REGULAR ARTICLES Risk factors and impact of retained fetal membranes on performance of dairy bovines reared under subtropical conditions Susavi Kumari & Shiv Prasad & Arumugam Kumaresan & Ayyasamy Manimaran & Tapas Kumar Patbandha & Rupal Pathak & Prasanta Boro & Tushar Kumar Mohanty & Sanjay Kumar Ravi Received: 29 July 2014 /Accepted: 28 October 2014 # Springer Science+Business Media Dordrecht 2014 Abstract The risk factors and impact of retained fetal mem- branes (RFM) on productive and reproductive performance of crossbred cattle, Zebu cattle, and Murrah buffalos were eval- uated using data spread over 12 years. Multivariable logistic regression model was used to identify risk factors and to quantify their odds ratio (OR). Overall incidence of RFM in crossbred cattle, Zebu cattle, and Murrah buffalos were 26, 16, and 13 %, respectively; and significant risk factors for RFM in crossbred cattle were abortion (OR=3.9), dead calf (OR=4.1), dystocia (OR=4.3), pluriparity (OR=1.5), and shorter gesta- tion length (OR=4.3). In Zebu cattle, abortion (OR=4.0), dead calf (OR=3.7), dystocia (OR=3.9), lower birth weight of calf (OR=1.6), and shorter gestation length (OR=6.4) were significant risk factors for RFM. In Murrah buffalos, abortion (OR=19.2), dead calf (OR=4.4), dystocia (OR=4.7), pluriparity (OR=1.7), shorter gestation length (OR=12.7), and calving during summer season (OR=1.8) were the risk factors for RFM. Although the occurrence of RFM did not affect fertility parameters, a significant (P <0.05) decrease in 305-day milk yield and total milk yield was observed in RFM- affected crossbred cattle. Taken together, it may be concluded that increased parity, abnormal calving, and short gestation length were the main risk factors for RFM in dairy bovine. Keywords Retained fetal membranes . Crossbred . Zebu buffalos . Risk factors . Productive . Reproductive Introduction Dairy cattle and buffalos can suffer from several repro- ductive disorders; retained fetal membranes (RFM) is one of the most important since it is a risk factor for uterine and udder infections, metabolic diseases like ketosis and displaced abomasum, and reduced pregnancy rate and milk production (LeBlanc 2008). In healthy cows, fetal membranes are expelled within 3–6 h after parturition; and if it extends beyond 8–12 h, the condition is called RFM (Hanafi et al. 2011). The incidence of RFM is reported to range from 4 to 18 % of calvings (Han and Kim 2005; Hossein-Zadeh and Ardalan 2011). Negative effects of RFM include decreased milk production (Gaafar et al. 2010), longer intervals to the first estrus and first breeding, lower probability of conception at the first breeding, longer interval to conception, higher inci- dence of metritis (LeBlanc 2008), and increased culling rate in dairy bovines (Beagley et al. 2010). Although the etiology of RFM remains uncertain, abnormal calving (dystocia, stillbirth, twinning, length of gestation), parity, calving season, calf birth weight, and nutritional imbal- ance were reported as risk factors for the development of RFM in exotic cows reared under temperate regions (Sheldon et al. 2006). Although the information on the risk factors for the occurrence of RFM in exotic cattle reared under temperate regions are available for Zebus S. Kumari : S. Prasad : A. Kumaresan : A. Manimaran : T. K. Patbandha : R. Pathak : P. Boro : T. K. Mohanty Livestock Production Management, National Dairy Research Institute, Karnal 132001, Haryana, India T. K. Patbandha College of Veterinary Science & Animal Husbandry, Junagadh Agricultural University, Junagadh 362001, Gujarat, India S. K. Ravi National Research Centre on Equines, PO Box No. 80, Bikaner 334001, Rajasthan, India A. Kumaresan (*) Theriogenology Laboratory, Animal Reproduction, Gynaecology & Obstetrics, National Dairy Research Institute, Karnal 132001, Haryana, India e-mail: ogkumaresan@rediffmail.com Trop Anim Health Prod DOI 10.1007/s11250-014-0717-z