Prevalence, Major risk factors and Response to Hormonal therapy of Phantom Cow Syndrome in urban/peri-urban dairy farms in Bishoftu town
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Date
2023
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Addis Ababa University
Abstract
Phantom cows that are non-pregnant and not returning to estrus within 21-24 days post insemination cause a serious reproductive management challenge for the smallholder and huge economic loss for the dairy producer. A clinical survey and therapeutic experimental study were conducted to determine the prevalence of phantom cow syndrome, determination risk factors and possibility of treatment using reproductive hormones in 25 dairy farms in and around Bishoftu town. Relevant data were collected through clinical evaluation of animals, record analysis reproductive indices and experimentation. The overall incidence of phantom cow syndrome was 11.9%; (86/720). Proportional incidences in small, medium and large farms were 47.5%, 11.8% and 5.8%, respectively. There was a significant difference (P < 0.05) between the different farm sizes. Presence of diseases such as Pyometra, metritis, luteal cyst, and cow related factors such as daily milk yield, age, parity, and body condition were found to be the major risk factors of PCS. There was a significant difference (P<0.05) in the incidence of PCS with respect to age, herd size, and parity. Return to estrus and pregnancy were highly improved in treated phantom cows with relatively higher pregnancy rate (75%) observed when cows were treated with PGF2 alpha and uterine lavage when there is endometritis. Early pregnancy diagnosis (between days 17 and 24) either with ultrasound or non-pregnancy test using a rapid P4Gold test was instrumental in restoring cyclicity in phantom cows. The prevalence of PCS in this study is relatively high; showing more non-productive animals are being kept in the dairy system. Many of the risk factors identified in this study are more common in the small holder dairy farms thus need to be considered during optimizing the production system. The use of a more accurate method of early pregnancy detection and treatment of phantom cows with reproductive hormones can contribute to the reduction of incidence of PCS by increasing submission rate for cows that fail to be pregnant during the preceding service. Therefore, proper diagnosis of phantom cows and their early treatment using hormones can potentially reduce the overall impact of PCS
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Keywords
Anoestrus, luteal cyst, phantom cow syndrome, pyometra, ultrasound