TITLE:
Pharmacological Control of Estrus in Tropical Cattle, an Economical Assessment of Different Synchronization Protocols
AUTHORS:
Juan J. Molina, Iván Molina, Alejandro Jiménez, Carlos S. Galina, Juan J. Romero
KEYWORDS:
Tropics; Bos Indicus; Cost-Benefit; Estru; Synchronization
JOURNAL NAME:
Open Journal of Veterinary Medicine,
Vol.2 No.3,
September
28,
2012
ABSTRACT: To compare the fertility results and to assess the cost-effectiveness of several synchronization protocols applied under the conditions of beef cattle enterprises in Colombia, 1658 multiparous zebu crossbred cows mostly Brahman and Nelore ranging between 2 - 6 parities were used. Five protocols of pharmacological treatments varying in hormones used, dosage and the time of application were tested. All cows were inseminated at 52 h by appointment. Pregnancy diagnosis was undertaken over 45 d after insemination by rectal palpation. The total cost per cow and the total cost per gestation, for each protocol, were calculated. Taking a herd of one-hundred cows as baseline for calculations, it was estimated the cost of the total amount of pregnancies possibly obtained in each protocol; then, the excess between the costs of a pregnant cow and the cost of a treated cow was estimated. Additionally, the costs due to cows empty after four services were calculated. A total of 874 pregnancies were registered (52.7%), with pregnancies per protocol varying between 46.9% and 66.2% (p