Improving fertility of cattle with IntelliBond
First service conception rate after calving is an important driver of reproductive performance of dairy cows[1]. If the conception rate after first insemination is low, the number of inseminations per pregnancy and the number of days open go up. Poor fertility is also an important reason for involuntary culling of dairy cows[2,3]. One of the important factors impacting first service conception rate of dairy cows is the quality of the embryo.
It has been shown that trace mineral status of dairy cows can be improved by using IntelliBond hydroxy trace minerals. Improving trace mineral status can result in an improvement of embryo quality, resulting in higher pregnancy rates after first service. To further validate this effect, three trials were caried out. The first trial[4] was carried out to measure impact of trace mineral source on embryo quality of dairy cows. The remaining two trials were carried out to measure the impact of trace mineral source on heifer pregnancy rates[5] and pregnancy rates of adult cows[6].