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The Effect of Energy Balance on Ovarian Activity in a Herd of Norwegian Cattle

Sammenheng mellom energibalanse og ovarieaktivitet i en besetning med norske melkekyr

Acta Veterinaria Scandinavica volume 36, pages 533–542 (1995)Cite this article

Abstract

The study involved 34 primiparous cows fed ad libitum grass silage and fixed amounts of concentrate per cow and stage of lactation. It revealed that number of days from calving to maximum progesterone concentration in first luteal phase was negatively related to (p<0.05) energy balance summarized over weeks 3-12 post-partum. One standard deviation improvement of the summarized energy balance relative to the mean reduced the length of the anovulatory period by 12 days. Similarly, an improved energy balance enhanced progesterone secretion during the oestrus cycle and early pregnancy, as measured by 3 variables; 1) maximum progesterone concentration in first luteal phase, 2) cumulative progesterone secretion bounded by the maximum concentrations in first and in third luteal phase and 3) cumulative progesterone secretion in the first month of pregnancy. All results were supported by the estimated regression coefficients of the 4 ovarian activity variables on summarized non-estrified fatty acids and ac-etoacetate variables.

Sammendrag

Forsøket ble gjennomført med 34 førstekalvskyr som ble föret med fri tilgang på grassurfôr og kraftfôr etter stadium i laktasjonen. Forsøket viste at antall dager fra kalving til første lutealfase ble signifikant redusert (p<0.05) av en bedret energibalanse summert over laktasjonsuke 3–12. Effekten var betydelig da ett standardavviks økning av den summerte energibalansen relativt til middelverdien reduserte lengden med 12 dager. På samme måte førte bedret energibalanse til økt maksimal utskillelse av progesteron i første lutealfase, økt kumulativ utskillelse av progesteron mellom første og tredje progesterontopp og økt kumulativ progesteronsekresjon i første måned av drektigheten. For alle de 4 progesteronvariablene samsvarte regresjoner på NEFA og acetoacetat med resultatene for energibalanse.

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Acknowledgments

The antiserum used for progesterone analysis was kindly donated by Dr. G.S. Pope. We thank Claes-Gøran Fristedt and Ann-Lill Hafne for excellent technical assistance.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Animal Science, Agricultural University of Norway, P.O. Box 5025, N-1432, Ås, Norway

    K. Ljøkjel, G. Klemetsdal & E. Prestlokken

  2. Department of Reproduction and Forensic Medicine, Norwegian College of Veterinary Medicine, Oslo, Norway

    E. Ropstad

Authors
  1. K. Ljøkjel
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  2. G. Klemetsdal
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  3. E. Prestlokken
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  4. E. Ropstad
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Ljøkjel, K., Klemetsdal, G., Prestlokken, E. et al. The Effect of Energy Balance on Ovarian Activity in a Herd of Norwegian Cattle. Acta Vet Scand 36, 533–542 (1995). https://doi.org/10.1186/BF03547667

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Keywords

Acta Veterinaria Scandinavica

ISSN: 1751-0147