Effect of Management Practices on Reproductive Performance of Smallholder Dairy Cattle

In smallholder dairy farms, reproductive performance has been described in relation to each cow's calving date. The objective of this research was to evaluate the reproductive performance based on the intervals from each cow's calving date and to assess effect of management practices involved thereof. A retrospective data of 529 farm characteristics and management practices, 722 cow reproductive histories and 700 inseminations results were recorded through records analysis and questionnaire. The mean (±SE) days from Calving to First Service Interval (CFSI) and Calving to Conception Interval (CCI) were 168.9±5.5 (n= 449) and 197.2±7.0 (n= 312), respectively. The mean (±SE) Days after Last Calving for non-pregnant cows (DALC) was 197.3±6.2 days. Number of Service per Conception (SPC) was 1.40± 0.04. First Service Conception Rate (FSCR) and Conception Rate (CR) were 40.6% and 73.4%, respectively. Dairy owner's practice of submission of non-pregnant animals to service was known to influence performance and pregnancy outcomes. Pregnancy by day 200 post calving (PREG-200) and Non-Pregnancy by day 300 post calving (NPREG-300) were used to evaluate the management on performance. The proportion of PREG-200 and NPREG-300 were 28.2% and 53.8%, respectively. Poor BCS and age of the cows, production system, educational status of dairy owners and problems related to AI had all significant effect on the reproductive performance of the dairy cows in the smallholder practice.