Associations of transition cow metabolism with subsequent manifestation and intensity of estrous behavior in cyclic cows

Abstract

This retrospective cohort study investigated the associations between transition cow metabolism and estrous behavior in 226 cyclic Holstein cows. Body weight, feed intake, and milk yield were monitored to calculate energy balance. Blood samples were collected on days −21, −14, −10, −7, −3, 0, 3, 7, 10, 14, 21, and 65 relative to calving. Following the second PGF_2α injection of a Presynch program, cows were monitored for estrous behavior over an 11-day period using activity sensors. Estrus duration, peak activity, and area under the curve (AUC) were calculated from raw activity data. Cows not detected in estrus were grouped as no increase in activity (NIA; n = 90). Those detected in estrus were classified based on AUC as below (moderate increase in activity or MIA; n = 68) or above (large increase in activity or LIA; n = 68) the median. By design, AUC was 147 % greater, peak was 67 % higher, and duration was 74 % longer in LIA compared with MIA cows.

Compared with NIA, cows that expressed estrus had higher body condition and lower serum concentrations of nonesterified fatty acids (NEFA; 0.43 vs. 0.49 ± 0.02 mmol/L), ceruloplasmin (49.9 vs. 52.9 ± 1.0 mg/L), superoxide dismutase (2.06 vs. 2.28 ± 0.06 U/mL), and peak haptoglobin. Among cows that expressed estrus, metabolic differences during the transition were limited to higher NEFA in LIA than in MIA cows (0.46 vs. 0.40 ± 0.02 mmol/L). These findings indicate that transition metabolism may influence the subsequent manifestation of estrous behavior in cyclic cows.