Managing transition period health for reproductive performance in dairy cows

The foundations of fertility in dairy cows are laid in the transition period. Excessive negative energy balance is an important risk factor for reproductive tract disease and impairment or delay of return to a fertile oestrus cycle. Diminished immune response is an important risk factor for metritis and endometritis, and it is increasingly recognised that excessive inflammation is an important element of both metabolic and reproductive disease that links current concepts of health the peripartum period. While specific preventive and therapeutic interventions are elusive, best management practices for housing and nutrition are likely to support metabolic health, immune function, and in turn, reproductive performance.