The reproductive effectiveness of reindeer bulls on Depo-Provera

• Main Author: Anderson, Danielle (Student of biology)
• Other Authors: Beck, Hans T., Department of Biological Sciences
• Format: Thesis
• Language: English
• Published: Northern Illinois University 2005
• Subjects: reproduction; reindeer bulls; Depo-Provera; Rangifer tarandus
• Online Access: http://commons.lib.niu.edu/handle/10843/16772

Includes bibliographical references. Reindeer (Rangifer tarandus) are a domesticated variety of caribou, commonly bred and herded by humans in some northern countries. Use of Depo-Provera (DP) is of interest to many reindeer breeders and exhibitors across North America. While on DP, bulls are more easily handled and treated as they would be throughout the rest of the year. A regimen of injectable Depo-Provera (DP) appears to be effective in controlling extremely aggressive behavior of reindeer bulls during the rut. However, it is not known whether or not this lowers their ability to breed as many cows as would have without the DP shots. In this study, we examined the reproductive effectiveness of reindeer bulls on a regimen of DP. We asked 1) do reindeer bulls on DP breed their cows and 2) do they produce healthy calves as successfully as non-treated normal bulls on an annual basis? The data for this analysis come from North American reindeer breeder records. We found that normal bulls bred an average of 11.49 cows per year, whereas DP bulls bred 11.15 per year. Normal bulls yielded an average of 9.69 calves per year, whereas DP bulls produced 10.04 per year. B.S. (Bachelor of Science)