The Effect of Retained Placenta and Metritis Complex on Reproductive Performance in Dairy Cattle — A Case Control Study

A study of the computer stored records of 293 dairy cows and 652 calvings reveals the effects of retained placenta and metritis complex on reproductive performance. The overall incidence rate of retained placenta was 11.2%. Retained placenta was 4.6 times more likely to occur following twin births than following single births. Most cases of retained placenta occurred during the fall. Forty-five percent of that seasonal increase was explained by an increased number of calvings. Metritis complex was diagnosed following 54.8% of retained placenta cases. Retained placenta alone did not significantly impair reproductive performance. Metritis complex, in the presence or absence of retained placenta, caused a significant (P相似文献   

The effects of calving to first service interval on reproductive performance in normal cows and cows with postpartal disease

The relationships between the calving to first service interval and several measures of reproductive performance were evaluated in 1738 lactation records from cows in 32 southern Ontario Holstein herds. Lactation records were divided into three mutually exclusive health categories based on the cows' postpartal disease histories.

Relationships between the calving to first service interval and the first service conception rate, number of services per conception and open interval were similar for all three health categories. The first service conception rate was lower and the average number of services per conception higher in cows first bred before 60 days when compared to cows first bred after 60 days. The relationship between the calving to first service interval and the open interval indicated that for each day that breeding was delayed the open interval was extended by 0.86 days.

It appeared that overall conception rates may be lower for cows first bred very early or very late, but differences in the overall conception rate were only significant for cows experiencing a reproductive tract infection. Unless very expensive semen is being used, it is suggested that disease free cows be bred at the first heat occurring after 40 days postpartum, and that cows experiencing postpartal disease be bred at the first heat occurring after 60 days postpartum.

     

An epidemiological and genetic study on registered diseases in Finnish Ayrshire cattle. II. Reproductive disorders

The epidemiology and genetic variability of the most common reproductive diseases were examined. The data set consisted of the lactation records of 70,775 Finnish Ayrshire dairy cows. Each cow was under observation for 2 days before for 305 days after calving. Lactation incidence rates (%) were: dystocia (DYST) 0.9, retained placenta (RTPL) 4.5, metritis (METR) 2.3, anoestrus and suboe&trus (ESTR) 5.2, and ovulatory dysfunction (CYST) 7.0. These diseases formed 33 % of all first treatmetns by veterinarians during farm visits. The occurrence of DYST, RTPL and METR was lowest in parity 2. ESTR decreased and CYST increased with parity. Cows calving during the dark season (September-February) had a higher risk of ESTR, METR and CYST (odds ratios (OR) 2.2–1.1) and a lower risk of RTPL (OR 0.9) than those calving during the light season (March-August). The increase in herd milk yield was positively associated with the occurrence of reproductive disorders. The cows with a history of parturient paresis had a higher risk of contracting CYST, RTPL and METR (OR 6.6–1.8), the cows with retained placenta of contracting metritis (OR 5.1), the cows with metritis of contracting ESTR and CYST (OR 1.5–1.7), the cows with mastitis of contracting METR and ESTR (OR 2.0–1.3) and the cows with ketosis of contracting METR, ESTR and CYST (OR 2.7–1.6). Heretabilities were determined for 5 diseases and for infertility in general. Heritability estimates for parity 2 were: DYST 2 %, RTPL 3 %, METR 7 %, ESTR 12 %, CYST 12 %, and infertility in general 5 %. Heritability for calving interval was 5 % in parity 1 and 6 % in parity 2.     

Associations between health disorders of French dairy cows and early and late culling within the lactation

Data from an observational study, carried out during a 4.5 year period (1986–1990), were used to quantify the effects of health disorders on the risk of culling. The study population consisted of 47 commercial Holstein dairy herds from western France, comprising 4123 cows.

