Vet World   Vol.11   November-2018  Article-13

Research Article

Veterinary World, 11(11): 1604-1608

https://doi.org/10.14202/vetworld.2018.1604-1608

Association between milk urea nitrogen and first service conception in smallholder dairy farms under heat and humidity stress

Suppada Kananub1, John A. VanLeeuwen2, and Pipat Arunvipas1
1. Department of Large Animals and Wildlife Clinical Sciences, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Kasetsart University, Bangkok, Thailand.
2. Department of Health Management, Atlantic Veterinary College, University of Prince Edward Island, Charlottetown, Canada.

Background and Aim: The study was to evaluate the relationship between the first service conception (FSC) and milk urea nitrogen (MUN) in smallholder dairy farms under heat and humidity stress.

Materials and Methods: Dairy cows from 43 dairy farms giving birth between November 2014 and April 2015 (n=295) contributed to the study. All cows were sampled monthly to measure milk compositions, and we collected additional farm data from farmers through a questionnaire. The first service during the first 120 days of lactation was the outcome of interest in this study. Multivariable logistic regression determined significant associations with FSC.

Results: The overall FSC was 22% and the mean MUN concentration was 11.55 mg/dl. The final FSC model included MUN concentration, the season of breeding, and protein energy ratio (PE ratio) in the diet. The odds of FSC were reduced by approximately 10% for each mg/dl higher MUN on the day of the milk sample that was nearest to the artificial insemination (AI) day. The odds of FSC were nearly 3 times higher when the first insemination occurred in winter compared to summer first services. Taking into account the nutritional factors, the odds of FSC were nearly 70% higher with an increase in PE ratio of 10 g of crude protein/Mcal from the mean of 35.90 g.

Conclusion: This study of smallholder dairy farmers in the hot and humid climate of Thailand confirmed that season, nutritional management, and MUN concentration were associated with FSC. MUN appears to be a useful indicator to monitor the effects of diet on reproductive performance from this study. Keywords: first service conception, milk urea nitrogen, smallholder farm.

Keywords: first service conception, milk urea nitrogen, smallholder farm.

How to cite this article: Kananub S, VanLeeuwen JA, Arunvipas P (2018) Association between milk urea nitrogen and first service conception in smallholder dairy farms under heat and humidity stress, Veterinary World, 11(11): 1604-1608.

Received: 08-04-2018  Accepted: 10-10-2018     Published online: 22-11-2018

Corresponding author: Pipat Arunvipas   E-mail: fvetpia@ku.ac.th

DOI: 10.14202/vetworld.2018.1604-1608

Copyright: Kananub, et al. This article is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided you give appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the source, provide a link to the Creative Commons license, and indicate if changes were made. The Creative Commons Public Domain Dedication waiver (http:// creativecommons.org/publicdomain/zero/1.0/) applies to the data made available in this article, unless otherwise stated.