Mastitis clinic and reproductive efficiency in Holstein cows in the Huaura Valley, Peru

Abstract

Objective: To determine the influence of clinical mastitis on reproductive efficiency in a dairy herd located in the province of Huaura, Peru. Methodology: A total of 1781 records of cows diagnosed with clinical mastitis (CM) were analyzed. The effect of CM was evaluated, taking into consideration the time of year (EA) and number of calvings (NP) on days open (DA), conception rate (CT) and services/conception (SC). ANOVA, Student's t-test, proportions test and Pearson's correlation test were used for data analysis. Results: Cows with MC presented higher DA (+23) compared to cows without MC (p=0.006). The time of year did not affect the DA, the number of calving did affect the duration of DA, second calving cows with MC had higher DA (+23) compared to cows without MC. During winter cows with MC had higher CT (+5.3%) (p<0.004) compared to summer, where the difference was smaller (+2.7%) (p=0.212). Second calving cows with MC had a lower TC of -7.6% (p=0.006) relative to cows without MC. SCs in cows with MC increased by +0.2, +0.6, +0.6, +0.6 and +0.5 inseminations at 1st, 2nd, 3rd and >4th calving, respectively, relative to cows without MC. Conclusion: Cows with MC had lower reproductive efficiency compared to cows without MC. No association was found between MC with DA, TC and SC. Other factors should be evaluated and appropriate methodologies should be used to better determine the degree of association between MC and reproductive efficiency.