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Research Article

Analysis of the relationship between somatic cell count and fertility in Holstein-Friesian cows

Weronika Kulpa, Anna Sawa, Małgorzata Jankowska

Department of Animal Science, Unit of Cattle Breeding, UTP University of Science and Technology, 28 Mazowiecka, 85-084 Bydgoszcz, Poland

1. Acta Sci. Pol. Zootechnica, 16(4), 2017, 33‒38
2. DOI: 10.21005/asp.2017.16.4.05

Abstract. Somatic cell counts (SCC) in milk from test-day records obtained until 30 days before the first service were analyzed in relation to service efficacy, calving interval (CI), days open (DO) and services per conception rate (S/C). Statistical analysis (GLM, FREQ, CORR of the SAS package) involved 28.078 test-day records from 17.618 HF cows, which calved between 2011–2014. Significant (P  ≤  0.001) correlations were found between SCC and the fertility indices. First service successful conception was found to decrease by approx. 6% with an increase in SCC in milk. Increased SCC was accompanied by an extended calving interval (by 3 days) and days open (by 6 days), as well as by an increased S/C rate, from 1.99 in cows with SCC <100,000 cells · ml^–1 to 2.03 in cows with SCC >1,000,000 cells · ml^–1. This relationship was confirmed by positive coefficients of correlation between SCC vs. CI, DO and S/C. Dairy cattle producers should monitor SCC in milk, also because its possible increase may have a detrimental effect on the overall fertility of the herd.

Keywords: dairy cows, somatic cell count, fertility, Holstein-Friesian cows