Vilés Karina, García Andrés, Rugel Octavio, Jorgge Nahim
Department of Animal Production, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine and Zootechnics, Agrarian University of Ecuador, Guayaquil 090104, Ecuador.
National Network of Natural Protected Areas of the Civil Society (RESNATUR), Bogota 111311, Colombia.
Vet Sci. 2024 Feb 27;11(3):102. doi: 10.3390/vetsci11030102.
Reproductive physiology is one of the first systems which is altered when an animal suffers from an imbalance. This is crucial in tropical dairy farming, where maintaining homeostasis and production is particularly demanding. Lameness is a disorder commonly identified by impaired walking, but its early diagnosis could reduce the negative repercussions on production, welfare, and postpartum conception. To evaluate the effect of lameness on postpartum conception, a prospective observational cohort study with a cross-sectional design was developed. Fifty-two Jersey milking cows raised under hot-humid tropical conditions were scored using a five-point locomotion scoring (LS) system (1-non-lame, 2-slightly lame, 3-moderately lame, 4-lame, and 5-severely lame), considering scores ≥ 3 to indicate clinical lameness. Inseminations per conception and days open (CCI) were registered. Inseminations were similar in animals scoring 1, 2, 3, and 5, while they increased in cows with a score of 4, which also increased their CCI along with animals that scored 5. Positive correlations were observed between LS and reproductive variables. The herd's conception rate was reduced from 45% to 21.8% in the presence of clinical lameness (score ≥ 3). Applying the LS system should be essential as part of routine medical examinations used to monitor dairy herds, and it becomes even more crucial under hot-humid tropical environments, where adverse conditions could rapidly aggravate the early stages of lameness and not only increase the costs of hoof care, but also delay fertility in cattle.
生殖生理学是动物出现失衡时最早发生改变的系统之一。这在热带奶牛养殖中至关重要，因为维持体内平衡和生产要求极高。跛行是一种通常通过行走障碍来识别的疾病，但其早期诊断可以减少对生产、福利和产后受孕的负面影响。为了评估跛行对产后受孕的影响，开展了一项具有横断面设计的前瞻性观察队列研究。对52头在湿热热带条件下饲养的泽西奶牛使用五点运动评分（LS）系统进行评分（1 - 无跛行，2 - 轻度跛行，3 - 中度跛行，4 - 跛行，5 - 重度跛行），将评分≥3视为临床跛行。记录每次受孕的输精次数和空怀天数（CCI）。评分1、2、3和5的动物输精次数相似，而评分4的奶牛输精次数增加，其CCI也随之增加，评分5的动物CCI同样增加。在LS与生殖变量之间观察到正相关。存在临床跛行（评分≥3）时，牛群的受孕率从45%降至21.8%。应用LS系统应作为监测奶牛群常规医学检查的一部分，在湿热热带环境下更为关键，因为恶劣条件可能迅速加剧跛行的早期阶段，不仅增加蹄部护理成本，还会延迟牛的繁殖力。
