Endometritis is an infection of the lining of the uterus. Any cow which has an infection in her uterus will suffer a delay in resumption of cycling activity (one cause of non-cycling cows). If infection is still present at the time of insemination then this will interfere with sperm and embryo survival. Long standing uterine infections will also cause permanent uterine scarring. If the surface of the uterus is scarred, implantation and survival of the embryo is impaired.

Trials have shown that cows treated with a Metricure 7-28 days post calving have far better subsequent reproductive results than cows treated 5-8 weeks post – calving. Checking and treating in calving batches will improve results.

Waiting until early October to do a singular whole herd check is an opportunity cost/lost. Uterine infections (although still present), are harder to detect due to the low volume of discharge from the cervix. This leads to a large proportion of uterine infections being missed. Going to the trouble of Metrichecking a whole herd in October and finding just 2% is probably not an economic exercise.

Cows calved by the 25th of August should have been Metrichecked by now. Cows calving 20th Aug – 10th Sept should be checked mid to late Sept, and cows calving after this date in early October. Use a simple identification such as tailpaint to identify early verse later calvers.