Fertility - English edition

“ Fertility encourages you to think

Fertility

two pregnancies ahead.”

Fertility is a management issue. It’s not just a matter of doing such and such or giving the cows such and such. Good fertility results from processes such as dry period, calving, lactation, heat observation and insemination.

Fertility

A practical guide for fertility management

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Which is why Fertility is geared to the dairy farmer as a manager. The book encourages you to look at the daily routine on the dairy farm with a manager’s eye, and helps you to improve your processes. It’s a lot easier to get cows in calf, for example, if your pyometra rate is under 10% and your milk fever rate under 7%. And your performance will benefit if you understand why Australia and the USA use different key figures to measure fertility than the UK and Europe.

But successful management in turn depends on carrying out your day-to-day work properly. Fertility is full of practical information and tips that can be put to use straight away on every dairy farm and covers technical areas such as insemination and calving assistance.

Fertility encourages you to think and act two pregnancies ahead.

Fertility is one of the CowSIGNALS® series.

CowSIGNALS®: highly practical, reader-friendly information on animal-oriented cattle farming.

Jan Hulsen

ISBN 978-90-8740-026-2

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Fertility A practical guide for fertility management

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Fertility Author Jan Hulsen, Vetvice® Photography Jan Hulsen (unless stated otherwise) Anneke Hallebeek (p. 13, 33, 35, 43) Marcel Christianen (p. 25)

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Graphics Marleen Felius (p. 4, 13, 17, 21, 32, 36, 38, 41) Dick Rietveld (p. 7, 14, 20, 22, 27, 31)

And thanks to Joep Driessen, Marcel Drint, Frido Hamoen, Henk Hogeveen, Joost Klop, Adri Maas, Toon Meesters, Adri Peeters, Jeroen Peeters, Kees Peeters, Annelies Pernot, Maarten Pietersen, QMPS/ Cornell University, Alfons van Ranst, Jack Rodenburg, Roel Roelofs, Ad Rijvers, Kees Simons, René de Theije, Bill Tranter, UGCN, Jansje van Veersen, Sietse Venema, Peter Vercauteren, Peter Vos, Bertjan Westerlaan and Dirk Zaaijer.

And the many cattle farmers and others who in some way contributed their inspiration, knowledge, help or advice.

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A calf every year 4

1 Cleansing and coming into heat

6

3 Getting and staying in calf

26

Nutrition

6

Many embryos are lost

26

Success factors during transition

8

Less stress, less embryo loss

28

Introducing heifers

9

Nutrition

29

Organising calving

10

Pregnancy diagnosis

30

Calving assistance

11

Not in calf: now what?

31

The newly calved cow

12

Learning more about the pregnancy

32

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Contents

The afterbirth

13

Embryo transfer and OPU

33

Housing and management

14

The bull

34

Monitoring the reproductive tract

15

Abortion

35

2 Heat observation 16

Success factors during heat observation 16

4 Targets, performance indicators,

process management 36

Using aids

17

Management

37

Heat signals

18

Process management

38

Oestrus cycle and cycle signals

19

Key figures and breeding

39

Time of insemination

20

How cattle farmers in other countries do it 40

Heifers

21

Inducing heat and hormone programmes 41

Insemination technique

22

Economics

42

Standard procedures

24

UNOs

43

Insemination and organisation

25

Index

44

Introduction

A calf every year

In terms of farm economics, the ideal is still to have every cow produce a calf every year.

Be successful, think ahead

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Question: You want to get all of your cows in calf in the coming weeks. How do you do that?

Easier said than done Getting cows into calf sounds easy, but fertility is still a problem on many farms.

First, there is the critical importance of nutrition and cow health around the time of calving and in the first month of lactation. Getting these two factors right is the biggest management challenge facing nearly every dairy farm. Second, getting cows into calf, usually by insemination, is a painstaking task that demands full commitment, care and skill. Care costs 4

time, and time is precious. Skills can be acquired by training.

