Kons fertilitet : kostnader och åtgärder

Sammanfattning: To get a good economy on the dairy farms the fertility control of heifers and cows is a crucial factor. It is also important to know which key parameters that should be tracked. In this work well established routines for heat detection have to be applied. When the dairy farmers use technical aid in estrus control it is important not to forget that technical aids can not replace the human eye. Approximately 50 % of all opportunities to inseminate are missed because clear signs of estrus have not been displayed and/or recorded. The cattle fertility has been declining over recent years. During the same time the cow's proceeds have increased, consequently applying a higher pressure on the cow and the manager. The cow must produce a lot of milk and get pregnant as quickly as possible within three months post-partum. Other important things to know are: what causes a disturbance in the cow's fertility, how to treat the cow and what medication to use. The treatment of a cow should never be used as a preventive measure. The root cause of many basic reproductions problems such as inactive ovaries, delayed ovulation, weak signs of estrus and embryonic death is nutritional stress. Negative energy balance is inevitable during early lactation but a good feed management can minimize this effect. In constitutions issued by the Ministry of Agriculture rules are stated concerning the breeding program, veterinary work in the dairy farms and how every person involved in the insemination of the dairy cattle should handle cows and semen. To get a clearer picture of how much expenses a dairy farmer can save on a correct cattle fertility program I have with help from Skånesemin and a dairy farm in Skåne looked at their functional fertility. The farm had 110 milking cows and was in the following aspects inferior to the average farm in Skåne: • The intervals between calvings was for some cows 480 days or more, and the number of these cows was much to high • The number of inseminations per pregnancy was too high; 1.85 insemination per pregnancy is not good. The dairy should have 1.5 – 1.7 insemination as a goal. • A lot of money can be saved at the dairy farm if the calving intervals can be decreased to 12 – 12,5 month. Every extra day between calvings costs the dairy farmer 60, - SEK per cow. Good fertility depends on good decision-making, recording, nutrition and management.