Managing Reproduction in a

Modern Dairy HerdGregory M. Goodell, DVMThe Dairy Authority, LLC

Components of Establishing Pregnancy

Transitioning a cow properly through the post partum period

Heat Detection/Timed AIPregnancy DiagnosisMonitoring the reproductive process

Transition through post partum period

Extremely importantLarge impactMultifactorial

Michael W. Overton, DVM, MPVMUniversity of Georgia-College of Veterinary Medicine, Athens, GA

Heat Detection: How do I find cows that are ready to breed?

Heat Detection◦Observe for signs of estrous◦Advantages:

Less expensive and easier to implement◦Disadvantages

Time consuming, more skill required

Heat Detection Aides

Marking Crayons/ChalkPressure-sensitive padsPedometersRumen boluses

Pressure Sensitive Pads

HeatWatch Pressure Pad

Pedometers

Implementing Heat Detection on a Dairy

Train personnel on signs of estrousCannot cut corners here!Excellent tools for vets from stud services

and breeding companiesReview numbers often as a program starts

to evaluate heat detection numbers.

Timed Artificial Insemination (TAI)

Many different programsSuccess depends on management/style of

the dairyLabor intensiveCompliance a must

TAI Programs

CIDRSync Programs with CIDRs

Which TAI Program is Best?

Veterinarian should couple the management ability of the dairy with the TAI program

A producer will almost always go for the program with the best published rates but demand the most convenient program

In general the more intense the program the better the rates

Compliance to TAI Programs

Same time every day of week and time (including Christmas day and July 4th!)

All cows MUST be found.◦Missed injections primary cause of compliance

failure.

Example of Compliance

Preg rate = Heat detection X Conception rateTAI programs force 100% heat detectionIf a TAI program requires 6 visits to the cow and

we miss 5% of the cows at all visits then we’ve reduced effective heat detection rate from 100 to 70%. If conception rate is 40% then we’ve reduce preg rate by 12%

Preg Rates and Costs

TAI Program Cow Visits Preg Rate Cost per Cow

CoSync 72 3 28-33% $7.22OvSync 48 4 28-33% $7.38OvSync 56 4 30-35 % $7.38PreSync 12/OvSync 56 6 32-38% $11.90PreSync 14/OvSync 56 6 32-38% $11.90G6G 6 40-50% $11.80Double OvSync 7 40-50% $13.96

Preg Rates and Costs

TAI Program Cow Visits Preg Rate Cost per Cow

CoSync 72 3 28-33% $7.22OvSync 48* 4 28-33% $7.38OvSync 56* 4 30-35 % $7.38PreSync 12/OvSync 56* 6 32-38% $11.90PreSync 14/OvSync 56* 6 32-38% $11.90G6G 6 40-50% $11.80Double OvSync 7 40-50% $13.96

* If CIDR used add another $9.00

Pregnancy Diagnosis

Rectal PalpationUltrasoundBlood TestMilk Test

Rectal Palpation

Most common form of pregnancy diagnosis for cattle

Conducted between 30-50 days after breeding

Sensitivity of 95% and specificity of 96% when conducted between 35 and 45 d post AI

Chronic Trauma to shoulder

Ultrasonography

Usually performed between 28-35 daysSensitivity of 97.7% and specificity of

87.7% when conducted between 26 and 33 d post AI (Pieterse et al., 1990)

Skills vary among ultrasonographersRechecks still must be doneReduced shoulder trauma if extension arm

used.

Ultrasonography

Current controversy regarding stage to preg check

Research shows no difference in economics when preg check between 32 and 39 days (Silva, et al 2009 )

At 39 days U/S not required and neither is early P2

Blood Tests for Pregnancy

Detection of early pregnancy-associated glycoproteins (PAGs)

Pregnancy-Specific Protein B (PSPB)Proteins only produced by the placenta of

the growing fetus

Advantages of Blood Testing

Sensitivity reported to be between 96-99%Specificity reported to be between 97-99%Lay personnel can pull the sampleOften combined with other modalities of

pregnancy diagnosis allowing for coverage of more animals or larger herds

Decrease physical wear and tear of shoulder

Disadvantages of Blood Testing

Requires minimum of 24 hours to achieve result

Does not provide any fetal stagingHalf life of some PAGs may be as long as

90 day postpartum

Commercially Available Tests

bioTrackingIdexxConception

bioTracking

Test name is BioPrynLocated in Moscow, IdahoCharacteristics

◦Se/Sp is 100/87.8 at 30-36 days post breeding◦Used as early as 28 days post breeding◦Must wait until 90 days postpartum

Cost is $2.50-$3.50 per sample

Idexx

Idexx Bovine Pregnancy Test Serum or milk Located in Westbrook, Maine Characteristics

◦ Se/Sp is 99.3%/95.1% at 30 days post breeding◦ Used as early as 28 days post breeding◦ Must wait 60 days post partum before using

Cost between $2.50 and $3.00 per sample

Conception

Test name is DG29Located in Québec, CanadaCharacteristics

◦Se/Sp is 99.4/100 at 29 days post breeding◦Used as early as 29 days post breeding◦Must wait 90 days post partum before using

Cost between $3.20 and $4.00 per sample

Reproduction Analysis

Basic Concepts

Case Definitions!!Pregnant Cows/Exposed CowsPregnancy Rate, DIM, DOPN, etc.

◦Include cows in EWP?◦Include Dead/Sold Cows?◦Include Dry Cows?◦Frequency of preg checks

High Production Herd Characteristics

40-45% of milking herd pregnant180-200 Average DIMCull rate less than 35% (???)

