Effects of lameness on reproductive indices in dairy cows

Abstract

Introduction: Lameness is one of cows' most important endemic diseases that severely affects their reproductive performance, milk production, and longevity. Therefore, identifying the factors affecting it is necessary in order to eliminate its therapeutic measures. The aim of this study was to determine the relationship between lameness rate with open days, number of inseminations per pregnancy and body condition score (BCS), and knowledge of lameness rate in different seasons separately as well as endometritis. Materials & Methods: In this study, a sample of 619 cattle was selected from an 800-head industrial farm in Alborz province. The lameness of cows was then divided into 5 degrees (including normal, unbalanced, mild, moderate and severe) according to the Thomson (2008) ranking. Then, based on the factors of open days (distance from birth to pregnancy), the number of inseminations per pregnancy (counting the number of inseminations) and body mass index (9 criteria from weak to obese) were classified. The results of the research were also assessed using statistical tests. Results: The results of this study showed that there was a statistically significant difference between different degrees of lameness and the first day of estrus, number of open days and number of inseminations per pregnancy (p ≥0.05). But there is no statistically significant difference between different degrees of lameness and BSC (P=0.40). Also, there is no statistically significant difference between the degrees of lameness in different seasons (P=0.38). But there is a statistically significant difference between the frequency of endometritis and different degrees of lameness (P=0.001). Conclusion: Based on the findings of this study, it can be concluded that lameness in dairy cows leads to negative effects on open days, number of inseminations per pregnancy and also body mass index, and inevitably controlling lameness can improve the health and economy of dairy cows.