Assessment of Major Reproductive Health Problems in Small Holder Dairy Farms in Essera District, Dawuro Zone, Southern Ethiopia

The cross-sectional study was conducted from December 2015 to September 2016 at Essera Veterinary Clinic to identify the major reproductive health problems and its associated risk factors in local breed cows in Essera districts of Dawuro Zone. Out of the total 400 cows examined, 79(19.8%) were having at least one of the reproductive problems identified by clinical observation of individual cows. The major reproductive health problems identified in the present study were repeat breeding 36(9%), abortion 17(4.5%), dystocia 15(3.7%), retained fetal membrane 5(1.3%) and anoestrus 4(1%) and uterine prolapse 2(0.5%). The prevalence rate of major reproductive disorders increased from heifer to adult and older cows with prevalence of 8.2%, 22.9% and 29%, respectively. Age was highly significant (p = 0.005) on the prevalence of the major reproductive disorders. Parity number was statistically significant (p = 0.016) on the prevalence rate of the reproductive disorders and the effect increased progressively from primiparous to multiparous with prevalence of 8.4% and 26.9%, respectively. The effect of body condition on the prevalence rate of the major reproductive disorders decreased from good to poor animals with prevalence of 31.7% and 16.2%, respectively. Generally, body condition had highly significant effect ( p= 0.001) on the prevalence of the major reproductive disorders.