Hostname: page-component-f554764f5-nqxm9 Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2025-04-11T09:51:43.721Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

The detection and treatment of post insemination progesterone insufficiency in dairy cows

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  27 February 2018

G R Starbuck ,
A O Darwash ,
G E Mann  and
G E Lamming
G R Starbuck
Affiliation:
Division of Animal Physiology, School of Biological Sciences, University of Nottingham, Sutton Bonington, Loughborough, Leicestershire, LEI2 5RD, UK
A O Darwash
Affiliation:
Division of Animal Physiology, School of Biological Sciences, University of Nottingham, Sutton Bonington, Loughborough, Leicestershire, LEI2 5RD, UK
G E Mann
Affiliation:
Division of Animal Physiology, School of Biological Sciences, University of Nottingham, Sutton Bonington, Loughborough, Leicestershire, LEI2 5RD, UK
G E Lamming
Affiliation:
Division of Animal Physiology, School of Biological Sciences, University of Nottingham, Sutton Bonington, Loughborough, Leicestershire, LEI2 5RD, UK
Get access

Abstract

An analysis on the outcome of 124 inseminations monitored using daily milk progesterone concentration data revealed that those cows in which pregnancy did not occur experienced a 1.7day delay in post-ovulatory luteal progesterone rise when compared to the pregnant group (P<0.001). This suggests that luteal progesterone secretion needs to be initiated prior to day 5 post-ovulation. A comparison between the milk progesterone concentration on day 5 post-ovulation and the pregnancy rate for 1451 inseminations showed the maximum pregnancy rate to occur when the milk progesterone concentration was between 3-9ng/ml. Pregnancy rate fell significantly (P<0.01) when progesterone concentrations were below 3ng/ml, identifying cows that may benefit from progesterone supplementation. The supplementation of progesterone in cows with a day 5 milk progesterone concentration of less than 3ng/ml, using an intra-vaginal progesterone releasing device, only provided benefit for those cows with a day 5 progesterone concentration of between 1-2ng/ml, resulting in a doubling of the pregnancy rate. This data shows that a delay in post-ovulatory progesterone secretion has a detrimental effect on pregnancy but that not all cows with a deficient progesterone concentration benefit from progesterone supplementation.

Type
Posters
Information
BSAP Occasional Publication , Volume 26 , Issue 2: Fertility in the High-Producing Dairy Cow , September 2001 , pp. 447 - 450
Copyright
Copyright © British Society of Animal Science 2001

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

Article purchase

Temporarily unavailable

References

Bulman, D.C. and Lamming, G.E. 1978. Milk progesterone levels in relation to conception, repeat breeding and factors influencing cyclicity in dairy cows. Journal of Reproduction and Fertility 54:447–458.Google Scholar
Darwash, A.O., Lamming, G.E. and Woolliams, J.A. 1999. The potential for identifying heritable endocrine parameters associated with fertility in postpartum dairy cows. Animal Science 68:527–532.Google Scholar
Lamming, G.E. and Bulman, D.C. 1976. The use of milk progesterone radioimmunoassay in the diagnosis and treatment of subfertility in dairy cows. British Veterinary Journal 132:507–517.Google Scholar
Mann, G.E. and Lamming, G.E. 1999. The influence of progesterone during early pregnancy in cattle. Reproduction in Domestic Animals 34:269–274.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Peters, A.R. 1996. Embryo mortality in the cow. Animal Breeding Abstracts 64:587–598.Google Scholar
Sreenan, J.M. and Diskin, M.G. 1985. The extent and timing of embryonic mortality in the cow. In Embryonic Mortality in Farm Animals, ppl–11. Eds Sreenan, JM and Diskin, MG. Martinus Nijhoff, Dordrecht.Google Scholar
Royal, M.D., Darwash, A.O. and Lamming, G.E. 1999. Trends in the fertility of dairy cows in the United Kingdom. Proceedings of the British Society of Animal Science 1999:1.Google Scholar