Skill, care, commitment and motivation all benefit if the results of what you are doing are immediately apparent. This calls for well-defined measuring points which tell you immediately how things are going (process indicators), despite it taking at least a month after insemination before you know for sure if the cow is in calf.

Answer: A cow will conceive if her uterus is healthy and her nutrition, energy status and health are good. Then she needs to be inseminated with fertile semen at the right time and in the right way.

The phases of fertility management

Dry period diet, comfort, movement, ventilation, no stress, fresh water, healthy hooves, healthy udder

Dry period

No stress, rest, hygiene.

Nodamage to birth canal

Start of lactation: 8 weeks of preparation After calving, the cow is given a rest period of around 8 weeks (the “voluntary waiting period”). During this time her uterus shrinks and cleanses itself in preparation for the next pregnancy. The cow should not lose too much condition and recover from her negative energy balance as quickly as possible. Only then will her ovaries and hormone cycle function properly. She must also be strong and have healthy legs and feet, so that she displays her heat clearly.

Aftercare: 8 weeks of detecting open cows and monitoring Cows which haven’t come into heat have already been detected during the insemination period. Now you need to identify the cows that are not in calf as soon as possible, so you can decide whether to continue inseminating and whether to begin interventions. The pregnancy data tell you how well the rest period and insemination period have gone.

Right time, right technique,

Positive energy balance, good state of nutrition including minerals, good health, healthy legs and hooves Udder clean and healthy.

Calving

Insemination period: 6 weeks of observation and inseminating When the voluntary waiting period is over the cow should get in calf as soon as possible, which means inseminating successfully at the right time. Successful insemination depends first of all on knowing the time of egg release or ovulation, because you need to inseminate 6-12 hours before ovulation. The moment of ovulation can be estimated by means of heat observation. Ovulation can also be planned using hormone injections.

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Dry period The dry period lays the foundations for easy calving, cleansing of the uterus and a smooth start to lactation in terms of feed intake and metabolic problems.

Start of lactation (rest period)

Fertile semen, Rest, no stress, no disease

Insemination/ service

The surface area of each arrow reflects the importance of the phase in terms of fertility. The success of insemination depends to a large extent on nutrition and health in the preceding period. How long to make each period is a management decision, something you decide for yourself.

No infections

Calf

Pregnancy

Check constantly how things are going, thinking ahead all the time. And try to learn from past successes and mistakes.

5

1. Cleansing and coming into heat

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Cleansing and coming into heat

Success factors in dry period: excellent cow comfort, space to move, good supervision, correct diet, no stress, no risks, good working environment.

The dry period lays the foundations for easy calving and an easy start to lactation and so for a smooth subsequent pregnancy. Keywords are: balanced diet, healthy cow, supervision/management and easy calving.

6

Nutrition

Nutrition In the dry period, maximising dry matter intake is both an end and a means to an end. The cow should always be keen and able to eat, but not get too fat. To ensure this, her diet must be tasty and contain the right amounts of energy and protein, plus vitamins, minerals and trace elements. For the first five weeks, dry cows are usually placed in the far-off group and are given a high-fibre, low-energy diet. For the last three weeks before calving they go into the close-up group and are fed a transition diet.

After the second calving it may be better to keep dry cows in one group for 40 days (short dry period), on condition that you know the expected calving date precisely and dry off cows with a daily milk yield of less than 15 kg!

Good feeding, good calculations

A good diet is a carefully calculated and carefully fed diet that the cows eat and digest as desired. Palatability is very important. You can’t conjure up a good diet out of poor feedstuffs. Dry period nutrition also starts with obtaining good products, good silage, good bunker management, and good feeding. Are you obtaining and/or buying the right fodder for the dry cows (and the young cattle)?

Having cows with the right body condition at calving means drying off cows with the right body condition score. This calls for careful nutrition in the second half of lactation. This cow has the ideal condition score of 3.0.

1. Cleansing and coming into heat

Good feeding, good eating!

The transition period: from three weeks before to three weeks after calving Feed intake declines during the last three weeks before calving. Some of this is unavoidable. Some of it depends on manageable factors such as stress, palatability of the diet, availability of water, BCS and vitality of the cow.

