Publication Date

1-1-2005

Document Type

Dissertation/Thesis

First Advisor

Beck, Hans T.

Degree Name

B.S. (Bachelor of Science)

Legacy Department

Department of Biological Sciences

Abstract

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.

Comments

Includes bibliographical references.

Extent

16 unnumbered pages

Language

eng

Publisher

Northern Illinois University

Rights Statement

In Copyright

Rights Statement 2

NIU theses are protected by copyright. They may be viewed from Huskie Commons for any purpose, but reproduction or distribution in any format is prohibited without the written permission of the authors.

Media Type

Text

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