Ultrasonographic ovarian dynamic, plasma progesterone, and non-esterified fatty acids in lame postpartum dairy cows
2018
Pedro Melendez, University of Missouri, Columbia, USA | Veronica Gomez, University of Florida, Gainesville, USA | Hans Bothe, Aurora Organic Dairy Farm, Boulder, CO, USA | Francisco Rodriguez, Aurora Organic Dairy Farm, Boulder, CO, USA | Juan Velez, Aurora Organic Dairy Farm, Boulder, CO, USA | Hernando Lopez, ABS Global, Inc., DeForest, USA | Julian Bartolome, Universidad Nacional de La Pampa, Argentina | Louis Archbald, University of Florida, Gainesville, USA
The objective of this study was to compare ovulation rate, number of large ovarian follicles, and concentrations of plasma progesterone (P4) and non-esterified fatty acids (NEFA) between lame (n = 10) and non-lame (n = 10) lactating Holstein cows. The study was conducted in an organic dairy farm, and cows were evaluated by undertaking ultrasonography and blood sampling every 3 days from 30 days postpartum for a period of 34 days. Cows which became lame during the first 30 days postpartum experienced a lower ovulation rate determined by the presence of a corpus luteum (50% presence for lame cows and 100% for non-lame cows, p less than or equal to 0.05). The number of large ovarian follicles in the ovaries was 5 for lame cows and 7 for non-lame cows (p = 0.09). Compared to non-lame cows, lame cows had significantly lower (p less than or equal to 0.05) concentrations of plasma P4. Furthermore, NEFA concentrations were lower (p less than or equal to 0.05) in lame cows than in non-lame cows. It is concluded that lameness in postpartum dairy cows is associated with ovulation failure and lower concentrations of P4 and NEFA.
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