Effects of season on donor and recipient cows and calf performance from birth to weaning in embryo transfer programs in the tropics
The aim of this study was to assess the seasonal effect of an embryo transfer program in the tropics on the donor response, recipient reproductive performance and calf growth from birth to weaning. This study included five-year records from 145 donors, 1149 embryo transfers (ET) and 609 in calves...
| Autores Principales: | Martínez, José Francisco, Galina, Carlos, Ortiz, Pablo, Maquivar, Martin, ROMERO-ZUÑIGA, JUAN JOSÉ |
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| Formato: | Artículo |
| Idioma: | Inglés |
| Publicado: |
MDPI
2022
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| Materias: | |
| Acceso en línea: |
https://www.mdpi.com/journal/animals http://hdl.handle.net/11056/24390 https://doi.org/10.3390/ani11123596 |
| Sumario: |
The aim of this study was to assess the seasonal effect of an embryo transfer program in
the tropics on the donor response, recipient reproductive performance and calf growth from birth to
weaning. This study included five-year records from 145 donors, 1149 embryo transfers (ET) and
609 in calves. The effect of the season (dry or wet) was evaluated at the time of embryo flushing,
embryo transfer and birth of the calves. There was a seasonal effect on the yield and quality of the
embryos. The number of nonfertilized and transferable good quality embryos increased in the wet
season. For the recipients, the probability of pregnancy after an ET decreased by 6% for each year
of the dam’s age. However, no seasonal effect was found when comparing ET calves with their
control group (natural mating—NM), nevertheless, weaning weight was associated with birth body
weight, treatment, sex of the calf, season at birth, year of treatment, and dam’s age. Calves born
by NM had lower average daily gain (ADG), and male calves registered higher gains than females.
Likewise, calves born during the rainy season had lower ADG compared with calves born during the
dry season. In conclusion, this study shows that seasonal effect is more apparent in donor and calf
performance than in the recipients. |
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