pregnancy and reproduction in dairy cows
DESCRIPTION
How to optimise reproduction and reduce involuntary culling in dairy cows.TRANSCRIPT
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IMPROVE YOUR COWS’ LIFE TIME PRODUCTIVITY
Difficulties in getting the cow pregnant are the main reason for involuntary culling. Optimal fertility is a key driver of cow longevity and profitability
“Did you knowthat the optimal
calving interval is 12-13 months?”
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FERTILITY PROBLEMS ARE INCREASING
There has been a negative trend over many years with a number of fertility problems affecting modern dairy cows:
INCREASED NUMBER OFUTERUS INFLAMMATION
LONGER INTERVAL TO NORMALITY OF SEXUAL ORGANS
WEAKER HEAT SIGNS
LOWER EGG QUALITY
EARLY EMBRYONIC DEATH
Fertility problems are often caused by infections or stress, but can also depend on season, herd size, age composition and
managerial factors such as breeding policy and nutrition
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MAN-HOURS PER COW ARE DECREASINGThe direct result is that less time remains for detecting heats
Which cow needs attention?
Selection for milk yield has made the modern dairy cow increasingly susceptible to
shortcomings in management or nutrition
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Ideally your cows will get pregnant every 12-13 months. In some parts of the world the calving interval is 16-17 months and the average number of calves per cow and year can be as low as 0.6
The optimal calving interval is
12-13months
That’s almost
one calf per cow & year
Ideal calving interval
= 12-13 months
In many parts of the world
calving interval = 16-17 months For every day calving
interval is extended farmers will lose money (on average3 Euros per cow and day)
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CORNERSTONES OF A HIGH PREGNANCY RATE
1.OPTIMISED
HEAT DETECTION
2.OPTIMISED
FEED INTAKE AFTER
CALVING 3.HEALTHY
AND WELL-MANAGED
COWS
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1. OPTIMISED HEAT DETECTION
On average around half of the heats can be observed through normal management. Advanced milk analysis tools can detect heat with an accuracy of 95% and inform you when to perform optimal insemination
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2. OPTIMISED FEED INTAKE AFTER CALVING
OPTIMAL FEED INTAKE IS ONLY POSSIBLE IF:
●cows are not too fat at calving (BCS = 3.5)
●cows are fed high quality and tasty rations
●cows are in optimal health (don’t forget hooves and legs)
●stress is avoided around the moment of calving (avoid changing of groups)
●rations are not changed near calving
●there is enough feed and enough room to eat for every cow
Today’s high-producing dairy cow needs excellent care after calving in order to resume feed consumption promptly
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3. HEALTHY AND WELL-MANAGED COWS
Optimise feed intake
Provide recently calved cows plenty of comfort and space
Reduce heat stress by cooling
Minimise lameness
© DeLaval 2014 Sources: www.delaval.com/HappyCows