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The main nutritional influence on coming into heat is energy balance. Changes in energy balance are reflected in body condition score (BCS). Feeding in the transition period should aim to ensure that every cow has been in heat before day 40.

Cows will come into heat if they maintain body condition or lose only very little (<1 point). Most cows go through a period of negative energy balance, starting a few days before calving, reaching a low point at two weeks and ending on average six weeks after calving. How low the negative energy balance falls depends mainly on the cow’s feed intake, rather than her milk production.

Good feed intake in the first few months after calving starts in the weeks leading up to calving. Cows that are eating well the day before calving will continue to eat well in the first month afterwards.

And vice versa.

Nutrition

Dry cows should have unlimited access to tasty feed, and should not sort their feed. You should see no sorting – as here. Compare the fibre content of the left-over feed with the diet as fed.

Check each cow’s rumen fill and manure twice a day, and her condition once a week.

The rumen flora break down the energy carriers in the food into volatile fatty acids. The latter are taken up by the papillae on the wall of the rumen and are a source of energy for the cow. Roughage and saliva (rumination) ensure that the rumen pH doesn’t drop too low (buffering).

To avoid rumen acidosis at the start of lactation you need to maximise the rate of fatty acid uptake by the rumen papillae, so they need to be as numerous and as long as possible. Propionic acid stimulates the development of long rumen papillae. This acid is obtained from sugars and rumen degradable starch, which is why these should feature in a transition diet.

Rumen acidosis causes the cow to eat less and reduces her intake of nutrients. It is a major cause of excessive weight loss and hoof problems.

Unlimited clean water, excellent ventilation, optimum lying comfort and loafing area all encourage vitality in the dry cow.

Also avoid all forms of stress, such as moving, heat (≥ 23˚C), itching, injuries, lameness, etc. Surface area of bedding: ≥ 9 m2 per cow.

Nutrition can account for up to two thirds of the differences between farms in terms of fertility results

7

1. Cleansing and coming into heat

Success factors during transition

She is in contact with her group at all times. She has plenty of space for calving (especially heifers) in a fresh, familiar, comfortable area.

8

The cow is healthy and free of parasites, injuries, bruises and inflammation. She has healthy, well-formed hooves.

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The cow is active and alert.

Her BCS is 3.0.

The cow drinks and eats readily, without sorting. Her rumen fill remains between 3.5 and 4. Her manure is properly digested and reasonably well-formed (consistency 3 to 4). She has constant access to tasty feed and water.

Regular checking of: • feed: temperature, sorting, composition • blood: minerals and trace elements • blood: NEFAs (energy balance) • urine: pH

Twin pregnancy A cow with a twin pregnancy eats less in the last five weeks before calving. Give her a diet with higher levels of energy, protein and other nutrients to minimise her loss of condition. Keep her in the close-up group throughout her dry period and make sure she is not too thin at drying off (BCS > 2.5).

Give her extra attention during calving. A cow carrying twin calves has a higher risk of birth problems, due to milk fever and/ or calf malposition.

Puzzle picture

What does this heifer tell you about her transition?

This newly calved heifer has sound hocks and good legs but a poorly filled rumen (score 2). She is dirty, which puts her at greater risk of metritis or inflammation of the uterus.

Check for this. She is holding her tail out, probably due to damage (pain) to the birth canal. Treat her accordingly and make sure she eats, drinks and lies down enough.

Success factors during transition

1. Cleansing and coming into heat

Introducing heifers The introduction of heifers starts 8-6 weeks before the expected calving date.

They should go in with the dry cows.

If you start closer to calving, the heifer is much less able to cope with major changes.

Good

Too late

Success factors for introduction Healthy

Well-fed

The heifer has healthy, well-formed hooves.

She is free of injuries, inflammation, diseases (including BVD and Johneâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s disease) and parasites (mange, lice, intestinal parasites, lungworms, liver fluke). Depending on the farm situation, she has specific resistance to parasites and infectious diseases such as lungworms, IBR, BVD, leptospirosis, E.coli, rotavirus, coronavirus, etc.

