Značenje praćenja peripartalnog razdoblja u cilju poboljšanja plodnosti mliječnih krava (original) (raw)

Importance of monitoring the peripartal period to increase reproductive performance in dairy cattle

2018

Due to the successful genetic selection for higher milk production in Holstein dairy cows, a dramatic decline in fertility rates O. Szenci, z. Szelényi, lea lénárt, D. Buják, l. kOvácS, luca FruzSina kézér, B. Han and a. HOrvátH veterinarSka Stanica 49 (4), 297-307, 2018. 304 has been observed around in the world in recent decades. Therefore, herd management should focus the first 100 days postpartum to achieve optimum herd reproductive performance (calving interval less than 400 days). After calving, a cow has to overcome a series of physiological hurdles before becoming pregnant. The selection of timely diagnostic devices and methods, such as the calving alarm vaginal thermometer to predict the onset of calving, electronic hand-held BHBA measuring system to detect subclinical ketosis on the farm, long-term measurement of reticuloruminal pH by an indwelling and wireless data transmitting unit to monitor subclinical acidosis, monitoring rumination time to select cows for early treat...

Postpartum Reproductive Management Based on the Routine Farm Records of a Dairy Herd: Relationship between the Metabolic Parameters and Postpartum Ovarian Activity

Asian-Australasian Journal of Animal Sciences, 2005

The aim of this study was 1) to confirm the practical efficiency of a routine milk P4 monitoring system for postpartum reproductive management of a dairy herd, and 2) to evaluate the relationship between the blood metabolic profiles, milk quality and body weight of individual cows in the farm records, which may reflect the postpartum nutritional condition, and the time of postpartum resumption of ovarian activity of dairy cows. A total of 116 Holstein cows was used in the present study. First, during the period of Experiment 1, postpartum reproductive management based on weekly measured milk P4 concentration from individual cows was conducted. Compared with the reproductive records of the past two years without P4 monitoring, although the day from calving to first AI did not change, both the number of AI until pregnant (with P4; 1.9 times vs. without P4; 2.9 times) and the days open (with P4; 95.1 days vs. without P4; 135.8 days and 133.8 days) were significantly decreased. In Experiment 2, the measurement of blood constituents such as albumin, blood urea nitrogen, packed cell volume, ammonia, glucose, total cholesterol, non-esterified, AST and γ-GTP was performed on the blood samples taken once approximately 14 days postpartum, to monitor both health and nutritional conditions. The milk constituent parameters, such as milk protein (MP), milk fat (MF), SNF and lactose, collected from the monthly progeny test of individual cows, were used to monitor the postpartum nutritional status. Furthermore, the data obtained from the routine measurements of body weight were used to calculate the rate of peripartum body weight loss. The resumption day of the postpartum estrous cycle was assumed from the milk P4 profiles of individual cows. There was no clear relationship between each parameter from blood examination and those from resumption time. However, the cows had low values of MP, and SNF, which significantly affected the resumption of the postpartum estrous cycle. Similarly, a higher rate of body weight loss indicated a significant delay (more than 1 month) in the resumption of the postpartum estrous cycle, compared with the groups that had a medium or lower rate of body weight loss. The results of the present study demonstrated that the implementation of routine milk P4 monitoring-based postpartum reproductive management, together with milk quality parameters and routine BW data available in field conditions may be utilized as a practical approach for increasing the postpartum reproductive efficiency of a high yielding dairy herd.

Effect of monitoring the onset of calving by a calving alarm thermometer on the prevalence of dystocia, stillbirth, retained fetal membranes and clinical metritis in a Hungarian dairy farm