Logistic regression was used to assess the relationships between health disorders and early and late culling. Fourteen main health disorders with clinical signs and one subclinical disease were studied: abortion, periparturient accident, calving provided with assistance, digestive disorders, ketosis, locomotor disorders, mastitis, metritis, milk fever, cystic ovaries, respiratory disorders, retained placenta, teat injuries, non-traumatic udder disorders and status with respect to milk somatic cell count. Adjustments were made for year, month of calving, parity, breeding value for milk, best of the two first milk production records and reproductive performance. The possible effects of interactions among variables were also studied. The herd effect was taken into account using random effect models.

Non-traumatic udder disorders, teat injuries, milk fever and the occurrence of both ketosis and assistance at calving were significantly associated with an increased risk of being early culled (odds ratios (OR) ranging from 1.6 to 10.3). Early and late abortion, late metritis, poor peproductive performance, retained placenta, non-traumatic udder disorders within 45 days post-partum and mastitis occurring in the first 3 months of the lactation were positively associated with a late culling (OR ranging from 1.2 to 6.6). Cows with lower breeding value for milk and higher parities were high risk groups for culling. A lower level of milk production and occurrence of both reproductive disorders and poor reproductive performance were risk factors for late culling.     

A Cox proportional-hazards model with time-dependent covariates to evaluate the relationship between body-condition score and the risks of first insemination and pregnancy in a high-producing dairy herd

The objective of this study was to determine the relationship between body-condition score and postpartum reproductive efficiency in dairy cattle. Data on body-condition score, reproduction, diseases, and production from 1404 lactations of 639 cows, calving between January 1984 and November 1996 on a commercial farm, were used. The Cox proportional-hazards model with time-dependent covariates was used to qualify the relationship between body-condition score on a scale of 1 to 5 and risks of first insemination and pregnancy. Cows with body condition at calving <3 had lower first-insemination risks. Loss of body-condition score between calving and 45 days after calving was associated with increased days open and days-to-first insemination. Cows with body-condition scores <2 after Day 45 and before first insemination were less likely to be inseminated and become pregnant compared with cows that had higher body condition. Milk yield, mastitis, lameness, milk fever and genital infection were associated with a reduction in reproductive efficiency. The results indicated that loss of body-condition and actual body-condition scores before conception or first insemination or both can be used as a prognosis for days open and days-to-first insemination in dairy herds.     

The Association Between Disease, Production and Culling in a University Dairy Herd

The impact of ten diseases of dairy cattle on milk production, calving interval and culling were studied in a university operated dairy herd. Cows with clinical mastitis, ketosis or displaced abomasum had lowered milk production. Cows with metritis, retained placenta, cystic graafian follicles or ovarian hypofunction had longer calving intervals. Cows with clinical mastitis, metritis, pneumonia or retained placenta had increased risks of culling.The relationship between disease and culling was based on the medical history of culled and nonculled cows using a case control approach. Therefore, it is likely that in many cases, the association between disease and culling is due to the impact of that disease on productivity.     

Study of reproductive performance and related factors in four dairy herds in Fars province (southern Iran) by Cox proportional-hazard model

Our objective was to characterize the current reproductive performance and factors which may be related to it in the Fars province dairy herds in southern Iran. We collected retrospective data from four commercial herds in the region. All 256 cows with history of calving between 21 March 2004 and 20 March 2005 were followed until subsequent pregnancy, culling or death. Effects of risk factors on days open were investigated in a Cox proportional-hazards model. The overall median calving interval, dry period and days open were 388, 68, and 120 days, respectively. First-service conception risk and overall-service conception risk were 45 and 42%, respectively. Average numbers of insemination per pregnant and all cows were 2 and 2.1, respectively. Cows without incidence of any disorder during the lactation (but before conception, and including metabolic disorders) had 2.1-times greater hazard of conception than cows with incidence of disease. No significant association between calving interval, dry period, parity of dam, and sex and weight of calves with days open was observed.     

