Egyptian buffaloes have been suggested as a good media of research in regard to their economic importance as the main source of meat and milk production for the small stock-holders who own about 90% of the total animal population in Egypt. Infertility problems are the great handicap for continuity of milk and meat production. It has been reported that the post-parturient anestrus in buffaloes varies from 6 to 12 months, an evidence which in turn prolongs, abnormally, the calving interval, and consequently results in more economic losses to the producer. Handling of the prolonged anestrus in buffaloes is a serious problem search to be solved, how?
This is a challenging question and I have not worked with buffaloes; however, I have a lot of experience with cattle. I think many of the factors that affect anestrus in cattle must be similar to the factors that affect buffaloes. First, we know that suckling by the calf can prolong anestrus. If calves are weaned and completely separated from the cows, do the cows cycle more quickly? This is the first factor that I would evaluate. In cattle, briefly weaning the calf (2 to 4 days) at 60 days postpartum will often stimulate the cow to ovulate and begin cycling. Postpartum nutrition, especially energy balance is also very important. Negative energy balance prolongs anestrus. Do anestrous buffaloe cows stay thin for several months? I suspect this could be an issue. Also I wonder if there is any seasonal trend? In some cattle breeds, there is a greater tendency to be anestrus during certain seasons. Can you give us some examples?
Dear Abdelsalam Ibrahim Elazab,
before getting lost in misleading speculation, I would like to know your definition of 'post-parturient anestrus'. We, first of all, should have more information about the buffalo cows' ovarian function during the post-partum period. What do you know about follicular growth, undetected ovulations, CL-formation, and possible 'secondary anestrous periods' in these cows? How intensively did you monitor ovarian function during the post-partum period (ultrasound?; P4 measuring?)?
kind regards
Jürg Schneebeli
Have you ever checked the level of inbreeding of your targeted population? We came across similar challenge in cattle few years ago. And ultimately, we investigated presence of very high level coefficient of inbreeding that led us to restructure the breeding herds and revised breeding interventions. As you mentioned, the buffaloes are owned by small holder farmers, and I would suggest to look into quality of the semen from genetic perspective provided that AI is common in the smallholder farming system.
Sincerely,
Getinet M.
Are you referring to Buffaloes kept by smallholders only or is it a general feature you have noted? Reproductive performance for main livestock species is usually depressed by the "low management" in small scale holders and several causes have already been cited in previous answers. Do you have any data from research stations or pilot farms showing a different trend?
We have done a research project on "Effect of supplemented ration on some reproductive traits in Azeri Buffaloes of Iran". The results showed that the age at first calving could be decreased 70d with adding of 2 kg supplement to the animals traditional feeding in rural condition.
I agree with others who commented on the effect of inbreeding. We did other study and observed 25% inbreeding within herd of Buffalo population. The study title is "Inbreeding and its effect on some productive traits in buffaloes of South Iran"
Both papers are available in my Researchgate if you are interested.
Dear Abdelselam Ibrahim,
Considering the comments given above, I would underline the importance of some issues.
These are as follows; i) hot season (prolonged summer, dry seasons), ii) sucking calf (long periods), iii) level of energy intake (low energy), iv) milk yield (high quantities), iv) welfare concerns (e.g. water bath daily), v) presence of bull (availability), vi) age (old?) and breed (pure- or cross-bred and/or inbreeding), viii) hormonal support (P4 and/or Oestrogen, GnRH, PGF2alpha, FSH, etc.) and ix) measuring tools of anoestrus (calving interval, duration of inter-oestrus period, oestrus signs, monitoring G.F. / C.L. and/or pregnancy, etc.).
For further details, please see the sources (in underfed cows, heifers with delayed puberty, ram-lambs, suckling queens, suckling sheep, etc.) provided below (as also given in my RG-publication list).
Regards,
Omer
I endorse Omer Ucar for the factors he has highlighted. I surveyed many buffalo farms in Pakistan and found one where infertility was not a big issue. The important practices of that farm included 1) 24 hours access to fresh water, 2) provision of concentrate diet, 3) molasses in winter, 4) presence of bull all the time during except the hours of feeding, 5) regular usage of dewormer to get rid of endo and exo-parasites and 6) access to water pool in summer. Buffalo farms are mostly in countries where the climate is hot and buffaloes are sensitive to both cold and hot.
Pl see the article entitled, ''Changes in endocrine profiles during ovsynch and ovsynch plus norprolac treatment in Murrah buffalo heifers at hot summer season', Roy KS, Prakash BS. Trop Anim Health Prod. 2009 Apr;41(4):677-87. doi: 10.1007/s11250-008-9241-3
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