The Effect of Postpartum Complications on Subclinical Ketosis and Its Relationship with Reproductive Efficiency Criteria in Cows

Abstract

The aim of this study is to determine the effect of early postpartum complications on subclinical ketosis, including dystocia, placental retention, milk fever, uterine inflammation, mastitis and the relationship between subclinical ketosis on some reproductive performance in cattle. The study were conducted in Salah al-Din province  for the period from the October 2021 to December 2022. Fifty cows in a period of lactation (2-8 weeks) were used in the current study (40  cows suffered from subclinical ketosis and 10 healthy cows). All cows were examined using a hand-held digital β-hydroxybutyric acid assay (Epiketon) (Made by Visgeneer INC' China) to diagnos sub clinical ketosis in cattle. The data was monitored and recorded for a period of three months for each experimental animals.

The results of the current study showed that there were no effects of postpartum complications in cows to occurance of subclinical ketosis except metrites. where the percentage of cows with subclinical ketosis and suffering from metritis was (12%). The percentage of cows that showed estrus first time after birth within 60 days (47.5%) in infected group compared to healthy cows (70%). The results also showed a decrease in both the percentage of cows that succeeded in getting pregnant from the first estrus and cows have open days less than 3 months in infected cows compared to healthy cows. The percentage of sub clinical ketosis increase  in the animals which have more number of birth (47.50%) in cow have more than four birth compared with cows with The second and third (32.5%) and the cows with one birth (20.00%).

We conclude from the current study that the uterine infection and the number of births have clear effect on incidence of subclinical ketosis and the sub clinical ketosis lead to decrease reproductive performance in cattle.