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Ovarian hormone patterns and subfertility in dairy cows

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  27 February 2018

G.E. Lamming  and
M.D. Royal
G.E. Lamming
Affiliation:
Cattle Fertility Research Group, University of Nottingham, School of Biological Sciences, Sutton Bonington Campus, Loughborough, Leicestershire, LE12 5RD,UK
M.D. Royal
Affiliation:
Cattle Fertility Research Group, University of Nottingham, School of Biological Sciences, Sutton Bonington Campus, Loughborough, Leicestershire, LE12 5RD,UK
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Abstract

Decreasing levels of fertility of dairy cows are occurring, associated with increased average annual milk yields, increased herd size and a decreased labour investment per animal. To-date, there has been no positive genetic selection in the UK for improved female fertility due to the lack of reliable recording of fertility traits. Selection is further limited by the low heritabilities of traditional fertility measures, which are subject to environmental influences and management decisions and biological restraints such as age and sex. Assessment of the hormone patterns of fertile cows and determination of the atypical patterns exhibited by subfertile animals provides an objective method of identifying the causes and assessing the impact of subfertility and for the development of remedial treatment strategies. This knowledge can then be used to identify potential physiological parameters associated with high fertility which, in future, may be used for sire breeding value estimations to select for more fertile offspring. Regular assessment of the progesterone concentrations in milk provides a non invasive method of determining progesterone patterns. The results of two studies of milk progesterone levels in cows taken between 1975/82 and 1995/98 involving over 3200 lactations have been analysed and compared. They indicate a major increase over this period in the proportion of animals showing atypical milk progesterone patterns before mating from 32 to 44% (P<0.001) associated with less animals inseminated, delays to conception and lower conception rates. There was a significant decrease (P<0.01) over this period in animals calving to first postpartum insemination from 57% to less than 40% a decrease of approximately l%per annum. This may indicate an increase in the level of early embryo mortality. An early post ovulatory progesterone rise to adequate luteal phase levels has been shown essential for normal embryo development with low post ovulatory levels occurring in some cows resulting in lower calving rates. Milk progesterone analysis provides a robust and reliable method of measuring progesterone patterns for identifying subfertile animals, for targeting remedial treatments to improve fertility and for investigations into heritable fertility parameters for future selection programmes.

Type
Invited Papers
Information
BSAP Occasional Publication , Volume 26 , Issue 1: Fertility in the High Producing Dairy Cow , January 2001 , pp. 105 - 118
Copyright
Copyright © British Society of Animal Science 2001

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