DURATION OF ESTROUS CYCLE AND DURATION OF ESTRUS IN LOCAL GOATS IN THE REGION OF KABYLIA (ALGERIA) "BEHAVIORAL STUDY"

The study was conducted in 16 local goats in the region of Kabylia (Algeria) for a period of 13 months. The goats were kept non-pregnant and permanent presence of an intact buck with a deck preventing mating. Detection twice daily (morning and evening) of heat for 30 minutes was carried out by directs observation. During the 13 months of the study 149 estrus and 135estrus cycles were detected. It was found that these goats are three types of cycles of different durations. Cycles lasting 15 to 25 days considered normal with a percentage of 49% and an average of 19.23 days. Cycles of short duration, from 3 to 14 days with a percentage of 45% above that observed for the resumption of sexual activity and seem characteristic of goats. As these cycles there are also long-term cycles from 26 to 35 days, but with small numbers with a percentage of 6%. The duration of estrus recorded ranged from 12 hours to 72 hours, with an average of 34.3 hours. We found that the duration of estrous is especially longer in autumn, with an average of 36.75 hours.