The objective of this study was to evaluate the association of postpartum plasma Ca concentration with early-lactation disease outcomes, culling within 60 d in milk, pregnancy to first service, and milk production. A total of 1,453 cows from 5 commercial dairy farms in New York State were enrolled in a prospective cohort study from February to November 2015. Blood samples were collected within 12 h of parturition, and plasma was submitted to a diagnostic laboratory for total Ca measurement. Early-lactation disease, reproductive performance, and milk production from Dairy Herd Improvement Association (DHIA) test-day data were compiled from each farm's management software. Multivariable Poisson regression models were built to evaluate the association of plasma Ca with the risks of retained placenta (RP), metritis, displaced abomasum (DA), clinical mastitis, culling within 60 d in milk, and pregnancy to first service. Repeated-measures ANOVA were used to evaluate the association of Ca at parturition with milk production across the first 9 DHIA tests. Herd was considered a random effect in all models. Primiparous cows were modeled separately from multiparous cows if differential responses were observed. Calcium was not associated with the risk of RP, metritis, clinical mastitis, or pregnancy to first service in primiparous or multiparous cows. For multiparous cows only, higher Ca concentration tended to be associated with increased culling within the first 60 d in milk. Multiparous cows with Ca ≤1.85 mmol/L had an increased risk of being diagnosed with a DA compared with cows with Ca >1.85 mmol/L. For the milk production models, Ca was not associated with the amount of milk produced within the first 9 DHIA tests in primiparous cows; however, multiparous cows with Ca ≤1.95 mmol/L produced, on average, 1.1 kg more milk per day across the 9 DHIA tests than their multiparous counterparts with Ca >1.95 mmol/L. Our results indicate that plasma Ca concentration measured within 12 h of parturition is a poor predictor of early-lactation health outcomes. Reduced Ca concentration in the immediate postpartum period was associated with higher milk production in multiparous cows. From these results, we caution that studies attempting to categorize subclinical hypocalcemia based on a single sample in the immediate postpartum period could misclassify the disorder.

Our objectives were to determine (1) the effect of a single dose of an oral Ca bolus within 24 h after parturition on plasma Ca concentration, (2) the response of primiparous (PP) and multiparous (MP) cows to this supplementation strategy, and (3) differential responses based on plasma Ca at enrollment. For objective 1, cows from 1 commercial dairy in New York State were enrolled within 19 h after parturition (mean ± standard deviation = 8.3 ± 5.3 h) and randomized within parity group (first, second, and ≥third) to control [CON (n = 25); no placebo] or a single dose bolus treatment [BOL (n = 25); 3 oral Ca boluses supplying 54 to 64 g of Ca]. Plasma Ca was measured repeatedly between 1 and 24 h following treatment. For objectives 2 and 3, cows on 6 commercial farms in New York State were assigned to treatment as for objective 1 (CON, n = 1,973; BOL, n = 1,976). Herd records for health, reproduction, and Dairy Herd Improvement Association test day milk production were collected. Mixed effect multivariable models were developed using repeated measures ANOVA, Poisson regression, or proportional hazard models. Objective 2 analyses considered treatment with periparturient risk factors, whereas objective 3 analyses also considered Ca status. No difference was observed for plasma Ca between 1 and 24 h after treatment. Primiparous cows assigned to BOL calving at >712 d old had decreased risk of one or more health disorders [≤30 d in milk; risk ratio (RR) = 0.65, 95% confidence interval (CI) = 0.51 to 0.84] and those with body condition score >3.5 responded to BOL with increased milk production (CON = 31.7 ± 1.1, BOL = 35.1 ± 1.1 kg/d), as did those with days carried calf >277 (CON = 31.9 ± 1.0, BOL = 34.7 ± 1.0 kg/d). Reduced risk of one or more health disorders was observed in parity ≥3 (RR = 0.85, 95% CI = 0.81 to 0.89) and MP cows with body condition score >3.5 (retained placenta; RR = 0.70, 95% CI = 0.58 to 0.84) or that were lame (displaced abomasum; RR = 0.49, 95% CI = 0.32 to 0.75). Differential responses for PP cows by Ca status were minimal. For MP cows with low plasma Ca, BOL decreased risk of additional Ca treatment (≤1.8 mmol/L; RR = 0.57, 95% CI = 0.40 to 0.80) as well as risk of one or more health disorders (≤2.15 mmol/L; RR = 0.90, 95% CI = 0.85 to 0.95). Supplementation with a single oral dose of Ca could be targeted to periparturient risk groups for improved health. Calcium status did not differentiate responses of PP cows, but MP cows with low Ca at parturition had improved health status when supplemented.

