Skip to main content
Download PDF
  • Published:

Herd Reproductive Performance Related to Urea Concentration in Bulk Milk

Fruktbarhetsresultater i storfebesetninger relatert til ureanivået i tankmelk

Acta Veterinaria Scandinavica volume 28, pages 55–63 (1987)Cite this article

Abstract

Bulk milk samples were collected from 256 dairy herds from 4 districts in Southern Norway: Gudbrandsdal (n = 35), Bergen (n = 15), Hedmark (n = 117) and Hardanger (n = 89).

A total of 6–8 samples were collected in each herd during the indoor season. Data concerning reproductive performance, milk production and nutrition were registered for a period of 15 months starting 7 months before the first milk sample was collected. The urea levels obtained during the sampling period were averaged generating a mean urea level of each herd. The mean urea levels were related to reproductive performance.

The urea levels within districts showed only minor variations during the sampling period. The mean urea level in Hardanger was significantly higher (p < 0.05) than in the other distrikts. This district also had the lowest fertility. Significant correlations between mean urea level and fertility were observed only in Hedmark. Fertility status (FS), an integrated index, and number of inseminations per animal inseminated were significantly affected by the interaction between mean urea level and district. Herds in Hardanger with cows treated for ovarian cysts had a significantly higher mean urea level (p = 0.02) than herds with non-treated cows.

The results appear to support the notion that a negative relationship may exist between bulk milk urea levels and reproductive performance. The great district variations observed indicate, however, that the practical value of such measurements is limited.

Sammendrag

Tankmelk-prøver ble samlet fra 256 besetninger fra 4 områder i Sør-Norge: Gudbrandsdal (n = 35), Bergen (n = 15), Hedmark (n = 117) og Hardanger (n = 89). Det ble tatt ut en prøve pr. måned i hver besetning fra oktober til mai. Opplysninger om fruktbarhet, helse, melkeproduksjon og fôring ble registrert fra sju måneder før første melképrøve ble samlet og i 15 måneder framover i hver besetning. Gjennomsnittsnivået for ureamålingene i hver besetning ble sammenholdt med fruktbarhets resultatene.

Det var lite variasjon i ureanivåene i prøveperioden. Hardanger hadde signifikant høyere ureanivå og dårligere fruktbarhetsresultater enn de andre distriktene. Signifikante korrelasjoner mellom ureanivå og fruktbarhet ble bare funnet i Hedmark. Det var en signifikant sammenheng mellom FS-tall og antall inseminasjoner pr. påbegynt ku på den ene siden og samspillet mellom ureanivå og distrikt på den andre. Besetninger i Hardanger hvor kyr var behandlet for cyster hadde høyere ureanivå (p = 0.02) enn besetninger uten cystebehandlede kyr.

Undersøkelsen indikerer at høye ureanivåer i tankmelk kan være forbundet med dårlig fruktbarhet. Store distriktsvise forskjeller bidrar imidlertid til å redusere den praktiske nytten av slike målinger.

References

  • Depke W: Untersuchungen zur Konstitution und Fruchtbarkeit an ausgewählten Nachkommengruppen des Deutschen Schwarzbunten Milchrindes anhand von Blutserumuntersuchungen. (Studies on constitution and fertility of selected German Dairy Black Pied progeny groups as related to blood serum investigations). Diss. Tierärztliche Hochschule, Hannover 1981.

    Google Scholar 

  • Hewett C: On the causes and effects of variations in the blood profile of Swedish dairy cattle. Acta vet. scand. 1974, Suppl. 50.

    Google Scholar 

  • Hârstad E: Sammenhengen mellom fôring, ureainnhold i mjolk og fruktbarhet hjâ mjolkekyr. (The relationship between nutrition, urea content in milk and fertility in dairy cows). Thesis. Department of Animal Nutrition, The Agricultural University of Norway, 1985, 112 pp.

    Google Scholar 

  • Jordan ER, Swanson LV: Effect of crude protein on reproductive efficiency, serum total protein and albumin in the high-producing dairy cow. J. Dairy Sei. 1979, 62, 58–63.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Kaim M, Folman Y, Neumark H, Kaufmann W: The effect of protein intake and lactation number on post-partum body weight loss and reproductive performance of dairy cows. Anim. Prod. 1983, 37, 229–235.

    Google Scholar 

  • Kaufmann W: Variation in der Zusammensetzung des Rohstoffes Milch unter besonderer Berücksichtigung des Hamstoffgehaltes. (Variation in the urea content in milk used for processing). Milchwiss. 1982, 37, 6–9.

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Lotthammer K-H: Einfluss der Fütterung und Futterproduktion auf Gesundheit und Fruchtbarkeit von Milchrindem. (Influence of feeding and feed production on the health and fertility of dairy cattle). Tierärztl. Prax. 1979, 7, 425–438.

    Google Scholar 

  • Oltner R, Emanuelson M, Wiktorsson H: Factors affecting the urea concentration in cows milk. Proc., 5th Internat. Conference on Production Disease in Farm Animals, Uppsala 1983, p. 195–198.

    Google Scholar 

  • Payne JM, Dew SM, Mantston R, Faulks M: The use of metabolic profile test in dairy herds. Vet. Rec. 1970, 87, 150–157.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Piatkowski B, Voight J, Girschewski H: Einfluss des Rohproteinniveaus auf die Fruchtbarkeit und den Hamstoffgehalt in Körperflussigkeiten bei Hochleistungskühen. (Effect of dietary crude protein content on reproduction and the urea content of body fluids in high yielding cows). Arch. Tieremähr. 1981, 31, 497–504.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Refsdal AO: Ovariecyster hos melkekyr. (Ovarian cysts in dairy cows). Norsk Vet.-T. 1982, 94, 789–795.

    Google Scholar 

  • Refsdal AO: Urea in bulk as compared to the herd mean of urea blood. Acta vet. scand. 1983, 24, 518–520.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Refsdal AO, Bœvre L, Bruflot R: Urea concentration in bulk milk as an indicator of the protein supply at the herd level. Acta vet. scand. 1985, 26, 153–163.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • SAS Users Guide: Statistics. SAS Institute Inc. CaryN. C. 1982.

    Google Scholar 

Download references

Acknowledgements

The authors wish to thank S. R. Eriksen, K. Sørensen and L.-W. Frederiksen for excellent analytical and technical assistance. Ø. Andresen, T. Lunaas and W. Farstad are gratefully acknowledged for their valuable comments to this manuscript.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. The Department of Reproductive Physiology and Pathology, Norwegian College of Veterinary Medicine, P. O. Box 8146, Dep, N-0033 Oslo 1, Oslo, Norway

    E. Ropstad & A. O. Refsdal

  2. The Norwegian Red Cattle Association, Hamar, Norway

    E. Ropstad & A. O. Refsdal

Authors
  1. E. Ropstad
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. A. O. Refsdal
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Cite this article

Ropstad, E., Refsdal, A.O. Herd Reproductive Performance Related to Urea Concentration in Bulk Milk. Acta Vet Scand 28, 55–63 (1987). https://doi.org/10.1186/BF03548256

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1186/BF03548256

Keywords

Acta Veterinaria Scandinavica

ISSN: 1751-0147