Impact of Body Condition Score and Back Fat Thickness on Resumption of Ovarian Cyclicity after Parturition in Dairy Cows

The present study was conducted to investigate the effect of body condition score (BCS) and back fat thickness on resumption of ovarian cyclicity in Jersey cross bred cows. Thirty four (N = 34) cows having normal parturition were monitored for recording the body condition score on the day of calving and divided into two groups i.e. low BCS (n = 15) i.e. <2.5 and high BCS (n = 19) i.e. ≥2.5. For monitoring the back fat thickness, trans-abdominal ultrasonography of thurl area was done on the day of calving. Trans-rectal ultrasonography was done on a weekly interval to adjudge the resumption of ovarian cyclicity i.e. first ovulation post-partum. As a part of results, low BCS cows had a significantly lower back fat thickness (9.92 ± 0.48 mm; P < 0.05) as compared to high BCS cows (12.14 ± 0.82 mm). Similarly, low BCS cows had a significantly longer interval (42.47 ± 2.14 days; P < 0.05) to first post-partum ovulation in comparison to high BCS cows (32.42 ± 1.82 days). In conclusion, metabolic status of cows had an important role in resumption of ovarian cyclicity after parturition.