Antibiotic therapy of metritis in Holstein cows in Volgograd region

Federal State Educational Institution of Higher Education, Volgograd State Agricultural University, Volgograd, Russian Federation

^* Corresponding author: firsovgm@yandex.ru

Abstract

The paper studied 35 Holstein cows on a dairy farm in Volgograd region in 2023. The cows received a balanced diet with corn silage, hay, concentrated forages, supplements and mineral components to ensure health and productivity as they produced 40 kg of milk with a fat content of 3.7% daily. Cows diagnosed with postpartum metritis were injected subcutaneously with ceftiofur hydrochloride at a dose of 1 mg/kg body weight. Vaginal discharge was evaluated on day 10 after diagnosis. If discharge persisted, it indicated lack of recovery. Recovery was confirmed if there was no change in the structure and vaginal discharge by day 21. The study showed that the use of ceftiofur for the treatment of cows with metritis was not negatively associated with reproductive performance and productivity of the study cows, but was strongly associated with uterine inflammation. There was no direct reduction in the association between reproductive performance and key production parameters in the study, while there was a high correlation with cow disease such as metritis. The standard deviation for cows diagnosed with metritis was 59.40, metritis + retained placenta - 7.42, metritis + uterine atony - 14.85, metritis + retained placenta + uterine atony - 3.71.