Abstract

There is a lack of basic reproductive endocrine information for ostriches, though they are raised commercially in many countries. The aim of this work was to study the serum hormone levels of progesterone (P4) and estradiol (E2), in 20 two-year-old female ostriches during different phases of the reproductive behavior. The behavioral reproductive phases evaluated were determined by the frequency of reproductive displays such as beating wings, swinging head, and sitting position. Weekly blood samples were collected from all animals and the serum was stored in freezer at -30°C. The hormones were assayed with commercial kits (Progesterone™ DPC Coat-a-Count; Los Angeles, CA, and Estradiol™ DSL; Webster, TX).

The results showed differences (p<0.0001) between the mean values of both hormones of NSB group (P4, 0.21±0.18 ng/ml and E2, 91.32±39.41 pg/ml) when compared with the mean of all other groups with some degree of sexual behavior (P4, 0.42±0.04 ng/ml and E2, 161.61±95.00 pg/ml).