The heifer has a condition score of 3.0. Her mineral, vitamin and trace element statuses are in order (Mg, Se, Cu, Co, I, vitamin E, vitamin A, etc.). You have verified this using blood tests.

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Success depends on preparation. You start with a large, strong, healthy heifer.

She is set to calve on a date you know with a good degree of certainty, to an easy-calving bull. You have a schedule, containing dates, targets and detailed processes, that you will use in order to meet targets, covering matters such as checking and treating feet on introduction to the cows.

Introduce the heifers to the dry cows in groups.

Introducing heifers

Stress reduces the heiferâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s resistance to disease and increases the risk of uterine and udder infections.

A stressed heifer remains standing far too long. This results in sole haemorrhages and damaged corium, and such damage can result in permanent foot problems.

She also wonâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t eat or drink enough, increasing the risk of ketosis, rumen acidosis and fatty liver. Problems with nutrition (over-condition, deficiencies) inhibit the cleansing process of the uterus.

Stress around calving stops the birth process from progressing smoothly, increasing the risk of birth canal damage, after-pain and metritis.

Settled

The heifer is fully familiar with the diet, feed barrier, flooring and cubicles. She is accustomed to the sounds and smells of the shed and knows the herd, and is able to graze (when put to pasture).

Comfortable The heifer can eat, drink and rest comfortably.

This depends on factors such as sufficient room to move (surface, grip, risk areas, rest areas), few competition battles (feed management, space) and no fear of the cattle farmer and his actions. In open sheds, cows display fewer startle reactions.

Avoid an over-large udder with oedema, which results in poor walking and mastitis.

9

1. Cleansing and coming into heat

Examples of standard operating procedures (S.O.P.s): After milking:

• check pelvic ligaments. If they are slack, mark cow with a green stripe.

During the day:

• check the cows with green stripes every hour (quick onceover for the rest).

If a cow is calving, isolate it.

Note the time + what you see on the board.

Examine the cow internally if: • 2 hours after the (blue) water bag has emerged, no calf bag (white) or feet are visible; • you have any doubts.

Give calving assistance if:

• in a cow that is pushing, the calf has not progressed any further after half an hour; • the calf is malpositioned; • you have any doubts.

An airy, dry shed with plenty of room to move. Cows can lie down easily, even with a large udder. The barriers can be used to isolate and secure a calving cow quickly. The walkway ensures easy access. Not included in the photograph is a workroom with equipment storage, colostrum and washing facilities. Calving pen dimensions: 5 x 5 m.

10

Calving assistance: standard procedure Cow after calving:

• give tepid water, as much as she wants; • give fresh feed; • milk out, give calf colostrum, put rest in fridge.

Write bucket number on board.

• check every hour. * If you suspect a t win, check internally.

• once the cow has cleansed, move to group of recently calved cows.

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In order to give every cow the best care, you should always work in the same way. Sticking to a routine means that you never skip a part of it. If you do things differently each time, you have no basis for monitoring and improvements.

Make sure you have thought every step through. Ideally, write your procedures down on paper. Or explain them out loud, to a trainee for example. Using a standard procedure you can organise the shed in such a way that your work is always quick, easy, enjoyable and efficient.

And you know what you need and what you don’t.

Organising calving

Monitoring and intervention A cow that calves easily and without assistance is healthy and recovers well from calving. Make sure the shed has plenty of space and minimise stress. You need to be able to observe and assess all calving cows easily, to be sure things are going well. And you need to be able to check the emergence and position of the calf easily and hygienically.

In a good calving area, you can restrain a cow quickly and encourage it to lie down.

You have plenty of light and space and can get to the cow easily with various types of equipment. And you have all of your aids to hand for cow and calf.

Skill and organisation Badly administered calving assistance increases the risk of a retained afterbirth, vaginal damage and uterine infection (metritis/endometritis). In this case, metritis results from damage to the uterus while giving calving assistance. It makes the uterus less able to contract and cleanse itself of bacteria. Working unhygienically also introduces a lot of bacteria into the uterus, which greatly increases the risk of metritis. Vaginal damage is the result of over-stretching and tearing. The pain causes the animal to eat poorly for the first few days.

