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Title: Pre-breeding beef heifer management and season affect mid to late gestation uterine artery hemodynamics

Author
item CAIN, AMANDA - Mississippi State University
item LEMLEY, CALEB - Mississippi State University
item WALTERS, KEVIN - Mississippi State University
item CHRISTIANSEN, D - Mississippi State University
item KING, HEATH - Mississippi State University
item HOPPER, RICHARD - Mississippi State University

Submitted to: Theriogenology
Publication Type: Peer Reviewed Journal
Publication Acceptance Date: 7/29/2016
Publication Date: 1/1/2017
Citation: Cain, A.J., Lemley, C.O., Walters, K.F., Christiansen, D.L., King, H.E., Hopper, R.M. 2017. Pre-breeding beef heifer management and season affect mid to late gestation uterine artery hemodynamics. Theriogenology. 87:9-15.

Interpretive Summary: Under unfavorable economic conditions, some beef producers may develop heifers on low-input forage based diets. Consequently, this leads to lighter heifer weights at breeding, which could have negative consequences on the subsequent offspring born to these low-input heifers. The objective of this study was to examine uterine blood flow during pregnancy of heifers bred under low nutritional versus adequate nutritional conditions. It was concluded that developing replacement heifers with low-input management schemes does not compromise uterine blood flow compared with traditionally developed females when nutrition during gestation is adequate. As low-input heifer development protocols are typically economically advantageous for the producer with regard to development costs, it is reassuring that these low-input management strategies do not inadvertently compromise fetal well-being by restricting uterine blood flow.

Technical Abstract: Examining uterine blood flow, which regulates nutrient and waste exchange to the developing fetus, is vital to understanding strategies to prevent placental wastage. This study examines uterine blood flow of heifers developed with low-input versus traditional management schemes, which allows us to make recommendations on potential developmental programming consequences to the beef industry.