substance that is produced by an animal and creates a response in other Individuals of the same species.

Reproduction in females can be affected by pheromones from other females in a number of mammals. This can invoke a degree of synchrony of oestrous cycles in for example the hamster (Handelmann et al, 1980) and the human (McClintock, 1971). Izard and Vandenberg (1983) demonstrated that in heifers which had their oestrous cycles synchronised using exogenous prostaglandin the degree of synchrony was enhanced when they were exposed to cervical mucus from cows in oestrus. They suggested that cervical mucus from cows in oestrus contains a pheromone which can enhance the degree of synchrony of oestrus in heifers.

Type
Beef Production
Copyright
Copyright © The British Society of Animal Production 1992

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References

Handelman, G., Ravizza, R. and Ray, W.J. 1980. Horm. Behav. 14: 107–115.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Izard, M.K. and Vandenberg, J.G. 1982. J. Reprod. Pert. 66: 189–196.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
McLintock, M.K. 1970. Nature, 229: 244–245.Google Scholar