Without treatment, a uterine infection often develops.

From the appearance of the first membrane bag, birth takes 1 to 4 hours in a cow and 2 to 6 hours in a heifer.

1. Cleansing and coming into heat

Calving assistance

Standard procedure for calving assistance Step 1

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Equipment: calving gown, bucket of tepid water containing disinfectant for yourself, bucket of cold water for the calf, halter for the cow and plenty of lubricant. Calving aid at the ready. Calving ropes are in the disinfectant water.

Step 4

Step 3

Step 2

The cow is restrained. Wash your arms and the cow’s rear end with the disinfectant.

Make sure none of it gets back into the bucket. Use plenty of lubricant. Tie the tail to the halter.

With reasonable traction on the calving aid, check if the calf is ready to be delivered.

Practise recognising the feel of the pelvic entrance and the different parts of the calf.

Most calving cows will lie down by themselves.

Step 5

Step 6

A cow lying on its side has a wider pelvic entrance and can push harder. With a rope under its belly, behind the forelegs and in front of the udder, you can make the cow lie down. Take your time. Pull when the cow pushes and stop pulling when she doesn’t, to let the calf rest.

After the birth, feel for another calf and check the birth canal for injuries. If the vagina is very blue or torn, cool it for 10 minutes with cold running water. Ask your vet for a treatment plan for these animals.

Can the calf be delivered?

Try to estimate the size of the calf with respect to the pelvic entrance.

Normal position: At the pelvic entrance, feel the space over the calf’s head and how the shoulders are lying with respect to the pelvic entrance. Are they in front of or outside the pelvic entrance? How far are they from the pelvic entrance?

You should find: • you can get your hand over the head • distance from pelvic entrance to both shoulders: • in a cow standing up < 10 cm • in a cow lying down < 5 cm (measure with your index finger).

If the calf is the wrong way round (posterior presentation): turn the calf’s hindquarters 30˚ to the left or right. With reasonable traction, the heels should come to the level of the vulva. In the case of a heifer, take plenty of time to stretch the birth canal. Ask your vet how.

11

1. Cleansing and coming into heat

Monitoring If a cow has problems, you need to know quickly. Early and appropriate intervention limits the damage and maximises the chances of recovery. Monitoring also provides continuous information on how the process of calving and early lactation is going. The best way to monitor is to take the temperature of all newly calved cows twice a day for the first week. This is

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All problems in early lactation reinforce each other. As a result, the oestrus cycle gets off to a slower start.

The newly calved cow

The ten-day plan

For the first ten days after calving, take the temperature of all newly calved cows daily and check their rumen fill and manure. This will help you to spot sick cows before they develop serious problems. < 38.4˚ C: attention needed 38.4-39.0˚ C: OK 39.0-39.5˚ C: attention needed > 39.5˚ C: treat

Newly calved cows must be able to eat and drink easily, in well-ventilated surroundings. They are weak, their hooves are vulnerable (due to sinking pedal bone) and their udders painfully swollen. Their lying areas should therefore be very spacious and comfortable.

In a separate group of newly calved cows, the animals have less competition for feed, water and space to lie down. Ample space ensures that they are able to walk about freely. Put the newly calved group close to the milking parlour and milk them first. Keep animals in this group for 14 days; longer for cows requiring special attention.

Dimensions of loose housing: 10m2 per cow, plus loafing/feeding area.

Cubicles for a newly calved cow weighing 700 kg: a soft floor, 5.50 metres in a double row; 3.25 metres or more against the wall. With open headroom up to 1.15 metres high, a low knee bar (15 cm or less).Width: 1.30 metres.

12

On this large farm, newly calved cows have their temperatures taken every day. If they are abnormal the farmer checks other aspects such as rumen fill, udder health and ketosis (using a quick test). The farm treatment plan tells him what treatment or action to apply in response to which signals.

easy if they are in a separate group with a locking feed barrier, or when they are marked somehow. If her temperature is over 39.5°C, the cow has a fever. The most common cause of a fever is metritis. The second most common cause is mastitis.

