Abstract
This study was directed to the estimation of correlations between fertility disorders and effects of these disorders on subsequent fertility. Disorders were: abortion and repeat breeding, retained placenta, endometritis, irregular heat, no heat and other fertility disorders. Two datasets were used in this study: 7075 records from 24 commercial farms and 3351 records from 9 research herds. Diagnoses were made by farmers and/or veterinarians. Results indicated that phenotypic correlations between fertility disorders were weak but usually positive. The strongest correlation was between retained placenta and endometritis. Fertility disorders in general had negative effects on fertility traits although not all effects were significant. The magnitude of the effects was different for the two datasets. Only a small amount of variance of fertility was explained by fertility disorders. It is concluded that fertility disorders can have substantial effect on fertility for individual animals but not at herd level. Definition of disorders is closely linked with their effect on fertility.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Pages (from-to) | 213-220 |
| Number of pages | 8 |
| Journal | Livestock Production Science |
| Volume | 46 |
| Issue number | 3 |
| DOIs | |
| Publication status | Published - Oct 1996 |
Keywords
- Dairy cattle
- Fertility disorders
- Phenotypic parameters