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The relationship between milk urea content and fertility in dairy cows

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  20 November 2017

B.R. Cottrill ,
H. Biggadike ,
C.A. Collins  and
S.B. Drew
B.R. Cottrill
Affiliation:
ADAS Bridgets Research Centre, Martyr Worthy, Winchester, Hampshire SO21 1AP, UK
H. Biggadike
Affiliation:
ADAS Bridgets Research Centre, Martyr Worthy, Winchester, Hampshire SO21 1AP, UK
C.A. Collins
Affiliation:
ADAS Bridgets Research Centre, Martyr Worthy, Winchester, Hampshire SO21 1AP, UK
S.B. Drew
Affiliation:
ADAS Bridgets Research Centre, Martyr Worthy, Winchester, Hampshire SO21 1AP, UK
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Extract

A number of studies have shown that milk urea levels above about 350 mg/l are associated with reduced fertility in dairy cows (Ropstad and Refsdal, 1987; Gustafsson and Carlsson, 1993). A significant and increasing proportion of UK milk producers receive regular information on the urea content of bulk milk as part of routine milk testing. Two studies were undertaken to examine whether the urea content in bulk milk (Study 1) or in milk from individual cows at about the time of service (Study 2) could be used as a management aid to improve fertility status.

In Study 1, the milk urea (MU) contents in bulk milk samples from 475 farms in England and Wales were determined by NIRS. Fertility data for each farm was obtained from National Milk Records. Analysis of the data for each month of the study was restricted to those herds in which ≥15 cows were served.

Type
Programme
Information
Proceedings of the British Society of Animal Science , Volume 1999 , 1999 , pp. 68
Copyright
Copyright © The British Society of Animal Science 1999

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References

Gustafsson, A.H. and Carlsson, J. 1993. Effects of silage quality, protein evaluation systems and milk urea content on milk yield and reproduction in the dairy cow. Livestock Production Science, 37:91–105.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Ropstad, E. and Refsdal, A.O. 1987. Herd reproductive performance related to urea concentration in bulk milk. Acta vet. Scand., 30:55–63.CrossRefGoogle Scholar