Management strategies to mitigate adverse effects in early postpartum in grazing dairy cows in the Ecuadorian high tropics

Abstract

In dairy cows, a very important aspect in the postpartum period is uterine health, frequently altered by the presence of subclinical endometritis (SCD) and elevated somatic cell count (SCR), indicative of subclinical mastitis. The presence of both alterations causes a serious reproductive, productive and economic problem in dairy herds. The transition period (TP) in dairy cows influences health by interacting with the endocrine, metabolic and immune systems. Mostly, health problems during the PT are related to the difficulty of dairy cows to adapt to the nutrient requirements for lactation. The main challenges in livestock production systems is to reduce the excessive and inappropriate use of antibiotics, with the purpose of reducing bacterial resistance and improving food safety. The objective is to document three management strategies to mitigate the adverse effects of early postpartum on uterine and mammary gland health in grazing dairy cows in the Ecuadorian high tropics. The results obtained indicate that the management strategies implemented contributed to mitigate the adverse effects of PT, reflected in the reestablishment of uterine health by proving a lower percentage of uterine leukocytes, lower proportion of cows with ESC, reduction of the calvingconception interval, better conception rates at first service and lower RCS. In conclusion, the management strategies contributed to mitigate the adverse effects caused by PT in dairy cows raised on pasture and may be routinely applied in dairy cattle farms in Ecuador and other countries.