ABSTRACT
In order to increase conception rates to AI, an experiment was conducted to determine the effect of clitoral stimulation on pregnancy rate. Seven hundred and thirty-five Zebu-cross heifers were assigned to either of the following treatments: 1) control without clitoral stimulation (n=351) or 2) clitoral stimulation after IA (n=384). The data were analyzed using a linear model procedure. Clitoral stimulation increased pregnancy rates (57 vs 45 % for treated and control groups, respectively; P<0.02). Holstein x Zebu and Brown Swiss x Zebu heifers attained similar rates (P>0.05). There was a significant treatment-by-season interaction (P<0.01), with pregnancy rates being higher using clitoral massage during the rainy season (54.7 and 25.5% for the treated and control group respectively). In this study, manual clitoral stimulation increased conception rates in Zebu cross heifers under tropical conditions.