There is a substantial decline in first-service-pregnancy-rate in dairy cows. In this regard, future prospects are to measuremilkhormones on-farm and progesterone levels in milk are not enough to precise ovulation unless connected to other data. The objectives of this study were to investigate whether 17beta-estradiol could be measured from individual cow milk samples using a commercially available non-radiolabelled enzyme immunoassay kit (EIA) with no previously reported milk application, and whether those detections could precisely illustrate 17beta-estradiol pre-ovulation peak in spite of its limited concentration and short manifestation in milk.
Results:
Milk sample treatments for progesterone and 17beta-estradiol EIA measurements are described. Hormonal profiles from daily milk samples of six different cows were reported and 17beta-estradiol pre-ovulation peak was visualized in all cases. Heatdetection was possible by EIA using one every 2 days milking samples in almost all studied cases. Only in one case, morning and afternoon milking samples were required to visualize the 17beta-estradiol pre-ovulation peak.