Reproductive Performance of Water Buffalo Cows: A Review of Affecting Factors

Abstract

This article aims to review both the economic impact of reproductive failures on the profitability of water buffalo systems and the effect of different factors on the reproductive performance of water buffaloes. Besides, an overview of various non-hormonal alternatives to improve reproductive performance is made. The optimal reproductive efficiency in water buffaloes implies calving to conception interval around 90 days to reach a calving interval of 400 days, with longer calving intervals having a negative impact on profitability. Reproductive efficiency is the consequence of the interaction of genetic and non-genetic factors, and the recognition of these factors by analyzing the reproductive information must be a priority. Although each factor's impact can be of greater or lesser magnitude depending on the conditions of each herd, some factors like nutrition, milk yield, body condition score, negative energy balance, parity, bull presence, low estrus intensity, and season can be considered high-impact factors. Not all factors are common among farms; therefore each farm must implement a program for the identification, control, and prevention of reproductive problems, especially during early lactation, to prevent a long anestrus; and when artificial insemination is used, so that it is done at the correct time with respect to the beginning of estrus to enhance fertility.

Effect of age, pregnancy, and tuberculosis status on oocyte parameters in African buffalo

“…One of the major factors negatively influencing the success of IVEP in domestic buffalo is the limited biological material, but our results suggest that IVEP could be an effective tool for conservation and propagation of valuable germplasm in the African buffalo. The slight decline in COC numbers during aging has been seen in several related species including cattle and water buffalo (Katska 1984, Nava‐Trujillo 2020). In cattle, the number of COCs declined from 9.88 ± 6.24 in juvenile animals to 8.37 ± 5.87 in adults (Ka̧tska 1984).…”

Probability of pregnancy before ninety days postpartum in water buffaloes

“…A low reproductive performance implies greater costs by feeding and medicines, more nonproductive days, decreased milk yield, less economic return for commercializing nonpregnant buffaloes, decreased number of replacements, males to sale, and sale of potentially productive animals (Shah et al, 1991; Cicek et al, 2017; Khan et al, 2008; Ribeiro et al, 2012; Safari et al, 2019. In this scenario, achieve the goal of getting the buffaloes pregnant ≤ 90 days postpartum is a priority, although it can be challenging because several factors affect the reproductive performance of buffaloes (NavaTrujillo et al, 2020b).…”