Other aspects to monitor include activity, ear temperature, rumen fill, manure and milk yield.

1. Cleansing and coming into heat

If the afterbirth has still not come away after 12 hours, it is regarded as abnormal.

It is not officially described as a retained placenta (Retained Foetal Membranes, RFM) until more than 24 hours have passed. Delayed passing of the placenta (6 24 hours) can be due to weak contractions.

Milk fever is often the underlying cause: in order to contract, the uterus needs calcium, which is deficient in milk fever.

On average, 5 percent of cows develop a retained placenta.

Cows with a retained placenta run a greater risk of a uterine infection.

Their oestrus cycle starts later and they get in calf later.

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Retained afterbirth Retention of the afterbirth (placenta) is due to a disturbance of the complicated action by which the cow’s immune system breaks the afterbirth’s attachment to the uterus.

Known factors are: ● nutritional deficiencies: e.g. selenium, vitamin E, iodine and vitamin A deficiency; ● magnesium and calcium deficiency (milk fever); ● fatty liver syndrome: fat cow, loss of condition in dry period; ● stress; ● trauma to the wall of the uterus: difficult calving, uterine torsion; ● premature birth, dead foetus before birth; ● disease or infection, including poor hygiene during calving; ● thin/poor condition cow; twins.

The afterbirth

During pregnancy, the exchange of nutrients, respiratory gases and waste materials in the uterus takes place in specialised areas called the placentomes. Here the placenta is attached to the wall of the uterus via large numbers of projections. These structures on the placenta are called cotyledons. On the wall of the uterus, they are called caruncles.

There is still no good way to remove a retained placenta. Wait until it comes away by itself after 2-11 days. Removing it forcefully does not produce a better outcome. Take the cow’s temperature twice a day. If it is over 39.0°C and the discharge is smelly, the cow has metritis. Treat the cow with antibiotics as instructed by your vet. Check the udder too!

Hormones cause the uterus to contract (oxytocin and PgF2α).

The uterus expels its contents, squeezing the cotyledons out of the caruncles. The weight of the placenta does the rest. Oxytocin is also released when the teats are stimulated (suckling calf, milking). In the first seven days after calving, the cow constantly produces so much PgF2α that injections are pointless.

= 1 cm The placenta’s only attachment to the uterus is via the placentomes. The birth is the signal to the cow’s immune system to sever the connection between uterus and placenta.

13

1. Cleansing and coming into heat

Housing and management

Success is up to you The success of calving, and problems during calving, are almost always determined by your management, sire choice, nutrition and housing.

Over-stocked sheds reduce job satisfaction and hence motivation Take action if: more more ● more ● more ● more ●

In the ideal situation the cow has her first ovulation on day 8 to 14, at which point she displays no signs of heat (‘silent heat’). She will have been in observable heat by day 35. A properly functioning rumen and little body condition loss ensures that the cow is in good health.

●

20% of cows need calving assistance (1 in 5); 10% of second calvers and older have milk fever (1 in 10); 5% of cows have a retained placenta (1 in 20); 4% of cows have a displaced abomasum (DA) (1 in 25); 10% of cows have endometritis (1 in 10).

0,5

American researchers compared farms and found a linear connection between the percentage of pregnant cows at 150 days and the eating space available to each cow (from 30 to 60 cm).

What do you think are the underlying causes? (Wiltbank et al, 2007)

1

Loss of condition after calving

Influence of energy balance in the first month post-calving on success of the first insemination.

14

Droogstandsrantsoen, comfort, beweging, ventilatie, geen stress, fris water, gezonde klauwen, gezond uier

Geen stress, rust, hygiene.

Geen beschadigingen geboorteweg

Juiste

In a two-row shed, every cow has sufficient space to eat.

Positieve energiebalans, goede voedingstoestand Distance passageincl mineralen, gezond,between gezonde benen en klauwen ways: max. 20 cubicle length.