The objective was to compare the reproductive performance of lactating Holstein cows managed with a strategy that included the Ovsynch protocol with exogenous progesterone (P4) supplementation or presynchronization with GnRH 7d before Ovsynch to treat cows without a corpus luteum (CL), a CL <15 mm, or cystic at the time of the PGF2α injection of Resynch (GnRH-7 d-PGF2α-56 h-GnRH-16 to 20 h-TAI). In a preliminary study, blood collection and transrectal ovarian ultrasonography were conducted (n=555) at the PGF2α of Resynch [coincident with nonpregnancy diagnosis (NPD)] to define a cutoff value for CL size that better predicted fertility after timed artificial insemination (TAI). A CL size of 15 mm was selected based on statistical differences in pregnancies per AI (P/AI) [33.2 vs. 10.3 P/AI for CL ≥15 mm (n=497) vs. no CL ≥15 mm (n=58; no CL, CL <15 mm, or cystic)]. Subsequently, in a completely randomized experiment, cows were enrolled in a management strategy that used Ovsynch with P4 supplementation [Ovsynch+P4; GnRH and controlled internal drug release device (CIDR)-7 d-PGF2α and CIDR removal-56 h-GnRH-16 to 20 h-TAI] or a PreG-Ovsynch protocol [PreG-Ovsynch; GnRH-7 d-GnRH-7 d-PGF2α-56 h-GnRH-16 to 20 h-TAI] to treat cows without a CL, a CL <15 mm, or cystic at NPD and the PGF2α of Resynch. Cows with a CL ≥15 mm at the PGF2α of Resynch completed the protocol and received TAI. Data were available from 212, 192, and 1,797 AI services after Ovsynch+P4, PreG-Ovsynch, and Resynch, respectively. At 39d after AI, P/AI tended to be greater for Ovsynch+P4 and PreG-Ovsynch combined (35.1%) than for Resynch cows (31.1%), whereas P/AI were similar for Ovsynch+P4 (34.4%) and PreG-Ovsynch (35.9%). The hazard of pregnancy for cows that received the experimental treatments at least once was similar for cows in the Ovsynch+P4 (n=124) and the PreG-Ovsynch (n=132) group (hazard ratio 1.15; 95% confidence interval: 0.87 to 1.53). Median days to pregnancy were 52 and 59 for cows in the Ovsynch+P4 and the PreG-Ovsynch groups, respectively. The presynchronizing GnRH injection of PreG-Ovsynch induced ovulation in 86.0% of the cows. At the first GnRH of Ovsynch, the proportion of cows with a CL based on ultrasound (86.6 vs. 15.0%), P4 >1 ng/mL (82.8 vs. 31.8%), a follicle ≥ 10 mm (98.0 vs. 84.4%), and P4 concentrations (3.7 vs. 1.1 ng/mL) was greater in PreG-Ovsynch than in Ovsynch+P4. Conversely, more cows ovulated in response to the first GnRH of Ovsynch in Ovsynch+P4 (71.9%) than PreG-Ovsynch (58.3%). At the PGF2α before TAI, more cows had a CL based on ultrasound (92.1 vs. 77.0%) and P4 concentrations were greater in PreG-Ovsynch than in Ovsynch+P4 (4.1 vs. 2.6 ng/mL); however, a similar proportion of cows had P4 >1 ng/mL (79.1 vs. 82.7%). We conclude that the Ovsynch+P4 and PreG-Ovsynch treatments for cows without a CL, a CL <15 mm, or cystic at the PGF2α injection of Resynch led to P/AI similar to that of cows with a CL ≥15 mm, and that both management strategies resulted in similar time to pregnancy.

