What are cystic ovaries?
Cystic ovaries, ovarian cysts and cystic ovarian disease are all terms that are used to describe the condition in cows whereby a follicular structure grows to — and surpasses — ovulatory size but fails to ovulate. In other words, the follicle grows, gets bigger than it should, and then does not ovulate. This prevents the normal estrous cycle from occurring and prolongs the time to first service and timely conception. The definition of cysts has changed over time. They are currently defined as follicular structures that are about 25 or more millimeters in size (or about 0.98 inches) that persist for at least 10 days in the absence of a corpus luteum. They are often accompanied by one or more other large follicular structures and can be either luteal or follicular in nature. