A correlation of fecal volatiles and steroid hormone profiles with behavioral expression during estrous cycle of goat, Capra hircus.

Chemical signals (both volatile and non-volatile) form the major communication channels in animals. These signals are transferred mainly through excretory sources to facilitate inter-individual communication. In particular, the reproductive cycle of female mammals, including goats, exhibits significant changes in the constituents of their excretory products, and female mammals also express different behavioral patterns.

Faecal chemical cues in water buffalo that facilitate estrus detection.

Chemo-signals are among the reliable non-invasive methods for estrus detection in mammals. Water buffalo is a silent heat animal and, hence, there is search for chemo-signals which would be effective non-invasive indicators of estrus state. We analyzed the faecal chemical cues during the estrous cycle in buffalo and to find the estrus-specific faecal volatile compounds adopting bull behavior assay.