The Possible relationship between feeding, fertility, and blood parameters of milking cows

Abstract

Blood parameters from 1000 Israeli-Flolstein breed milking cows in 30 kibbutz dairy herds, were studied during a period of 3 years and the relationship to feeding and fertlity was studied. The cows were raised and kept under similar management and A.I. regimes. Herds with high OCR (Overall conception rate) of 48.3 ± 1.3 were considered good ones, while farms with low OCR (30.0 ± 1.3) were considered poor ones. High producing cows were cows that gave 28 kg (and over) milk/day while low producing cows were those that gave 27 (and less) kg milk/day, this at a period of up to 90 days postpartum.

Feed composition had a significant effect (p 0.001) on OCR. In the high OCR herds, cows were fed concentrates and roughage at a ratio of 69:31, while in the low OCR herds the ratio was 80:20, based on dry matter. There was also a good correlation (p 0.001) between OCR and the blood parameter Δ Pi (a difference obtained by subtracting the level of the whole blood inorganic-P from the serum inorganic-P). In cows from herds with high OCR A Pi was 0.75 ± 0.06 (n=107), while in herds with low OCR this value was 1.33 ± 0.05 (n = 106). There was no significant difference between feeding or OCR and the blood parameters urea, total proteins, albumine, glucose, totallipids, cholesterol inorganic and organic-P, calcium and magnesium.