Key factors to improve fertility

摘要

In this the second in the cut-out-and-keep Intervet series, vet Keith Cutler tells us about the factors which are conspiring to push fertility rates down and what we can do to combat them.Lameness, high yields and a lack of time are the major factors affecting cow fertility on modern dairy farms -in some ways nothing new but a reflection of the changing trends in how we manage our dairy cows. Since I qualified as a vet 15 years ago, we'veshifted to fewer, larger herds with more cows per man and much higher milk yields - a 10,000kg cow is now the norm in many herds. We've also had digital dermatitis appear to become the most infectious cause of lameness in British herds. Lame cows don'tshow heat and they don't walk to the feed fence either, energy intakes fall, cows lose body condition and fertility crashes.