A preliminary fertility appraisal of exotic cattle herds

The fertility of 754 cows and 13 heifers in 4 government and several private herds of exotic milk and beef breeds in Uganda were studied using information originated from the records of genital examinations conducted during a period of 15 months. The pregnancy or in-calf rate in these animals ranged between 59.2% (private farms) and 85.3% (government farms). The proportion of cows not inseminated by three months after parturition varied between 50% (government farms) and 92.9% (private farms). The average number of days open was 119.07 to 249.51 in government farms and 187.43 days in private farms, the index of artificial insemination ranged between 1.5 and 3.18. Clinical examination revealed that inactive ovaries (52.9%) and normal cyclic changes (24.5%) were the main disturbances in cows with fertility problems. A smaller percentage was attributed to cystic follicles, endometritis, and others.