Theriogenology, 2019

The objective of the present study was to assess the effectiveness of an intravaginal thermometer in the field prediction of the second stage of labor and to determine its impact on the health of dams and newborn calves. Holstein cows (n ¼ 241) were randomly selected about 5 (mean ± SD: 4.7 ± 2.0) days before the expected date of calving and the thermometer was inserted into the vagina. Another 113 cattle served as controls. There was no false alarm during the experiment. The risk of dystocia (Score >1) was 1.9 times higher, the prevalence of stillbirth was 19.8 times higher, the risk of retained fetal membranes (RFM) was 2.8 times higher and the risk of clinical metritis was 10.5 times higher in the control group than in the experimental group. The prevalence of stillbirth was 7 times higher in cows with dystocia compared to cows with eutocia. The presence of dystocia and stillbirth increased the risk of RFM 4 and 5 times, respectively. The occurrence of RFM increased the risk of development of clinical metritis with a 22 times higher odds. The results indicate that the use of calving alert systems not only facilitates controlling the time of parturition and providing prompt and appropriate calving assistance but also decreases the number of dystocia cases and improves reproductive efficiency, postpartum health of the dam and newborn calf survival.

Monitoring Metabolic Health of Dairy Cattle in the Transition Period

Journal of Reproduction and Development, 2010

This paper reviews the importance of energy metabolism in transition dairy cows, its associations with disease and reproduction, and strategies for monitoring cows under field conditions during this critical time. Essentially all dairy cattle experience a period of insulin resistance, reduced feed intake, negative energy balance, hypocalcemia, reduced immune function, and bacterial contamination of the uterus soon before, or in the weeks after calving. One-third of dairy cows may be affected by some form of metabolic or infectious disease in early lactation. Routine, proactive actions, observations, or analysis are intended to accurately and efficiently provide early detection of problems, to provide an opportunity for investigation and intervention in order to limit the consequences and costs of health problems and reduced animal performance or welfare. Methods of early detection include monitoring of disease and culling records, feed intake, milk production, body condition, and simple metabolic tests. Methods, strategies, and interpretation of measurement of peripartum concentrations of non-esterified fatty acids (NEFA) and βhydroxybutyrate (BHB) as indicators of aspects of energy status and disease risk are reviewed. High NEFA (> 0.4 mmol/l) in the last 7 to 10 days before expected calving is associated with increased risk of displaced abomasum (DA), retained placenta, culling before 60 days in milk, and less milk production in the first 4 months of lactation. Subclinical ketosis (serum BHB > 1200 to 1400 μmol/l) in the first or second week after calving is associated with increased risk of DA, metritis, clinical ketosis, endometritis, prolonged postpartum anovulation, increased severity of mastitis, and lower milk production in early lactation. There are several validated and practical tools for cow-side measurement of ketosis.

Methods for and Implementation of Pregnancy Diagnosis in Dairy Cows

Although coupling a nonpregnancy diagnosis with a management strategy to quickly reinitiate artificial insemination (AI) may improve reproductive efficiency by decreasing the interval between AI services, early pregnancy loss limits the accuracy of many direct and indirect methods for early pregnancy diagnosis currently under development. These limitations make the benefits of many currently available methods for early pregnancy diagnosis questionable and require that all cows diagnosed pregnant early after insemination be scheduled for pregnancy reconfirmations at later times during gestation to identify cows experiencing pregnancy loss. Although research and development efforts are being made toward development of an indirect pregnancy test for dairy cows, it remains to be seen whether these indirect tests will replace transrectal palpation or transrectal ultrasonography as the primary methods used for pregnancy diagnosis in dairy cows or whether veterinarians will combine these methods in a reproductive management program. Future technologies for pregnancy diagnosis in dairy cows may someday overcome current limitations of direct and indirect methods for pregnancy diagnosis, thereby improving reproductive performance.

A New Perspective on Management of Reproduction in Dairy Cows: the Need for Detailed Metabolic Information, an Improved Selection Index and Extended Lactation

