Elsevier

Theriogenology

Volume 78, Issue 9, December 2012, Pages 2061-2070
Theriogenology

Research article
Effects of twinning on the subsequent reproductive performance and productive lifespan of high-producing dairy cows

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.theriogenology.2012.07.027Get rights and content

Abstract

This study was designed to determine the effects of twinning on the subsequent reproductive performance and productive lifespan of high milk-producing dairy cows. The data analyzed were taken from complete reproductive records for 4861 Holstein Friesian cows comprising a commercial herd, including data for 12 587 calving events from April 1, 2001 to March 31, 2012. The twinning rate was 5.6%, and 9.6% of the cows delivered twins at least once during their life. Conception rates before Days 90, 120, and 300 postpartum were 20.8%, 36.9%, and 74.5%, and 34.2%, 51.8%, and 85.0% for cows delivering twins and singletons, respectively. Cox regression analysis revealed that twinning reduced the chances of conception before Day 90 by a factor of 0.76. Also, the median calving to conception interval was significantly longer for cows calving twins (134 ± 4.5 days) than for cows delivering singletons (108 ± 0.8 days; P < 0.001). Moreover, in cows in which conception was successful, the risk of abortion was higher for cows that calved twins than for those calving singletons (13.7% vs. 10.3%, respectively; P = 0.01). Culling rates before Days 90, 120, and 300 postpartum were 15.6%, 16.1%, and 28.6%, and 7.6%, 8.7%, and 15.9% for cows calving twins and singletons, respectively. Cox regression analysis of the factors affecting the culling rate before Day 300 postpartum revealed a 1.41 times greater hazard ratio of culling for cows calving twins than cows calving singletons. Further, mean productive lifespan was almost 300 days shorter for primiparous twinners (N = 48, 602 ± 493 days) than for nontwinners (N = 2592; 899 ± 581 days; P < 0.01), and 200 days shorter for secundiparous twinners (N = 126, 914 ± 429 days) than for nontwinners undergoing at least two lactations (N = 1936, 1101 ± 522 days; P < 0.01). Kaplan-Meier survival curves for productive lifespan differed between primiparous twinners and non-twinners (P < 0.001), and between secundiparous twinners and nontwinners having at least two lactations (P = 0.017). Differences in culling patterns for twinners and nontwinners were not restricted to the subsequent lactation but continued as long as 800 days after first calving, strongly suggesting long-term negative effects of twinning. As an economic implication of our findings, we suggest that twin embryo reduction at the moment of pregnancy diagnosis could be a profitable strategy to cut twinning rates and abolish their detrimental effects on subsequent reproductive performance and productive lifespan.

Introduction

Over the years, the occurrence of twinning in dairy herds has been viewed from very different standpoints. While studies in the 1980s sought to increase the twinning rate to improve milk production and progeny per cow [1], [2], [3], [4], most authors today would agree that twin pregnancies are undesirable in a dairy herd [5], [6], [7], [8], [9], [10], [11], [12]. The presence of twins has been described as the main negative factor of a noninfectious nature affecting pregnancy maintenance [5], [6], [7]. For example, the risk of pregnancy loss during the first trimester of gestation for cows carrying twins is three to nine times higher than for cows carrying singletons [5], [6], [7]. Higher milk production related to twinning is controversial [10], [12], [13], [14], [15], and this possible benefit will never outweigh the higher incidence of dystocia, stillbirths, and retained placenta [8], [14], [15]. In effect, longer calving to conception intervals and higher culling rates have been reported for cows delivering twins compared with cows delivering singletons [12], [13], [14]. It is now clear that twin pregnancies reduce herd profitability, and the average loss of income attributed to cows delivering twins has been estimated at $74 to $108 [14], [15]. The real economic impacts of twinning are probably on the rise because twinning rates have increased considerably over the past 20 yr and estimates currently run at 9%, or even 12% in some herds [16].

Recent studies have proposed the idea of inducing embryo reduction to lower the twinning rate in dairy herds. This is usually conducted through manual rupture of the amnios [17], [18] or transvaginal ultrasound-guided aspiration of allanto-amniotic fluid [19] at pregnancy diagnosis. However, transforming a multiple pregnancy into a singleton pregnancy is not a risk-free procedure [17], [18], [19] and there is a need to quantify the benefits of this practice and validate its cost-effectiveness. A report, including data for over 33 000 calvings in 20 herds in New York and Indiana, has provided current figures on the effects of twinning on herd profitability in terms of reproductive performance and survival of lactating cows in the 300 days after calving [12]. However, because only a single parturition per cow was examined, no information was gained on the subsequent productive lifespan of cows delivering twins. In the present study, we assessed the effects of twinning on the subsequent reproductive performance and productive lifespan of high-producing dairy cows.

Section snippets

Animals

The data analyzed were derived from the records of 12 839 calvings over 11 yr (April 1, 2001 to March 31, 2012) for 4896 Holstein Friesian cows comprising a commercial dairy herd in northeastern Spain. Table 1 provides production data for the herd over the study period. Cows were housed in free stalls with concrete slatted floors and cubicles, milked three times daily and fed complete rations in line with National Research Council (NRC) recommendations [20].

Reproductive management

The herd was maintained on a weekly

Results

The recorded twinning rate was 5.6% and ranged from 3.9% to 7.7% across the 11-yr study period (Fig. 1) and from 1.5% to 8.9% across lactations (Fig. 2).

Table 2 provides the percentages of calvings requiring assistance, stillbirths, retained placenta, and metritis for singleton and twin calvings.

Conception rates before Days 90, 120, and 300 postpartum were 20.8%, 36.9%, and 74.5%, and 34.2%, 51.8%, and 85.0% for twin and singleton calvings, respectively. Kaplan-Meier survival curves for the

Discussion

The mean twinning rate for the 12 587 calving events in the herd's reproductive records was 5.6%, slightly higher than the rates of 4.6% and 4.2% reported recently in North-American dairy herds [12], [16]. Over the 11-yr period examined here (April 1, 2001 to March 31, 2012), the twinning rate remained stable, contrary to previous reports that have described increases of 1.4% to 2.4% from 1983 to 1993 [22], and of 3.4% to 4.8% from 1996 to 2004 [16]. A change in the steadily rising-tendency in

Acknowledgments

The authors thank Ana Burton for assistance with the English translation and the owners and staff of the farm Sant Josep. Andreu-Vázquez was supported by an FPU grant from the Ministerio de Educación y Ciencia AP-2007-01598.

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