Heat stress is becoming increasingly important because an increase in milk yield is related to a decrease in heat tolerance [1] and [2]. Accordingly, as milk yield of dairy cows is expected to further increase, the negative influence of heat stress on the reproductive performance of dairy cows has become an important issue [3]. There is a direction in the dairy industry toward fewer and expended dairy farms: housing more cows under one roof which might magnify the risk of suboptimal climate circumstances [4]. Heat production and congestion, in combination with doubtful cooling ability because of environmental conditions, enlarges the heat load in cows to the point that body temperature rises [5]. High ambient temperature has long been considered as a major factor responsible for the reduced fertility or conception rate in farm animals through hot seasons in tropical and subtropical areas [6]. Previous reports ascertained the lower percentage of fertilization and embryo viability in cows managed in hot seasons than those in cool seasons [7] and [8]. Extended times to conception associated with hot weather are also due to lower conception rates. Ultimately, lower conception rates were reported subsequent to services performed in hot months and in seasons with higher temperature–humidity index (THI) values [9] and [10]. Similarly, in regions with hot summers, cows that calve in spring and summer had longer time to conception, relative to those calving in autumn and winter [11].
The reduced fertility related with heat stress is a multifactorial issue in which hyperthermia influences cellular function in different tissues of the female reproductive tract [12]. For example, heat stress retarded ovarian follicular dynamics [13] and the capability of the dominant follicle to express dominance [14]. In addition, heat stress induced follicular codominance [15] and [16], shortened estrous cycle length, and reduced the oocyte's efficiency to develop into a blastocyst. On the basis of the odds ratios, the risk of undergoing anomalous oocyte maturation was 17.1 and 18 times greater in oocytes cultured in heat stress and overmaturated oocyte groups, respectively, than those in the control group [17]. Oocytes reaped from Holstein (HO) cows during summer show reduced ability to evolve to the blastocyst stage after IVF when compared with oocytes collected during winter [18] and [19]. Heat stress in the period around the day of breeding was consistently associated with reduced conception rate [20] and [21]. Furthermore, negative effects of heat stress have been identified from 42 days before to 40 days after insemination [22]. The mechanisms by which heat stress disrupt conception considering for specific periods, however, remain unclear [21]. The embryos respond to maternal heat stress depending on the stage of development; however, the most critical periods for the embryo are among ovulation, the end of oocyte, and the first days after fertilization [23]. Moreover, HO heifers subjected to heat stress from the onset of estrus till insemination had increased proportion of abnormal and developmentally disturbed embryos as compared with heifers preserved at thermoneutrality [24].
When assessing the effects of hot weather on reproductive performance, some researchers characterized environmental heat using air temperature [25]. Nonetheless, thermoregulation in cows is influenced not only by air temperature but also by relative humidity [26]. Thus, the THI appears particularly beneficial because it is calculated using both air temperature and relative humidity data, both of which are commonly measured at weather stations. The majority of studies about heat stress in dairy cattle were conducted in tropical or subtropical countries because the negative effects are obvious in these climates. However, the average THI in the moderate climates in the temperate regions can also reach the threshold of 72 during summer months. Morton et al. [21] estimated that heat stress defined as a daily maximum THI of 72 or more from Day 35 before to Day 6 after the day of breeding decreases conception rate of lactating dairy cows by around 30% relative to days of breeding. Furthermore, when maximum THI 3 to 1 day pre–artificial insemination values were greater than 80, conception rate decreased from 30.6% to 23% [27].
Abortions represent a loss of reproductive efficiency in normal bovine populations, and spontaneous abortion of dairy cows is an increasingly important problem that contributes substantially to low herd viability and production inefficiency by decreasing the number of potential female herd replacements and lifetime milk production and by increasing costs associated with breeding and premature culling [28]. Accordingly, Ghavi Hossein-Zadeh et al. [29] reported greater odds of abortion occurred during spring and summer compared with other seasons. Furthermore, stillbirths were increased during summer compared with winter for primiparous and multiparous cows [30]. As far as we know, this study is one of a few recent trials applied to investigate the effect of subtropical managerial conditions on the reproductive performance and calving traits of crosses originated from two temperate breeds. The objectives of this study were to evaluate the effect of THI value at insemination on the subsequent calving traits and reproductive performance of the pure HO, Brown Swiss (BS), and their crosses under subtropical Egyptian conditions.