It is believed that during the spring transition, the developing follicle tends to grow more slowly, persist longer and grow to a larger diameter prior to ovulation than at subsequent oestrus periods. A general suspicion, that the first ovulation of the year is less fertile than subsequent ovulations could be explained by a slower growth rate of the ovulatory follicle during transition with the...

Given its rustic nature, its butchery quality and its trypanotolerance, the N’Dama breed represents a significant potential for developing African cattle breeding [6]. To date, its zootechnical performance and reproductive characteristics have been the subject of relatively little work. The use of selection programmes and artificial insemination are highly significant challenges for developing ...

Reproduction incurs a high energetic cost and failure to meet nutritional needs results in reproductive failure. In red deer hinds, the interaction between nutrition, summer lactation and subsequent ovulation/conception is of particular interest for farmed deer production in NZ due to climatic constraints to summer pasture production in many areas. However, few studies have focussed on the pote...

The objective of this study was to determine the dynamics and relative body weight (BW) changes after parturition and their relationships to milk yield in Holstein (H) and Czech Fleckvieh (F) cows, and also the relationships between their BW changes in the first 8 weeks of lactation and reproductive performance. A retrospective, observational study comprised analyses of individual cow records f...

High reproductive efficiency in the dairy cow requires a disease-free transition period, high submission rates to AI and high pregnancy rates per service. A key risk factor that causes increased incidence of metabolic disease is low negative energy balance (NEB) in the periparturient and early postpartum periods. Low NEB decreases LH pulse frequency, growth rate and diameter of dominant follicl...