Journal of Reproduction and Development, 2006

For lactating dairy cows, we need management tools, that are "clean, green and ethical", cost-effective and easy to use. Specific tools are needed for artificial insemination (AI) after oestrus detection within a few months of calving, and for managing the complex nutritional requirements of cows between successive calvings. Assessment of energy deficit by measurement of body condition score (BCS) has been useful in the past but we now need more sophisticated ways to measure the relationship between adipose tissue and fertility. For this reason, we have focused our attention on the cells of the adipose tissue, the adipocytes, and the role of the hormone that they produce, leptin. This hormone affects pulsatile LH release and, in dairy cows, it seems to be linked to the first postpartum ovulation. Adipocytes are always sensing energy status and they control leptin secretion dynamically, so blood leptin concentrations can change acutely, even when there is no detectable change in BCS. Leptin secretion seems to be determined by the secretory activity of each adipocyte as well as the total mass of adipocytes in the body of the animal (as measured by BCS). The strong relationship between BCS, leptin concentration and reproductive function in dairy cows suggests that we should reconsider the interval of the recovery from prepartum and postpartum damages, the need for high milk yields at the last lactation causing the dry-off stress and the subsequent troubles. We should also re-assess the current drive to reduce calving interval because milk yields during the early stages of lactation are economically very important but high yields seem to cause several metabolic and reproductive disorders in modern dairy cows. In general, the thinking has been that calving interval must be short because short intervals are more profitable. However, if we remember that main product from dairy cows is milk and that a short calving interval is very difficult without reproductive problems, then a longer calving interval might be more sensible and also more profitable. We have example of an extended calving interval in Japan, Supercows which are very rare cows yielding remarkable high milk. Finally, we probably need to improve dairy cows genetically if we are to achieve the goal of "clean, green and ethical" dairy farming. This paper reviews data relevant to these strategies and we conclude that more basic and applied research will be required if we are to find ways to reach that goal.

Comprehensive methods of diagnosis and prevention of postpartum complications in cows

Bulletin of Sumy National Agrarian University. The series: Veterinary Medicine, 2020

The experiments were conducted during 2018 - 2020 on cows of black-spotted breed in the conditions of LLC "Ryasnyanske" of Krasnopil district of Sumy region. Cows were aged 4 - 8 years with an average annual milk yield of 2.5 - 3.1 thousand kg of milk per lactation. Assessment of the postpartum period was performed according to the changes that occurred in the female reproductive system. This took into account not only the general condition of the animals, the nature of the exudate, the size and topography of the uterus, but also the condition of the ovaries, cervix and vagina in rectal and vaginal examinations. Diagnosis of various forms of endometritis was performed based on medical history, clinical and gynecological studies. For the treatment of cows of the experimental group with postpartum endometritis, they were injected subcutaneously with 10 ml of the drug "Metrisan" in a mixture with 0.5% solution of novocaine at a rate of 1: 1. The interval between inj...

Evaluation of remote monitoring of parturition in dairy cattle as a new tool for calving management

BMC Veterinary Research, 2013

Background: Proper calving management of dairy herds is a crucial aspect of the bovine life cycle, as it has profound effects on calf viability and on the post-partum course of the dam. The objectives of this study were to monitor the calving process through the use of a remote alarm system and to determine the impact of prompt emergency obstetric procedures in case of dystocia for the prevention of stillbirths and post-partum reproductive pathologies, and for improving herd fertility. Six groups of experimental animals were studied: monitored heifers (n = 60) and multiparous cows (n = 60) were compared with non-observed animals (n = 60 heifers and n = 60 multiparous) giving birth during the same time period and housed in the calving barn, and with unmonitored animals placed in a dry zone (n = 240 heifers and n = 112 multiparous cows). Results: The incidence of dystocia ranged from a minimum of 23.4% (monitored multiparous cows) to a maximum of 33.3% (monitored heifers), and there were no differences compared with control groups. However, the rate of stillbirth was higher in control groups than in the monitored groups (P < 0.01). Among both heifers and multiparous cows, the incidence of post-partum uterine infections was higher in the unmonitored animals both in the calving barn (P < 0.01) and in the dry zone (P < 0.05) compared with monitored animals. Among both heifers and multiparous cows, the control groups showed higher rates of foetal membrane retention than did the monitored groups (P < 0.001). The calving-to-conception interval was shorter; in particular, observed heifers showed a significant advantage of approximately 46 days compared with the unmonitored group (P < 0.001) and 32 days compared with the group in the calving barn (P < 0.05). Multiparous cows also had a reduction in the number of days open.