USE OF PROSTAGLANDIN PRODUCTS BY DAIRY-CATTLE OWNERS, BEEF-CATTLE OWNERS, AND VETERINARIANS

Questionnaires regarding the use of prostaglandin F-2 alpha and its analogues (hereafter referred to as PG) were sent to 332 Alabama beef cattle owners and to 279 Alabama dairy cattle owners after attempting to contact them by telephone to request their participation in the survey. Questionnaires concerning the use of PC in their clients' herds were likewise sent to 147 food animal and mixed animal practitioners in Alabama after attempting telephone contact. Response among beef cattle owners, dairy cattle owners, and veterinarians to whom questionnaires were mailed was 64.5, 61.6, and 75.5%, respectively. Only 7.4% (13 of 175) of respondent beef cattle owners reported use of PG in their herds, and this use was predominantly for artificial insemination and embryo transfer. In contrast, 66.5% (109 of 164) of respondent dairy cattle owners reported use of PG, generally with satisfactory results, for some of the following conditions: unobserved estrus (n = 77), uterine infections (n = 74), retained placenta (n = 65), cystic ovaries (n = 56), estrus synchronization (n = 45), and induction of parturition (n = 13). Although 94.9% of respondent veterinarians treated cattle with PG, those attending beef herds thought that more important strategies were available for improvement of beef cattle productivity than increased use of PG. Among these strategies were shorter calving seasons, improved nutrition, better record keeping, more frequent herd health visits, improved animal identification, and increased use of bull breeding soundness examinations. Likewise, dairy practitioners thought that improved estrus detection, more frequent herd health visits, improved nutrition, better artificial insemination technique, and improved record keeping were more important for improved production than was increased use of PG.