Biostimulatory effects of bull urine on ovarian activity and reproductive performance in post-partum crossbred cows*

Abstract

The study was conducted to assess the biostimulatory effects of bull urine (BU) on resumption of ovarian cyclicity and reproductive performance in postpartum crossbred cows. Cows (30) after 35 days post-partum were selected and randomly divided into 2 groups. The body condition score (BCS) of the cows varied from 3 to 6. In group 1 cows (n=18) were exposed to BU (3 ml/animal, 1 ml in each nostril and 1 ml in open mouth) once a day for 30 days while in group 2 cows (n=12) were exposed to water similar to group 1 (control). The cows were detected for estrus by teaser bull both at morning and evening. The animals in heat were inseminated with good quality frozen/thawed semen. The results indicated that a larger proportion (72.22%) of BU-treated cows resumed ovarian activity as compared to control (58.33%). Though, the percent difference was statistically insignificant however the time interval to onset of estrus was significantly shorter in BU-exposed cows than the control. The maximum biostimulatory effect was seen during 45 to 55 days of postpartum and the animals with good BCS and higher parity responded better to BU-exposure. The mean plasma progesterone concentration remained below < 1 ng/ml in animals of each group during the treatment period. The overall conception rate (CR) did not differ significantly between treatment and control groups. From this experiment it can be concluded that oro-nasal application of BU curtails the post-partum period to occurrence of estrus in a majority of crossbred cows.