Viability and freezing ability of rabbit embryos collected in the vagina after prostaglandin treatment

Morulae were collected from rabbit vaginas after prostaglandin treatment 65h post coitum. The optimum embryo recovery was obtained when the flushings started around 12h after the prostaglandin injection. The mean embryo collection was around 10 embryos per animal. These embryos had the same viability as those collected by the classical technique of uterine flushing (around 80%). The freezing ability of these embryos was also similar to that observed for uterus-collected embryos. Embryos not ejected after the treatment can develop in vivo and give birth to living progeny. The results obtained suggest that this technique can be used for egg transfer in rabbit genetic improvement programs.