21. Mating of dairy cows: Part Two. Anoestrus (non-cycling) cows, silent heats and heat detection efficiency.

In this, our latest Rumen Room Podcast episode, we’ll carry on with the theme of dairy cow nutrition and reproductive performance. Episode 20 covered the importance of 3-week submission rate as a driver of reproductive success in seasonally calved dairy herds. We discussed how the nutrition of cows impacts the onset of ovulation and oestrus (heat) in cows after calving. Episode 20 finished up talking about nutritional challenges that impact on anoestrus (non-cycling) dairy cows. This latest podcast completes the topic of anoestrus cows topic by discussing why herd social stressors may increase risk of anoestrus cows. The final topic around anoestrus cows covers that frustrating cycle of “slow calving rate causing slow submission rate causing a slow calving rate”. Ideas about how to break out of this slow calving rate-slow submission rate cycle are discussed. Reasons why cows that cycle early after calving might stop cycling again in time for mating are discussed (how annoying are those cows?!). We finish with info about “silent heats”, where cows ovulate but don’t show signs of visual heat, and finally, heat detection efficiency. We finish with info about “silent heats” where cows ovulate but don’t show signs of visual heat, and heat detection efficiency.