Reproductive disorder control and herd health monitoring programme for improvement of dairy production in Thailand

Forty-five dairy farms were randomly chosen among those with average to good management practices. Each of the total of 1265 cows was followed from calving to pregnancy. The herd health programme consisted of systematic examination of the key periods of the sexual cycle: at about 30 days post-partum to monitor uterine involution and to detect and treat uterine infection; at about 60 days post-partum to examine and treat anestrous animals, and following insemination to test for pregnancy by assaying progesterone levels in milk samples collected on day 22 post-insemination and to examine and treat cows inseminated more than three times and still not pregnant (repeat breeders). Pregnancy diagnosis by examination per rectum was carried out at about 60 days post insemination. Manual recording of the age of animal, the number of the lactation, and conditions at calving (dystocia and retention of placenta) was done. Data from 1265 calvings were analysed. Reproductive performance before and after the application of the programme, as well as effects of extrinsic and intrinsic factors on pathology and reproductive performance, were also investigated. Age at first calving was 31+-8 months. Dystocia, retained placenta, metritis and repeat breeding were the most common post-partum reproductive disorders found. Purebred dairy Bos taurus cows had the highest milk yield as well as the highest incidence of reproductive disorders. Conception rates to AI were higher from November to May, which coincided with the dry season. A high percentage of cows detected in oestrus were confirmed to be in the follicular phase by low progesterone. The adoption of the herd health scheme reduced calving to conception intervals from 186+-101 to 137+-80 days (P0.001). The results show the effectiveness of such programmes in improving productivity and the importance of matching genotypes to the local environment.