The specific objective of this study was to determine if increasing the interval between the Presynch and Ovsynch portion of the Presynch-Ovsynch protocol (Presynch: PGF2α-14 d-PGF2α and Ovsynch: GnRH-7 d-PGF2α-56 h-GnRH-16-20 h-timed artificial insemination) from 12 to 14 d would reduce the fertility of lactating dairy cows not detected in estrus after Presynch that receive timed artificial insemination (TAI). Cows from 4 commercial dairy farms (n=3,165) were blocked by parity (primiparous vs. multiparous) and randomly assigned to a 12 (PSOv14-12; n=1,566) or 14 d (PSOv14-14; n=1,599) interval between the second PGF2α (PGF) injection of Presynch (P2) and the beginning of Ovsynch. Cows detected in estrus any time between P2 and the day of the TAI were inseminated (AIED group). From a subgroup of cows (177 and 150 in PSOv14-12 and PSOv14-14, respectively), ovarian parameters and ovulation were evaluated through determination of concentrations of progesterone (P4) in blood and transrectal ultrasonography at the time of the first GnRH (GnRH1) and the PGF injection of Ovsynch. Overall, 52.8% (n=1,671) of the cows were AIED, whereas 47.2% (n=1,494) received TAI. For cows that received TAI, pregnancies per artificial insemination 39 d after artificial insemination were similar for PSOv14-12 (36.3%) and PSOv14-14 (36.0%) but were greater for primiparous (41.5%) than multiparous cows (33.6%). Pregnancy loss from 39 to 105 d after artificial insemination was similar for PSOv14-12 (4.8%) and PSOv14-14 (8.6%), for primiparous (6.4%) and multiparous cows (7.0%), but a tendency for a treatment by parity interaction was observed. Both treatments had a similar proportion of cows with a follicle ≥ 10 mm and similar follicle size at GnRH1; however, the ovulatory response to GnRH was greater for PSOv14-12 (62.2%) than PSOv14-14 (46.4%). A greater proportion of cows with a functional corpus luteum (75.3 vs. 65.6%) and greater concentrations of P4 (3.9 vs. 3.3 ng/mL) at GnRH1 in PSOv14-14 than PSOv14-12 may have compensated for the reduction in fertility expected due to reduced ovulatory response to GnRH1. We concluded that extending the interval from Presynch to Ovsynch from 12 to 14 reduced ovulatory response to GnRH1 but did not reduce the fertility of cows that received TAI when cows were inseminated in estrus after presynchronization. Thus, farms that combine AIED and TAI during the Presynch-Ovsynch protocol may use a 14-d interval between Presynch and Ovsynch to simplify their management without reducing fertility of cows receiving TAI.

The most widely adopted Resynch program by US dairy herds consists of the initiation of Resynch at 32 d after a previous artificial insemination (AI) regardless of pregnancy status. Seven days later pregnancy status is determined so that non-pregnant cows continue in the protocol to receive their next timed AI (TAI). This program guarantees that cows not detected in estrus are re-inseminated within a specific timeframe after the previous AI (42 ± 3 d if groups of cows are enrolled weekly), reducing the interval between inseminations. Retrospective evaluation of pregnancy per AI (P/AI) for cows that complete the protocol and receive a TAI service has shown that cows without a corpus luteum (CL) at the time of Resynch initiation will have an approximate 50% reduction in fertility when compared with cows that do have a CL. Our objective was to evaluate treatments to increase fertility of TAI services of lactating dairy cows without a CL at the time of the prostaglandin F2α(PGF) injection of Resynch initiated 32 ± 3 d after AI.