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novel approaches to expression and detection of oestrus in dairy cows

novel approaches to expression and detection of oestrus in dairy cows

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There are also changes <strong>in</strong> normal behaviours that are associated with<br />

<strong>oestrus</strong> behaviour; restlessness <strong>and</strong> frequent bellow<strong>in</strong>g, cajol<strong>in</strong>g, ‘solicit<strong>in</strong>g’<br />

another cow <strong>to</strong> mount, reductions <strong>in</strong> feed <strong>in</strong>take, Flehmen lip curl<br />

(pheromonal response), rais<strong>in</strong>g <strong>and</strong> twitch<strong>in</strong>g <strong>of</strong> the tail <strong>and</strong> general<br />

changes differ<strong>in</strong>g from the normal rout<strong>in</strong>e (Phillips <strong>and</strong> Sch<strong>of</strong>ield, 1990;Van<br />

Vliet <strong>and</strong> Van Eerdenburg, 1996;Yoshida <strong>and</strong> Nakao, 2005;Disk<strong>in</strong>, 2008).<br />

Activity is also reported <strong>to</strong> <strong>in</strong>crease at the time <strong>of</strong> <strong>oestrus</strong> by 2 <strong>to</strong> 4 fold<br />

(Kiddy, 1977;Farris, 1954), as cow <strong>in</strong>teractions <strong>in</strong>crease. Further signs<br />

associated with the change <strong>in</strong> behaviour <strong>to</strong> look for are; a scuffed tail, dirty<br />

flanks, patches <strong>of</strong> hair loss or saliva on the h<strong>in</strong>dquarters, result<strong>in</strong>g from<br />

be<strong>in</strong>g mounted (Disk<strong>in</strong>, 2008). These symp<strong>to</strong>ms are not exclusive <strong>to</strong><br />

<strong>oestrus</strong> <strong>and</strong> can be the result <strong>of</strong> other everyday activities such as rubb<strong>in</strong>g<br />

or clean<strong>in</strong>g themselves.<br />

Further <strong>to</strong> the behavioural changes described that occur at <strong>oestrus</strong>, there<br />

are also physiological changes that occur at the time <strong>of</strong> <strong>oestrus</strong>, brought<br />

about by the hormone oestradiol, which can be used <strong>to</strong> detect <strong>oestrus</strong>.<br />

Oestradiol can affect the reproductive tract by mak<strong>in</strong>g it <strong>to</strong>nic, caus<strong>in</strong>g<br />

oedema, <strong>in</strong>creas<strong>in</strong>g blood flow <strong>and</strong> caus<strong>in</strong>g it <strong>to</strong> become highly secre<strong>to</strong>ry,<br />

whereby excess mucus is produced <strong>and</strong> presents itself as clear mucus or a<br />

‘bull<strong>in</strong>g str<strong>in</strong>g’ protrud<strong>in</strong>g from the vag<strong>in</strong>a. Oedema <strong>and</strong> <strong>in</strong>creased blood<br />

flow cause swell<strong>in</strong>g <strong>and</strong> redness <strong>of</strong> the vulva, differ<strong>in</strong>g from the normal<br />

state, which can also be used <strong>to</strong> determ<strong>in</strong>e <strong>oestrus</strong>. Accumulation <strong>of</strong> white<br />

blood cells <strong>in</strong> the uterus, occurr<strong>in</strong>g due <strong>to</strong> the <strong>in</strong>crease <strong>in</strong> oestradiol<br />

concentration, digest bacteria, old sperm <strong>and</strong> general cell debris <strong>and</strong> can<br />

manifest as another symp<strong>to</strong>m <strong>of</strong> <strong>oestrus</strong> as blood protrudes from the<br />

vag<strong>in</strong>a similar <strong>to</strong> the mucus str<strong>in</strong>g (Roel<strong>of</strong>s et al., 2010). Temperature also<br />

fluctuates at <strong>oestrus</strong>; decreas<strong>in</strong>g 2 days before <strong>and</strong> <strong>in</strong>creas<strong>in</strong>g at <strong>oestrus</strong><br />

(Firk et al., 2002), but could be caused by many fac<strong>to</strong>rs such as <strong>in</strong>creased<br />

activity also related <strong>to</strong> <strong>oestrus</strong> (Kiddy, 1977). Milk yield has also been<br />

reported <strong>to</strong> decrease at the time <strong>oestrus</strong> (Sch<strong>of</strong>ield et al., 1991). However,<br />

many <strong>of</strong> these physiological changes can be the result <strong>of</strong> other fac<strong>to</strong>rs, not<br />

exclusively related <strong>to</strong> <strong>oestrus</strong>. For example rout<strong>in</strong>e management tasks or<br />

animals be<strong>in</strong>g re<strong>in</strong>troduced <strong>in</strong><strong>to</strong> the herd post calv<strong>in</strong>g <strong>and</strong> reestablish<strong>in</strong>g<br />

hierarchies can cause <strong>in</strong>creases <strong>in</strong> activity, <strong>and</strong> temperature fluctuations<br />

<strong>and</strong> decreases <strong>in</strong> milk yield could be related <strong>to</strong> illness or time <strong>of</strong> year.<br />

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