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IMPROVE YOUR COWS’ LIFE TIME PRODUCTIVITY

Difficulties in getting the cow pregnant are the main reason for involuntary culling. Optimal fertility is a key driver of cow longevity and profitability

“Did you knowthat the optimal

calving interval is 12-13 months?”

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FERTILITY PROBLEMS ARE INCREASING

There has been a negative trend over many years with a number of fertility problems affecting modern dairy cows:

INCREASED NUMBER OFUTERUS INFLAMMATION

LONGER INTERVAL TO NORMALITY OF SEXUAL ORGANS

WEAKER HEAT SIGNS

LOWER EGG QUALITY

EARLY EMBRYONIC DEATH

Fertility problems are often caused by infections or stress, but can also depend on season, herd size, age composition and

managerial factors such as breeding policy and nutrition

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MAN-HOURS PER COW ARE DECREASINGThe direct result is that less time remains for detecting heats

Which cow needs attention?

Selection for milk yield has made the modern dairy cow increasingly susceptible to

shortcomings in management or nutrition

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Ideally your cows will get pregnant every 12-13 months. In some parts of the world the calving interval is 16-17 months and the average number of calves per cow and year can be as low as 0.6

The optimal calving interval is

12-13months

That’s almost

one calf per cow & year

Ideal calving interval

= 12-13 months

In many parts of the world

calving interval = 16-17 months For every day calving

interval is extended farmers will lose money (on average3 Euros per cow and day)

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CORNERSTONES OF A HIGH PREGNANCY RATE

1.OPTIMISED

HEAT DETECTION

2.OPTIMISED

FEED INTAKE AFTER

CALVING 3.HEALTHY

AND WELL-MANAGED

COWS

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1. OPTIMISED HEAT DETECTION

On average around half of the heats can be observed through normal management. Advanced milk analysis tools can detect heat with an accuracy of 95% and inform you when to perform optimal insemination

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2. OPTIMISED FEED INTAKE AFTER CALVING

OPTIMAL FEED INTAKE IS ONLY POSSIBLE IF:

●cows are not too fat at calving (BCS = 3.5)

●cows are fed high quality and tasty rations

●cows are in optimal health (don’t forget hooves and legs)

●stress is avoided around the moment of calving (avoid changing of groups)

●rations are not changed near calving

●there is enough feed and enough room to eat for every cow

Today’s high-producing dairy cow needs excellent care after calving in order to resume feed consumption promptly

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3. HEALTHY AND WELL-MANAGED COWS

Optimise feed intake

Provide recently calved cows plenty of comfort and space

Reduce heat stress by cooling

Minimise lameness

© DeLaval 2014 Sources: www.delaval.com/HappyCows