Comparison of the disease incidences of Finnish Ayrshire and Finnish Black and White dairy cows

Finnish Ayrshire and Finnish Black and White cows were compared regarding the incidences of early and late mastitis, parturient paresis, ketosis, ovarian disorders, metritis and the risk of having a test-day somatic-cell count >200,000 cells ml⁻¹ at any of the first three monthly test days in lactation. In a retrospective cohort study 101,793 cows from 5844 tie stalls and 11,811 cows from 437 loose-housing systems from all over Finland were followed from calving in 2000 until the end of lactation. The observed incidences of those cows were then analysed using generalised linear mixed models. Finnish Black and White cows had higher incidences of all diseases except ovarian disorders. Although the differences were statistically significant in all models except metritis and early mastitis in loose-housing systems, they were, in our view, only important on the national level (for the breeding organisations), and of little importance for the farmers.     

Inactive ovaries in high-yielding dairy cows before service: aetiology and effect on conception

The overall rate of inactive ovaries diagnosed by two consecutive rectal examinations was 8.5 per cent for 7751 lactations. Inactive ovaries had an inverse association with increasing parity and were directly associated with twinning, retained placenta, primary metritis and high milk yield after calving in heifers. No independent associations were established with stillbirth, a low milk yield in the last 120 days before calving, a long dry period, ketonuria or a high serum glutamate oxaloacetate transaminase activity in the first week after calving. The presence of inactive ovaries in the previous lactation was a significant predictor of the trait. Cows with either metritis or inactive ovaries were at a greater independent risk of not conceiving within 150 days after calving and the combined risk associated with both factors was higher than their sum. It is concluded that while damage to the uterus repeatability and an energy shortage after calving are responsible for ovarian inactivity, this trait was not associated with fatty liver. Such an association could be due to an indirect causal relationship, the outcome of post parturient uterine diseases which are associated independently with overfeeding before calving and inactive ovaries.     

Effects of clinical mastitis on reproductive and milk performance of Holstein cows in Morocco

The aim of this study was to determine the influence of clinical mastitis and time of first mastitis occurrence on reproductive and milk performance of Holstein cows. Data were collected in a dairy farm from 2008 to 2012 on 1725 cows, among which 464 cows with mastitis. To determine the influence of clinical mastitis on reproductive and milk performance, models included fixed effects of parity, calving season, calving year, and group (cows with and with no mastitis). To determine the effect of time of 1st mastitis occurrence on reproductive performance, the mastitic cows group was further reclassified into three groups: prior to 60 days, between 60 and 90 days and greater than 90 days postpartum. For milk performance, the mastitic cows group was divided into two groups: before and after peak milk yield. Clinical mastitis had significant effects on calving to first AI interval, milk yield, and fat yield, but a non-significant effect on days open, number of inseminations per conception, and milk fat percentage. Mastitic cows had a calving to first AI interval 6.1 days longer and 549.6 kg milk and 20.4 kg fat per 305 days of lactation lower than those with no mastitis. Time of 1st mastitis occurrence did not have any significant effect on reproductive performance. Further, milk and fat yields of cows diseased before peak milk yield were 506 kg and 23.9 kg, respectively, lower than those of cows affected after peak milk yield. Extra attention needs to be paid to mastitis during the early postpartum period.

     

Effect of mastitis during the first lactation on production and reproduction performance of Holstein cows

The aim of this study was to evaluate the effect of postpartum mastitis between first calving and subsequent conception on production and reproduction performance as well as culling of Holstein cows. A data set of 9,183 first lactation cows was used. Results showed that the first cumulative 100?days' milk production and the milk yield standardized to 305?days were affected by the interval from calving to first mastitis (P??0.05). Calving year, calving difficulty score, and cumulative first 60?days milk production had significant impacts on mastitis risk (P?相似文献   

