Effects of body condition score and daily milk yield on reproduction traits of Czech Fleckvieh cows

Abstract

The objective of this study was to evaluate the effects of body condition score (BCS) and daily milk yield (DMY) on reproductive characteristics of dairy cows. A total of 1249 records of Czech Fleckvieh cows raised at a private farm in Prague were enrolled. Dairy cows were grouped according to BCS (1 = <= 3.75, 2 = 4-4.25 and 3 = >= 4.50) and DMY groups (<20kg, 20-30 kg and >30kg). Number of inseminations per pregnancy (NI), days open (DO), service period (SP) and ovarian cyst (OC) cases were evaluated as reproduction characteristics. While the group with BCS = 4.50 presented higher DO, the group with BCS <= 3.75 had lower OC cases when compared with other BCS groups. The group with DMY<20 kg had higher DO but lower OC cases than other DMY groups. Significant correlations were estimated between SP and NI (r = 0.843) or DO (r = 0.256), and between OC and DO (r = 0.546). The results revealed the effects of BCS and DMY on DO and OC and associations of reproduction traits each other. Therefore, close tracking production and reproduction data is suggested as a major process to prevent fertility problems and to obtain high productivity in dairy cows.