Blood metabolites support estrus cyclicity in dairy cows

Productivity and fertility of crossbred (French Friesian x Watani) and Watani (local) were investigated in cows in Jalalabad. Progesterone concentrations were 0.581±0.076 ng/ml and 0.569±0.09 ng/ml and LH was 28.41±3.31 and 24.20±2.64 mIU/ml in the two breeds. All the blood metabolites and hormonal concentrations were not different among regions however triglycerides showed a constant increase during the succeeding phases while glucose manifested an opposite pattern. Progesterone increased on day 4th and declined on 17th day while LH increased during the period. This study suggests that breeding of the local Watani cows with French Frisian semen resulted in production of crossbred cows with 103.73% increase in milk yield. Watani cows manifested prominent estrous symptoms through mucus discharge while crossbred cows though standing for mounting. The crossbred cows showed higher concentrations of blood glucose, triglycerides, proteins, progesterone and LH hormones, reflecting higher metabolic activities than the local Watani cows.

Autorentext

Muhammad Hamid Kadwal graduated from KP Agricultural University Peshawar, Pakistan and completed his thesis research on local and crossbred dairy cows in Jalalabad, Afghanistan. He was supervised by Prof M Subhan Qureshi heading the Faculty of Animal Husbandry and Veterinary Sciences at the same University and is engaged in stress physiology.