Effects of prostaglandin on the reproductive performance of dairy cows

A single injection of a synthetic analogue of prostaglandin F2 alpha (fenprostalene; Syntex) on the day of calving or between days 14 and 21 after calving did not affect the calving to first service interval, the number of services per conception or the conception rate of dairy cows. In a second trial, cows calved more than 45 days were injected once weekly with prostaglandin F2 alpha (dinoprost; Upjohn) or fenprostalene until served at the first detected oestrus. The calving to first service interval and the conception rate were not affected. Following injection of either prostaglandin, the spread in the pattern of onset of oestrus and the range in the proportion of cows (75 to 98 per cent) seen in oestrus within seven days were similar. This variation in the time of onset of oestrus after the administration of prostaglandin precludes limiting oestrus detection to four or five days per week, and is a major limitation to the use of prostaglandins in breeding programmes in dairy cows.     

Associations between periparturient disorders and reproductive efficiency in Holstein cows in northern Mexico

Interrelationships among parity, twinning, retained placenta, abortion, metritis, cystic ovaries, milk fever and postpartum reproductive events were investigated in Holstein cows in northeast Mexico. Data were from 6565 lacations from a large commercial dairy herd. Path analysis was used to model the direct and indirect effects of these variables. The risk of reproductive disorders in cows having a particular periparturient complication was assessed by odds ratio analysis. Milk fever was dropped out of the restricted model, mainly because of the low lactational incidence of this disease (0.5%).

The most important implied cause and effect relationships among the periparturient events were twinning causing retained placenta and retained placenta causing metritis (odds ratio = 5.2 and 4.7, respectively; P * 05). Excluding abortion, most reproductive disorders and twinning increased the days from parturition to first estrus (from 4.4 to 9.2 days), the days from parturition to conception (from 1.3 to 21.4 days), the services per conception (from 0.28 to 0.5) and the calving interval (from 14.7 to 21.3 days). Only in associations between retained placenta and reproductive parameters were the indirect components an important part of the total causal association.     

Risk factors for delayed conception in Korean dairy herds

Delayed conception is defined as an interval of greater than 90 days postpartum before a cow becomes pregnant again. In this study, the risk factors for delayed conception in Korean dairy herds were determined by evaluating several reproductive factors in individual cows. The following data was recorded from 1,012 pregnancies in eight dairy herds (designated A-H) from July 2001 to June 2006: herd, cow parity, repeated animal (cows included 2, 3, or more times), calving season, calving condition (abnormal partus), postpartum disorders (retained placenta, metabolic disorders, metritis and ovarian cysts) and conception. Logistic regression was used to evaluate the effects of these factors on delayed conception. A stepwise procedure was used to obtain the appropriate model (α = 0.05), which revealed the herd, metritis and ovarian cysts to be significant risk factors for delayed conception. The odds ratio showed that the likelihood of delayed conception increased by 3.3 and 2.0 fold for each incidence of metritis and ovarian cysts, respectively. Delayed conception was significantly more likely in 2 herds, in herd A by 2.0 fold and in herd B by 2.4 fold, compared with herd H. These results suggest that the prevention of postpartum metritis and ovarian cysts, as well as improved herd management, will be needed to maintain a short interval between calving and conception in Korean dairy herds.     

Effects of gonadotrophin releasing hormone on reproductive performance of dairy cows with retained placenta.

The effects of gonadotrophin releasing hormone (GnRH) on the reproductive performance of dairy cows with retained placenta were studied. Three hundred and seventy-eight cows diagnosed as having retained placenta received intramuscular injections of either 2 mL sterile water or 200 micrograms of GnRH in 2 mL sterile water between day 8 and day 14 postpartum. Rectal palpation was performed at the time of treatment and ten to 20 days after treatment in order to determine the rate of uterine involution. Thereafter, monthly rectal examinations were carried out until insemination. Pregnancy diagnosis was made by rectal palpation at 40 days or more after breeding. Using the entire experimental population, there were no significant differences between GnRH-treated and control cows for the rate of uterine involution, the occurrence of reproductive problems, the interval from parturition to first observed estrus, the interval from parturition to first insemination, the interval from parturition to conception, the number of services per conception, the total number of services per cow regardless of conception and the incidence of culling for infertility. When the data for herds in which breeding began earlier in the postpartum period (herds having a mean less than or equal to 80 days from parturition to first service for retained placenta cows) were considered, the GnRH treatment resulted in a significantly shorter (p less than or equal to 0.01) calving to conception interval as compared to control cows. Also, there was a significant reduction (p less than or equal to 0.05) in the total number of services per cow regardless of conception and a significant reduction in the interval from parturition to first service.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)     

