Troubleshooting Poor Reproductive Performance in Large Herds

摘要

When veterinary scholars and students discuss factors involved in diagnosing a disease or condition, they often speak in terms of examining individual animals, Like most veterinarians, this author was trained to examine an individual animal, make a diagnosis, and prescribe appropriate therapy. But when a health condition involves a herd, the diagnostic process becomes complex and convoluted because of the interplay of determinants such as nutrition, housing and environment, diseases, management, andemployee protocols. This certainly is true when examining a dairy herd set back by inefficient reproductive performance—one of the greatest challenges to a veterinarian's diagnostic skills. This article inventories and examines many of the parameters that should be considered when investigating poor reproductive performance of a herd. Succeeding articles in this issue continue the discussion in greater depth.