Nulliparous and primiparous cows produce less fertile female offspring with lesser concentration of anti-Müllerian hormone (AMH) as compared with multiparous cows

Abstract Nutritional partitioning to fetal development differ among nulliparous, primiparous and multiparous cows, leading to birth of smaller calves to nulliparous and primiparous than multiparous dams. The prenatal nutritional state could influence ovarian reserve and fertility in the adult offspring. The effect of maternal parity on ovarian reserve and reproduction of female offspring, however, has not been investigated in cattle. Accordingly, a retrospective research was conducted to study reproductive variables in nulliparous- ( n = 310), primiparous- ( n = 236) and multiparous-born ( n = 323) female offspring during the first four lactation periods in dairy cows. Additionally, anti-Mullerian hormone (AMH), as a reliable marker of ovarian reserve, was measured in a subset of nulliparous- ( n = 51), primiparous- ( n = 51) and multiparous-born ( n = 49) female offspring. Birth weight in multiparous-born calves was greater than that in nulliparous- and primiparous-born calves ( P P P P P