Epidemiologic and genetic analysis of veterinary data of German Brown cattle]

In totally 3740 cows of the breed German Brown Swiss distributed over 115 herds risk factors for the occurrence of diseases were analysed using a threshold model. Disease data were recorded by ten practitioners in southern Bavaria. The most frequent diseases were fertility disorders, followed by metabolic, udder and calving disorders. The influence of the herds could demonstrated clearly for all diseases analysed. The effect of the lactation number contributed significantly to the frequency of milk fever, mastitis, retained placenta, endometritis/metritis and ovary cysts. Heritability estimates vary between h2 = 0.5% and h2 = 4.2% with exception of anestrus/acyclia (h2 = 8.8%). With higher milk yield of cows the disease frequencies increase, especially fertility diseases. However, increasing herd milk yield is associated with decreasing disease frequencies. A depression of A.I.-parameters and an increase of culling rate caused by diseases could be observed. In the case of the occurrence of uterus- and ovary disorders days open are elongated by 58 days in comparison to cows without diseases. Recording of disease data for use in electronic data processing seems necessary, in order to diminish production diseases by breeding and herd control programmes. An important prerequisite in organization of disease data recording is an efficient cooperation between the veterinary practitioner, farmer, inseminator and the official milk recording organisation.     

The effect of metritis and subclinical hypocalcemia on uterine involution in dairy cows evaluated by sonomicrometry

The objective of this study was to examine the effects of metritis and subclinical hypocalcemia on reduction of uterine size in dairy cows using ultrasonography and sonomicrometry. Four piezoelectric crystals were implanted via laparotomy into the myometrium of the pregnant uterine horn of 12 pluriparous Holstein Friesian cows 3 weeks before the calculated calving date. Sonometric measurements were conducted daily from 2 days before parturition (= Day 0) until Day 14 after calving and then every other day until Day 28. Distances between adjacent crystals were expressed in relation to reference values obtained before calving. The diameter of the formerly pregnant uterine horn was measured using transrectal B-Mode sonography starting on Day 10. Cows were retrospectively divided into the following groups: cows without metritis (M–; n = 7), cows with metritis (M+; n = 5), cows with normocalcemia (SH–; Ca > 2.0 mmol/l on Days 1 to 3; n = 5) and cows with subclinical hypocalcemia (SH+; Ca < 2.0 mmol/l in at least one sample between Days 1 and 3; n = 7). Metritis did not affect (P > 0.05) sonometric measurements, but the diameter of the formerly pregnant horn was larger (P ≤ 0.05) between Days 15 and 21 in M+ cows than in M‒ cows. Reduction in uterine length in hypocalcemic cows was delayed (P ≤ 0.05) between Days 8 and 21 compared with normocalcemic cows, but the uterine horn diameter was not related to calcium status. In conclusion, both diseases affected reduction of uterine size until Day 28. Cows with metritis had a larger uterine diameter, possibly attributable to accumulation of lochia, and cows with subclinical hypocalcemia had delayed reduction of uterine length, presumably related to reduction of myometrial contractility.     

