Male goats exposed to the “male-to-male effect” stimulate the reproductive activity and ensure high fertility of both does and male goats during the non-breeding season

Male goats stimulated by the “male-to-male effect” for one month and then introduced to anestrous does are as efficient as those stimulated by photoperiod in inducing cyclicity in anestrous does. Here, we determined whether the sexually active (SA) male goats can stimulate reproduction in does and males when housed together in the same flock during the non-breeding season, and whether male goats exposed to the “male-to-male effect” can fertilize does with the same efficiency and timeframe as SA males stimulated by photoperiod. In March, one group of does was kept isolated from male goats, while three other groups were housed with seasonally hypoactive males (SH). In April, the isolated group was joined with two SA male goats (SA group), while the other three groups were managed as follows: one group was joined with two SA male goats (SA + SH group); the second group was joined with two SA male goats which were fitted with aprons to prevent mating (SA-apron + SH group); and the third group was joined with two SH male goats (SH + SH group). The percentages of does that kidded did not differ among SA (73 %), SA + SH (70 %) and SA-apron + SH (76)% groups; however, all three had greater kidding rates than the SH + SH group (29 %). We conclude that SA male goats stimulate the reproductive activity in both does and male goats during non-breeding season when housed together in the same group. Furthermore, male goats stimulated by the “male-to-male effect” can achieve fertility rates and fertilization timeframe comparable to those of SA male goats.