Associations between management practices and major reproductive parameters of Holstein-Friesian replacement heifers

The aim of this study was to assess the relationship between the reproductive management practices and the performance of replacement heifers on large commercial dairy farms. The individual data of 14,763 heifers, first inseminated in 2014, were analysed from 33 Holstein-Friesian dairy herds in Hungary. The relationships between management practices and major reproductive parameters (age at first service, AFS; age at first calving, AFC; conception risk to first insemination, CR1; and pregnancy status at 20 months of age) were examined by mixed-effects models, with the herd as the random effect. The results showed that farms using oestrus detection aids experienced reduced AFS (p < 0.001) and AFC (p = 0.001). Observation of oestrus for shorter periods instead of continuously showed a tendency towards lower AFC (p = 0.057) and was associated with higher odds of pregnancy at 20 months of age (p = 0.020). Heifers on farms using sexed semen had younger AFS, but poorer CR1, compared to those using conventional semen exclusively (p < 0.05). In addition, the odds of heifers being pregnant by 20 months of age was higher on farms with more experience using sexed semen (p = 0.020). Frequent pregnancy diagnosis (i.e. more than once per week) was associated with younger AFC (p = 0.023). Our results suggest the use of certain advanced reproductive management practices for heifer reproductive management in large dairy herds (e.g. oestrus detection aids), which can improve reproductive efficiency considerably, but are currently used only to a limited extent.