Risk factors for metritis in Danish dairy cows

A retrospective longitudinal study of metritis was conducted in Denmark on data collected during 1993-1994. Data on herd size, breed, parity, and treatment of disease were obtained from the Danish Cattle Database. Management and production-facility data were collected using a questionnaire, conducted as a telephone interview in 1994. The study included 2144 herds from three regions in Denmark (102,060 cows). Herd-level variables included were: herd size, housing, flooring, grazing, calving measures, and calving supervision. Cow-level variables were: parity, breed, calving season and whether the cow had been treated by a veterinarian for dystocia or the diseases: retained placenta, reproductive disease, ketosis, milk fever, or dry cow mastitis.Marginal multivariable logistic-regression analyses were performed. The cow with highest odds of metritis was a first or greater than or equal to third parity cow, of large breed, that calved during November-April, in a zero-grazing herd. The cow had been treated for dystocia, retained placenta, and at least one other reproductive disease, but not for ketosis.     

The association between Mycobacterium avium subsp. paratuberculosis fecal shedding or clinical Johne's disease and lactation performance on two Minnesota, USA dairy farms

Lactation performance of cows infected with Mycobacterium avium subsp. paratuberculosis (Map) was previously studied using only serum ELISA as a diagnostic method. This study evaluated on two dairy farms in Minnesota, USA the lactation performance (measures of health, production, reproduction, and survival) of cows shedding Map in feces before calving and of cows culled with clinical signs consistent with Johne's disease (JD) during the subsequent lactation. Fecal samples were collected from 1052 cows within 21 day before calving and tested for Map with bacterial culture. Producers’ observed signs of clinical disease (milk fever, retained placenta, metritis, ketosis, displaced abomasum, lameness, mastitis, pneumonia, and JD) and production and reproduction data were recorded for each cow. The association between fecal shedding or clinical JD and lactation performance was evaluated. Logistic regression was used to evaluate the association with any clinical and subclinical diseases as the outcome. General linear model was used to evaluate the association with milk production, and survival analysis techniques were used to evaluate the association with days in the study before culling and days from calving to conception. In 84 cows (8% of 1052 cows) fecal samples were positive for Map (46% light, 26% moderate, and 28% heavy shedders). In multivariable analysis, light, moderate, and heavy fecal shedding cows produced on average 537, 1403, and 1534 kg, respectively, less milk per lactation and 1.4, 5.2, and 7.5 kg, respectively, less milk per day than fecal negative cows. Fecal culture positive cows were less likely to be bred and conceive. In the multivariable analysis the 56 cows culled with presumed JD produced approximately 1500 kg/lactation or 5 kg/day less than all other cows. The negative economic impact implied by decreased lactation performance in cows shedding Map or with clinical JD may motivate producers to implement programs to control Map infection and subsequent JD.     

Effects of feeding rumen-protected choline on incidence of diseases and reproduction of dairy cows

The objectives of this study were to determine the effects of feeding rumen-protected choline (RPC) to dairy cows on the incidence of disease in early lactation, and on their fertility as measured by return to ovarian cyclicity and pregnancies per insemination (P/AI). In the first experiment, 369 cows were fed 15 g/day of RPC between 25 days pre-calving and 80 days post calving. In the second experiment, 578 primigravid cows were fed 15 g/day of RPC for the last 21 days of gestation only. In both experiments, P/AI were evaluated for the first and second inseminations, and health disorders were monitored daily until 90 days after calving. Return to cyclicity was evaluated in experiment 1 only, on days 51 and 61 post calving. In the first experiment, feeding RPC reduced the incidence of clinical ketosis, mastitis, and morbidity, and the number of cases of mastitis per cow. Feeding RPC did not influence cyclicity and P/AI. In the second experiment, cows fed RPC tended to have greater morbidity than controls because of an increased incidence of metritis and fever, although the incidence of retained fetal membranes was lower. The P/AI for first and second inseminations were similar between treatments. Supplementing the diets of dairy cattle with RPC from before until after calving improved the health of early lactation cows. However, in primigravid cows feeding RPC before calving only had mixed effects on health. Feeding RPC had no beneficial effects on reproduction in either experiment.