Field evaluation of visual endoscope-assisted transcervical artificial insemination in goats: Effects on insemination time and pregnancy outcomes under tropical conditions

TL;DR

A new method for goat insemination using a visual endoscope was tested in tropical conditions and showed faster procedure times and similar pregnancy rates compared to traditional methods.

Contribution

The study introduces and evaluates a minimally invasive visual endoscope-assisted insemination method for goats in field settings.

Findings

VE-TCAI reduced insemination time, with 78% of does inseminated within 1 minute compared to 39% with C-TCAI.

Pregnancy rates were numerically higher with VE-TCAI (45.5%) than C-TCAI (33.3%), though not statistically significant.

No major complications were observed, and the overall conception rate was 37.8% across both methods.

Abstract

Artificial insemination (AI) in goats is constrained by the complex cervical anatomy, which limits the efficiency of conventional transcervical AI (C-TCAI), particularly under field conditions. Although laparoscopic AI (LAI) achieves higher fertility rates, its invasive nature, need for anesthesia, and high operational costs limit its routine application. Visual endoscope-assisted transcervical AI (VE-TCAI) offers a minimally invasive alternative that enables real-time cervical visualization and potentially improves procedural efficiency. This study evaluated the field performance of VE-TCAI compared with C-TCAI in native–Boer crossbred goats by assessing insemination time and pregnancy outcomes.

A total of 37 multiparous native–Boer crossbred does maintained on two commercial farms in northeastern Thailand were enrolled in a completely randomized field trial. Estrus was synchronized using intravaginal progesterone-releasing devices in combination with equine chorionic gonadotropin and cloprostenol sodium. Fixed-time AI was performed 48 h after device removal using frozen–thawed semen (200 million spermatozoa per doe). Does were inseminated either by C-TCAI using a vaginal speculum or by VE-TCAI using a portable visual endoscopic insemination system. Insemination time was recorded and categorized as ≤1 min or >1 min. Pregnancy was diagnosed by transabdominal ultrasonography at 45 days postinsemination. Data were analyzed using Fisher’s exact test.

VE-TCAI significantly improved procedural efficiency, with a greater proportion of does inseminated within 1 min compared with C-TCAI (78% vs 39%; p = 0.020). Pregnancy rates were numerically higher in the VE-TCAI group than in the C-TCAI group (45.5% vs 33.3%), although the difference was not statistically significant (p = 0.737). Overall conception rate across both methods was 37.8%, yielding an average litter size of 1.36 kids per pregnant doe. No major procedure-related complications were observed.

Visual endoscope-assisted transcervical AI markedly reduced insemination time and facilitated easier cervical navigation under field conditions. Although pregnancy rates did not differ significantly, the consistent numerical improvement suggests potential biological relevance. VE-TCAI represents a practical, minimally invasive alternative to C-TCAI and LAI for field-based goat breeding programs, particularly in tropical production systems, warranting validation in larger multi-farm studies.

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