Baarmoeder schoon en gezond.

If every cow has a place to eat, the cows in a group will, on average, eat more meals, take in more feed, chew better and drink more. If they do go into negative energy balance, it won’t last as long and will be less severe.

The cows will have fewer problems with rumen acidosis and poor hoof quality.

In over-stocked sheds, cows have less room to display their heat. A high occupancy rate causes stress and reduces resistance to disease.

Ventilation is less effective, leading to greater pressure of disease and more heat stress.

Pregnancy rate at 1st insemination

Problem

0

than than than than than

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Ideal

In a moment, full three-row shed, the cows are juiste not able to get to the feed barrier at the techniek, sameVruchtbaar time and have limited space to Kalf Geen infecties walksperma, about.

Rust, geen stress, geen ziektes

1. Cleansing and coming into heat

Metritis

The smell and colour of a uterine discharge tells you about the stage of recovery of the uterus and whether treatment is necessary. Ask your vet for an explanation and a farm treatment plan. A farm treatment plan sets out the best treatment for your particular farm when dealing with well-defined symptoms.

co pr py ot rig ec h te t d

Involution and cleansing In the space of four weeks, a cow’s uterus shrinks from a bag which contained a 40kg calf, the afterbirth and around 20 litres of amniotic fluid, to a bag which holds 3 litres or so. This process is called involution. During involution, the uterus also has to get rid of fluid and bacteria in its internal cavity: the uterus invariably becomes infected with bacteria around the time of calving. Whether metritis develops depends firstly on the cow’s resistance to disease and secondly on the number of bacteria and their pathogenic potential.

Monitoring the reproductive tract

Thin, smelly discharge. The mucus is not thick or transparent. This cow needs treatment and may be generally sick.

Thick, non-smelly discharge with ribbons of transparent, sticky mucus.

This cow is cleansing itself.

Thin, non-smelly discharge. The mucus is not thick or transparent.

No signs of spontaneous recovery.

The cow is otherwise healthy.

A smelly uterine discharge indicates an active infection which needs to be treated with antibiotics. This can be done with injections, or locally in the uterus itself (“washout”). Chronic endometritis (“whites”) is a non-smelly yellowish discharge or mixture of cervical mucus. It can be treated by injecting the cow to induce heat, or by local antibiotics (“washout”).

If the cow is to get in calf, the uterus must be free from inflammation.

An abomasal displacement is caused by an excessive intake of rapidly fermentable feed, usually in the first to third week after calving.

Feed a high-fibre, complete basic diet and make sure the rumen is always full.

After 30 days you need to know if the cow is free of metritis. This too calls for a skilful approach. The best method is to use a speculum. This Metricheck tool is the next best choice, second equal with manual vaginal examination.

15

“ Fertility encourages you to think

Fertility

two pregnancies ahead.”

Fertility is a management issue. It’s not just a matter of doing such and such or giving the cows such and such. Good fertility results from processes such as dry period, calving, lactation, heat observation and insemination.

Fertility

A practical guide for fertility management

co pr py ot rig ec h te t d

Which is why Fertility is geared to the dairy farmer as a manager. The book encourages you to look at the daily routine on the dairy farm with a manager’s eye, and helps you to improve your processes. It’s a lot easier to get cows in calf, for example, if your pyometra rate is under 10% and your milk fever rate under 7%. And your performance will benefit if you understand why Australia and the USA use different key figures to measure fertility than the UK and Europe.

But successful management in turn depends on carrying out your day-to-day work properly. Fertility is full of practical information and tips that can be put to use straight away on every dairy farm and covers technical areas such as insemination and calving assistance.

Fertility encourages you to think and act two pregnancies ahead.

Fertility is one of the CowSIGNALS® series.

CowSIGNALS®: highly practical, reader-friendly information on animal-oriented cattle farming.

Jan Hulsen

ISBN 978-90-8740-026-2

www.roodbont.com

www.vetvice.com

Fertility A practical guide for fertility management

www.cowsignals.com 9

789087 400262