Veterinary Medicine International

Research Article

Intensity of Oestrus Signalling Is the Most Relevant Indicator for Animal Well-Being in High-Producing Dairy Cows

Table 2

Distribution (frequency and %) of dairy cattle according to oestrous intensity and relative progesterone (P₄) levels in blood serum on day 0 for all animals, as well as disclosed by category (dairy heifers (H) or first-parity cows (C1 cows)) or breed (Swedish Holstein SH or Swedish Red SR including both H and C1 cows).


	Oestrous intensity
	Low			Medium			High
	Progesterone at d0
	Low	Medium	High	Low	Medium	High	Low	Medium	High

All (67)	14/33 (42)^ab	9/33 (27)^ab	9/32 (28)^ab	8/14 (57)^a	3/14 (21)^ab	3/14 (21)^ab	9/20 (45)^a	8/20 (40)^a	3/20 (15)^b
Heifers (37)	7/15 (47)^a	3/15 (20)^a	4/14 (29)^a	2/5 (40)^a	1/5 (20)^a	2/5 (40)^a	6/17 (35)^a	8/17 (47)^a	3/17 (18)^a
C1 cows (30)	7/18 (39)^a	6/18 (33)^a	5/18 (28)^a	6/9 (67)^a	2/9 (22)^a	1/9 (11)^a	3/3 (100)^a	—	—
SH (36)	8/16 (50)^a	5/16 (31)^a	3/16 (19)^a	4/7 (57)^a	1/7 (14)^a	2/7 (29)^a	7/13 (54)^a	3/13 (23)^a	2/12 (17)^a
SR (31)	6/17 (35)^a	4/17 (24)^a	7/17 (41)^a	4/7 (57)^a	2/7 (29)^a	1/7 (14)^a	2/8 (25)^a	5/8 (63)^a	1/8 (13)^a

^{a, b}different superscripts differ significantly, (Fisher’s exact test), between P₄ (all animals) and between animal category (H and C1) and breed (SH and SR), for P₄ within oestrous intensity level.