Postpartum reproductive management of dairy cows in a large Florida dairy herd

• Published in: Theriogenology 1995-05, Vol.43 (7), p.1249-1258
• Main Authors: Risco, C.A., de la Sota, R.L., Morris, G., Savio, J.D., Thatcher, W.W.
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: dairy cows; GnRH; PGF 2α; reproductive management
• ISSN: 0093-691X; 1879-3231
• DOI: 10.1016/0093-691X(95)00096-Q

Dairy cows (n = 199) were assigned randomly at Day 14 post partum to a control group or a programmed reproductive treatment group (PRT). Cows in the PRT group received 8 ug of GnRH on Days 14 and 50 post partum and 25 mg of PGF 2α injected on Days 21, 34 and 57 post partum. Cows in the PRT group had a greater frequency of progesterone (P 4) concentrations > 1 ng/ml (50% vs 30%; P < 0.01). Frequency of cows having P 4 > 1 ng/ml at both Days 21 and 34 post partum was greater in the PRT group than in the control group (39% vs 20%; P < 0.01). Accumulation of days with a palpable cystic ovary was lower in the PRT than the control group (11.4% vs 6.5%; P < 0.05). The frequency of anestrous cows through Day 57 post partum was not different between the 2 groups. Cows that were anestrous had a lower body condition score throughout the postpartum period than the cyclic cows (2.7 vs