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. 1987 Jun 1;28(2):151–155. doi: 10.1186/BF03548235

The Effect of Mild Fat Infiltration in the Liver on the Fertility of Finnish Ayrshire Cows

Effekten av en mild fettinfiltrering i levern på fertiliteten hos finska Ayrshire kor

K Heinonen 1,✉, Y Grohn 1, L-A Lindberg 1, M Alanko 1
PMCID: PMC8185748  PMID: 3447470

Abstract

The objective of this work was to study the effect of mild fat infiltration in the liver on the reproductive performance of Finnish Ayrshire cows. Eighty-five multiparous and 17 primiparous cows were investigated. The mean percentage of fat in the liver at 1 week after parturition was 3.9 ± 0.5. Cows with ≤ 9 % fat in the liver at 1 week after calving conceived slightly earlier than those with > 9% (87.1 ± 2.7 and 102.2 ± 15.0 days post partum, respectively). The difference was not statistically significant. The incidence rate of retentio secundina-rum and/or endometritis was significantly higher in the > 9 % fat group than in the ≤ 9 % fat group. Unobserved oestrus and ovarian cysts occurred with equal frequency in both groups.

Keywords: fatty liver, infertility, ret. sec.

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Acknowledgements

This study was supported by the Medical Research Council of the Academy of Finland. The authors wish to thank the Finnish Veterinary Science Foundation, Farmos Group Ltd. and Valio Milk Hormone Laboratory for economic support in the milk progesterone assays and the farmers in the area of the Ambulatory Clinic, whose assistance made this study possible.

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