ABSTRACT
Details are given of clinical management and disease problems associated with the routine induction of parturition on a herd basis, as well as the veterinary costs involved. A review of the economic performance of cows calved by this method is made and some guidelines laid down as to the conditions under which such a technique could be used as a management tool.
Subject(s)
Cattle Diseases/epidemiology , Cattle/physiology , Cloprostenol , Dexamethasone , Labor, Induced/veterinary , Prostaglandins F, Synthetic , Animals , Cattle Diseases/economics , Dairying/economics , Endometritis/epidemiology , Endometritis/veterinary , Female , Lactation , Lameness, Animal/epidemiology , Male , Mastitis, Bovine/epidemiology , Obstetric Labor Complications/epidemiology , Obstetric Labor Complications/veterinary , PregnancyABSTRACT
Twenty-six dairy cattle were treated with dexamethasone during medium to late pregnancy to induce premature calving. Thirteen produced calves within an average of 5-6 days of treatment. The remainder were given a subsequent injection of cloprostenol 10 days after the steroid treatment and, with one exception, all calved within the following two days. A high incidence of retained placenta was experienced, in common with other methods of inducing parturition, but this was not generally found to be associated with detrimental effects on health or fertility.