% of the Milking Herd Pregnant

# milking cows pregnant/total # of cows milking.

30-50% is the goal (moves with DIM)Dry cows not includedIn DC305…

◦Sum by rc for rc=1-5 Lact>0\B

Herd Averages

Days in milk at first breeding (DIMFB)Days Open (DOPN)Days in milk (DIM)

Herd Averages

Days in milk at first breeding (DIMFB)Days Open (DOPN)Days in milk (DIM) Count AvDIMFB Av DOPN Av DIM

------ ------- ------- -------

2851 62 119 180

Herd Averages

Days in milk at first breeding (DIMFB)Days Open (DOPN)Days in milk (DIM) Count AvDIMFB Av DOPN Av DIM

------ ------- ------- -------

2851 62 119 180

4412 63 146 200

Using DC305 for Repro Analysis

Need to be certain of where CLEANUP parameters are set

Commands like COUNT, SUM and PCT do NOT look at sold/died cows unless told to

Switches in DC305◦\B, \D, \L

% Milking Herd Preg and >150 DIM

# milking cows preg and >150 DIM / #cows milking and greater than 150 DIM

In DC305…◦Sum by RC for DIM>150 RC=1-5 Lact>0

Goal 50-70% (moves with DIM)Dry cows not included

Specific Areas of Monitoring

Calendar MonthTimes BredTechBreeding CodeInterval AnalysisDay of the Week

By Calendar Month for past 12 months

Month 95% CI %Conc #Preg #Open Other Abort Total %Tot SPC==================== ====== ===== ===== ===== ===== ===== ===== ==== ====2012 January 35-45 40 142 214 72 41 428 4 2.52012 February 35-44 40 179 271 79 46 529 5 2.52012 March 35-43 39 204 319 108 47 631 6 2.62012 April 37-45 41 251 358 134 62 743 8 2.42012 May 36-44 40 220 336 110 47 666 7 2.52012 June 28-35 31 178 392 74 46 644 7 3.22012 July 13-19 16 100 531 117 20 748 8 6.32012 August 8-12 10 83 742 134 8 959 10 9.92012 September 14-18 16 158 837 203 11 1198 12 6.32012 October 27-32 29 314 754 310 19 1378 14 3.42012 November 37-44 41 333 487 166 6 986 10 2.52012 December 30-38 34 192 373 * 144 2 709 7 2.92013 January - 0 0 93 * 141 0 234 2 TOTALS 28-30 29 2354 5707 1792 355 9853 100 3.41002 non-AI breedings were omitted

By Times BredBred Number 95% CI %Conc #Preg #Open Other Abort Total %Tot SPC==================== ====== ===== ===== ===== ===== ===== ===== ==== ==== 1 27-40 33 62 124 4 0 190 32 3.0 2 30-46 37 51 86 0 1 137 23 2.7 3 22-42 31 25 55 4 1 84 14 3.2 4 18-40 27 17 45 2 1 64 11 3.6 5 18-47 31 11 25 1 0 37 6 3.3 6 22-56 37 10 17 1 0 28 5 2.7 7 12-55 29 4 10 2 0 16 3 3.5 8 15-58 33 5 10 1 0 16 3 3.0 OTHERS 6-38 16 3 16 3 0 22 4 6.3 TOTALS 29-37 33 188 388 18 3 594 100 3.1

35 non-AI breedings were omitted

By TechnicianTechnician 95% CI %Conc #Preg #Open Other Abort Total %Tot SPC==================== ====== ===== ===== ===== ===== ===== ===== ==== ====Efrain 19-31 25 50 153 5 1 208 35 4.1Luis 17-35 25 21 64 4 0 89 15 4.0Alfonso 35-46 41 117 171 11 2 299 50 2.5TOTALS 29-37 33 188 388 20 3 596 100 3.135 non-AI breedings were omitted

By Breeding CodeBreeding Code 95% CI %Conc #Preg #Open Other Abort Total %Tot SPC==================== ====== ===== ===== ===== ===== ===== ===== ==== ====CIDR 12-49 26 5 14 0 1 19 3 3.8Thur PM 40-63 52 33 31 3 1 67 11 1.9Normal 31-44 37 85 142 8 1 235 39 2.7TAI 20-30 25 65 199 9 0 273 46 4.1OTHERS 0-66 0 0 2 0 0 2 0 TOTALS 29-37 33 188 388 20 3 596 100 3.135 non-AI breedings were omitted

By Day of the WeekWeek Day 95% CI %Conc #Preg #Open Other Abort Total %Tot SPC==================== ====== ===== ===== ===== ===== ===== ===== ==== ====Monday 24-55 38 13 21 0 0 34 6 2.6Tuesday 36-70 54 15 13 0 1 28 5 1.9Wednesday 25-51 37 17 29 5 0 51 9 2.7Thursday 33-52 42 45 62 3 1 110 18 2.4Friday 22-32 26 81 225 11 1 317 53 3.8Saturday 14-44 27 8 22 0 0 30 5 3.8Sunday 20-55 36 9 16 1 0 26 4 2.8TOTALS 29-37 33 188 388 20 3 596 100 3.135 non-AI breedings were omitted

DIM for 25, 50 and 75% Preg. Rate

Survival Analysis on DOPNDC305 command…

◦Graph DOPN for Lact>0 RC=1-5\S◦Survival Curve

GRAPH DOPN\S

GRAPH DOPN FOR TID=3 WITH TID<>3\S

DOPN Cohort Analysis

Caveats◦Interpret results with other repro parameters◦There is a lag in reproduction data equal to

days till preg check post breeding◦Should also apply monitoring techniques to

parity groups

Conclusion

Know the case definitionRecord the data oftenLook at the data oftenCheck data against other criteria

QUESTIONS?