This study was aimed at demonstrating associations between peripheral biochemical parameters, endometrial leukocyte esterase (LE) and myeloperoxidase (MPO), and bacterial detection with the degree of endometrial inflammation, and determining the best time postpartum for diagnosing endometritis to predict subsequent fertility in dairy cows. Plasma albumin, blood urea nitrogen (BUN), total choles...

Nutrition of transition period in dairy cows dramatically increases requirements for energy, glucose, amino acids and other nutrients in dairy cows and, parallel to that, feed intake is depressed. An insufficient or imbalanced nutrient intake might lead to the malfunction of organs, causing reproductive failure. To minimize the metabolic/reproductive damage caused by negative energy balance (NE...

Effects of body condition score (BCS) at parturition and postpartum weight gain on luteal activity and concentrations of glucose, insulin, and NEFA in plasma were evaluated during the breeding season in 242 primiparous beef cows over 3 yr (Y) at three locations (L). At approximately 90 d prepartum, cows were blocked by breed, expected calving date, and BCS and randomly assigned to diets so that...

Background: The regulation of endometrial inflammation has important consequences for the resumption of bovine fertility postpartum. All cows experience bacterial influx into the uterus after calving; however a significant proportion fail to clear infection leading to the development of cytological endometritis (CE) and compromised fertility. We hypothesised that early immunological changes cou...

Objective of this study was to determine the effects of varying dietary cation-anion differences (DCAD) in prepartum period on milk fever, subclinical hypocalcemia and negative energy balance in dairy cows of Urmia, Iran. Ninety nine Holstein cows assigned to three groups (n=33) were fed diets with DCAD of -24 (anionic), +80 (cationic) and +230 (cationic) mEq/Kg dry matter for 3 weeks before ex...

Two experiments were conducted to determine the effect of maternal lipid supplementation on the immune response to antigenic challenge in suckling calves. In Exp. 1, beginning 1 d postpartum, 18 primiparous crossbred beef cows were fed Foxtail millet hay and a low-fat (control) supplement or a supplement containing cracked, high-linoleate safflower seed in individual feeding stanchions until d ...

Voluntary waiting period and adoption of synchronized breeding (ovulation synchronization followed by timed artificial insemination) were characterized from 33 million services of Holsteins and Jerseys in Dairy Herd Improvement herds. Calving month, calving year, and parity had large effects on days to first service for both breeds. Holstein cows that calved during March and April were bred lat...

The objectives of the present study were to determine if lameness, a model for a natural chronic stressor, affects hormone concentrations in milk prior to estrus and/or the subsequent expression of estrus in the postpartum period. Dairy cows>20 days postpartum were scored for lameness and observed for estrus intensity using a weighted scoring system (>100 points=estrus=Day 0). Increasing lamene...

The objective of the experiment was to compare follicular dynamics, ovulatory response to GnRH, steroid hormone concentration patterns, and synchrony of estrus and ovulation among estrous-cycling and anestrous postpartum beef cows following treatment with long-term progestin-based protocols. Beef cows (n = 40) were assigned to treatments based on age, days postpartum, BCS and estrous cyclicity ...

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...