Nutritional and Metabolic Infertility in the Cow

Fertility in both dairy and beef cows is a major constraint to optimal cattle production, particularly now that brucellosis, venereal infectious diseases and male infertility have been largely controlled, eradicated or prevented. Production is most efficient when cows calve for the first time as soon after the age of two years as possible, and thenceforth regularly at twelve-month intervals. Delay in calving reduces the yield of milk and meat and the profitability of the herd. Nutritional diseases or malnutrition result from the ingestion or absorption of insufficient quantities of nutrients essential for maintenance and normal growth, and poor nutrition is a major cause of reduced fertility in cows. This text addresses the subject of nutritional and metabolic infertility, the latter covering the group of acute nutrient imbalance-induced causes of infertility. It provides both clinical guidance and a review of the literature. It is aimed at students of veterinary medicine and agriculture, and at veterinary surgeons and consultants in cattle practice and management.