Reproductive health problems and associated risk factors in intensively managed dairy cows in Alage, Southern Ethiopia

Cross sectional study was conducted in Alage dairy farm with the objectives of determining the causes of reproductive wastages, their prevalence and the risk factors on 173 dairy cows (68 Holstein Friesian (HF) and 105 Borena breed) from November 2017 to April 2018. Additionally, a one year data, from September, 2016 to September, 2017 on a total of 172 cows were analyzed. From the one year record data, 33.72% (n=58) of the cows has showed either one or more of major reproductive health problems. In the cross sectional survey, out of the total cattle 31.79% (n=55) were found to be affected either with one or more of major reproductive health problems. The common causes of reproductive wastages identified include repeat breeder, metritis, retained fetal membrane (RFM), abortion, anoestrus, and dystocia with prevalence of 16.18, 6.36, 5.78, 4.05, 3.47 and 2.9%, respectively. The breed and body condition of cattle were found to statistically significantly associated with the occurrence of reproductive problems (p<0.05). The reproductive health problems were observed more frequently in HF breed and poor body conditioned cows. Number of parity and age of the cows were not found to be statistically significantly associated with the occurrence of reproductive problems (p>0.05). In conclusion, there were high reproductive wastages and multiple causes leading to reproductive wastages in Alage dairy farm, which needs due attention. Appropriate strategies to improve reproductive health in farm including training of farm workers to improve heat detection and artificial insemination efficiency, and enhancement of the general health management of the cows by applying appropriate herd health programs is recommended. Identification of etiologies of infectious diseases and their potential risk factors should be further studied in dairy cows.