Parturition to resumption of ovarian cyclicity: comparative aspects of beef and dairy cows
Crowe, M. A. Diskin, M. G. Williams, E. J.
Crowe, M. A.
Diskin, M. G.
Williams, E. J.
Publication Date
2014-03-28
Keywords
resumption of oestrous cycles, uterine health, ovary, beef cows, dairy cows, gonadotropin-releasing-hormone, growth-factor-i, ventricular cerebrospinal-fluid, follicle-stimulating-hormone, suckling-mediated inhibition, nonesterified fatty-acids, 1st postpartum ovulation, dietary energy-source, luteinizing-hormone, estrous-cycle
Type
Article
Downloads
Citation
Crowe, M. A. Diskin, M. G.; Williams, E. J. (2014). Parturition to resumption of ovarian cyclicity: comparative aspects of beef and dairy cows. animal 8 , 40-53
Abstract
There is a variable anoestrous period following parturition in the cow. Follicular growth generally resumes within 7 to 10 days in the majority of cows associated with a transient FSH rise that occurs within 3 to 5 days of parturition. Dairy cows that are not nutritionally stressed generally ovulate their first postpartum dominant follicle (similar to 15 days), whereas beef suckler cows in good body condition normally have a mean of 3.2 +/- 0.2 dominant follicles (similar to 30 days) to first ovulation; moreover, beef cows in poor body condition have a mean of 10.6 +/- 1.2 dominant follicles (similar to 70 to 100 days) to first ovulation. The lack of ovulation of dominant follicles during the postpartum period is associated with infrequent LH pulses, with both maternal-offspring bonding and low body condition score (BCS) at calving being implicated as the predominant causes of delayed resumption of cyclicity in nursed beef cows. In dairy cows, the normal pattern of early resumption of ovulation may be delayed in high-yielding Holstein type cows generally owing to the effects of severe negative energy balance, dystocia, retained placental membranes and uterine infections. First ovulation, in both dairy and beef cows, is generally silent (i.e., no behavioural oestrus) and followed by a short inter-ovulatory interval (>70%). The key to optimizing the resumption of ovulation in both beef and dairy cows is appropriate pre-calving nutrition and management so that cows calve down in optimal body condition (BCS; 2.75 to 3.0) with postpartum body condition loss restricted to <0.5 BCS units.
Funder
Publisher
Cambridge University Press (CUP)
Publisher DOI
Rights
Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Ireland