title: [Body condition and metabolic stability as the basis for high milk yield and undisturbed fertility in dairy cows--a contribution for deduction of reference values].
abstract: The target of this study was to describe the interactions between body condition and various descriptors of yield and fertility. It was aimed to identify an optimal conditional range to be used in herd management which combines high milk yield with acceptable fertility traits and general health. For this purpose, backfat thickness was measured by ultrasound at 46111 dairy cows on 78 different farms and was subsequently related to production variables. Negative energy balance is getting more intense and prolonged with increasing milk yield. However a conditional nadir below 10 mm leads to decreased milk production. To reach a high production level without an increasing incidence of health disorders, conditional nadir should not decline below 13 mm backfat thickness on herd average. Lower value only lead to negligibly higher milk yield but cause a distinctively higher risk of fertility problems and culling. High herd yields do not have to be at expense of reproduction performance and can be achieved without extreme body condition losses. An efficient herd management can offset depression in fertility, which commonly is combined with increasing milk yield. A standard curve for backfat thickness throughout lactation is suggested to be used in dairy herd management.
authors.affiliation: Klinik für Klauentiere des Fachbereiches Veterinärmedizin der Freien Universität Berlin. staufenbiel@vetmed.fu-berlin.de
authors.forename: R
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Staufenbiel
authors.forename: G
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Arndt
authors.forename: U
authors.initials: U
authors.lastname: Schröder
authors.forename: C C
authors.initials: CC
authors.lastname: Gelfert
mesh_terms: D000273:Adipose Tissue / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging; D000818:Animals; D001823:Body Composition / Q000502:physiology; D001824:Body Constitution / Q000502:physiology*; D002417:Cattle / Q000378:metabolism / Q000502:physiology*; D003612:Dairying / Q000379:methods*; D005260:Female; D005298:Fertility / Q000502:physiology*; D007774:Lactation / Q000502:physiology*; D008892:Milk / Q000378:metabolism*; D012016:Reference Values; D014463:Ultrasonography