REPRODUCTIVE BEHAVIOR OF A HERD OF BREEDING CATTLE IN THE PROVINCE OF COCLE, PANAMA: CASE STUDY.

Abstract

Information from 427 births during five years (1981-1985) in a commercial Cebu herd in the province of Cocle, Panama managed under a system of continuous mating was used to study the annual distribution of births, the annual rate of parturition, the interval between births, the infertile days; the effect of weaning and the time during which it is practiced and the time of births on the conception of the cattle. The percentage of average annual parturition was 56.9, with a greater frecuency of births between the months of September and May (10% of the annual total, monthly) in comparison with the 5.6% of the annual total for the months of June to August. The interval between births of 208 observations fluctuated between 549 and 635 days, with an average of 601.2 days; the infertile days after birth (assuming a gestation of 290 days) varied monthly between 259 and 345, with an average of 311.2 days. It was observed that the post birth infertile days tended to be less in cows that gave birth during the second semester of the year (30.2 ± 30.5). The start of a new gestation took place between 1 and 3 months after weaning; the return to heat was faster when the weaning occurred between February and June than when it took place between June and January.