Shropshire Farming Talk: Mitigating the risks of embryonic pregnancy loss

Direct effects of embryonic mortality are reflected in reduced conception rates with consequent effects for efficiency of production and profitability.

An embryonic pregnancy loss is a loss between fertilisation and day 42 of gestation.

Losses after that date are known as foetal losses. When a cow tests positive for pregnancy at 28–42 days but then returns to heat later, it’s sometimes assumed that the pregnancy test was a false positive, when in fact embryonic pregnancy loss is most often the culprit.

To reduce risk, it’s important to understand the factors that contribute to embryonic and foetal loss and/or poor fertility such as genetic abnormalities, nutrition, heat stress, handling stress and infections.

The economic benefits of early pregnancy testing can be wasted if pregnancy is not confirmed at a later date. The signs of embryonic loss are subtle.

Ultrasound examination has shown that the embryo and its breakdown products are expelled through the cervix, but this either goes unnoticed or appears simply as a clear mucus discharge. An open cow may remain on a pregnancy protocol, costing the producer unnecessary expense.

Too late detection of embryonic loss can postpone the calving timing, which can cause additional costs, especially in compact calving herds.

Understand the risk of embryonic loss and mitigate risk factors.

1. Confirm pregnancy with a second test after the high risk period is over. The rule of thumb is that as pregnancy progresses, the loss rate begins to decrease.

2. Taking steps to reduce risk factors for pregnancy loss, combined with early pregnancy diagnosis and later confirmatory testing, can help ensure the herd is at its most profitable.

Using the Alertys milk pregnancy test from IDEXX, milk pregnancy testing enables dairy farmers to test during a lactation at the early stage, mid or late stage. The non-invasive pregnancy testing service, available from CIS, is a trusted and proven test enabling accurate screening of pregnancy in dairy cattle by easily incorporating testing into routine milk analysis.

By Amanda Wilkes, CIS Area Manager