Pregnancy survival in Holstein cows associated with parity and biotype in Uruguay

Abstract

The effects of gestation loss (PDG) on the reproductive cycle of dairy cows is an issue of great importance for dairy herds, since it is the main factor that generates suboptimal reproductive efficiency, leading to a negative impact on profitability. (Diskin et al., 2016). In addition, the PDG is considered a key indicator of the health and welfare situation in dairy herds (Campero et al., 2017). PDGs are multifactorial in nature with environmental, nutritional, metabolic, hormonal, genetic and/or health origins (Wiltbank et al., 2016). The adequate systematization of information in reproductive management allows the identification of risk factors that affect pregnancy, and guides the producer, advisory veterinarian and veterinary diagnostic laboratory to improve prevention, diagnosis and research processes (Mee, 2020 ; Smith et al., 2014). In Uruguay, it is estimated that between 4% and 8% of dairy cows abort (Macías-Rioseco, 2019; Suanes et al., 2021), however, there are few studies that report the incidence of PDG at the level of dairy herds , basic and required information to identify risk factors and thus develop a PDG surveillance system. The objective of this work was to determine the incidence of PDG and gestational survival in relation to parity and biotype in Holstein cows in grazing systems in southern Uruguay.