1 6—Lancaster Farming, Saturday. Septembers, 1977 Why normal cows might not breed The one comment heard most frequently over the years by a bovine veterinarian has to be ‘ ‘You know, if it weren’t for mastitis and breeding problems, milking cows could be profitable, and a lot more enjoyable.” Mastitis and breeding problems are the two most bothersome nemeses plagueing the dairyman today. And despite the millions spent for reseacb, little has been accomplished to bring either one under better control. One of the questions heard most often has to be “Doc, why do you think this cow didn’t settle?” regarding a repeat breeder, and most times can only be answered by listing several possibilities. For many years now the 60- 90 day non-return rate of many AI organizations has been around 68 per cent. Attempts to significantly raise this percentage have not been successful. Often even a carefully conducted reproductive herd health program will not markedly improve first service conception rates. And although about 32 per cent will repeat on first ser vice, many of these are perfectly normal and will settle on a subsequent service, while the rest continue repeating and become the problem breeders. These subfertile cows are the ones we ask the questions about. Much work has been done as to ‘why’ a particular cow does not settle. Average conception rate of all cows ser viced for the fourth time without any examination or treatment is about 40 per cent, for the fifth service about 30 per cent. Conception is very low after third service and any cows still not pregnant after three services should be examined. The list of possiblities to be found are as follows: 1. Management error will be culprit about five to ten per cent of the time. Some of the contributing factors being that the cow was not really in heat, bred to early or too late, or even that the cow was already pregnant before the fourth service. 2. About 20-40 per cent will be infertile because of an infection or inflammation in the reproductive tract. Any abnormal vaginal discharge would be a indication, however, a low grade infection can exist without any obvious discharge. APOLLO JU. ROHRER & BRO., INC. NEW 3. Defects in the anatomy or structure of the reproductive organs themselves will be responsible for about 20 per cent of the infertile cows. These can range from air in the vagina to adhensions to defects of the ovaries or tubes themselves. These are usually not correctible and offer a very poor prognosis. 4. About 50 per cent will appear clinically normal upon examination. Conception in this half of the repeat breeders is fairly good however many of them also have defects of the anatomy which can be found only after the cow is slaughtered and a post-mortem performed. Also low grade infections will not necessarily cause enough change to determine it to be abnormal upon examination. Another imporant reason many of the so-called normal cows will not conceive is early embryonic death. Each fertilization is an experiment and, as in many endeavour, a number of experiments are doomed to failure. Should failure occur two or three consecutive times in the same cow she becomes a repeat breeder. 5. Disturbances of the ovulation or egg producing and releasing cycle will result in about 10-20 per cent of the problems. The greatest majority of these cystic follicles. Treatment for these, also, is not always successful and prognoisis for fertility is questionable. The best advice is still to have every cow examied at 30- 60 days post calving; if there are any treatable ab normailities, the sooner treated the better. Have every TRY A CLASSIFIED V\ AS i Badger Forage Harvester Chopping Capacity The Badger Forage Harvester is T h * hV power-matched for tractors up to 10 IViatcn TOUT 175 Big chopping capacity Big-Tractor throughout. Left hand delivery minimizes Pnw/pr side draft. Lets V° u operate with dual ruwer mounted tires Choose from two models with multi-row crop heads and hay pickup attachments available See us for more information. SHOW-EASE STALL CO. 523 Willow Rd Lancaster, PA Ph. 299-2536 CARL L. SHIRK RDS Lebanon, PA Ph 274-1436 CECIL DAIRY SERVICE A. C. HEISEY FARM EQUIPMENT INC. RDI Rt. 274 RDI Jonestown, PA V: Mi, South Rising Sun, MD (717) 865-4526 PH (301) 658-6923 cow examined that repeats two or three times. An examination may or may not reveal anthing, but that’s the only way to find out if there is anything wrong which can be treated, and your veterinarian can determine what treatment if any is needed. And if the problem cow is examined and your vet says “Feels good, no reason why she shouldn’t breed” as is often the case, at least now you know some of the possibilities as to why she doesn’t, even if you can’t do anything about it. See Your Local Badger Dealer GRUMELLI'S FARM SERVICE Mechanics Grove Quarryville, PA Ph. 786-7318 ISAAC W. HURST UOYD E. KREIDER RD2 East Earl, PA Ph.(215)445-5767 FARMING IS BETTER TH BADGER AVE sss FISHER BROTHERS 136 W. High St. Red Lion, PA Ph. (717)244-2178 & 862-3406 RDI Cochranviile, PA Ph.(215)932-4700
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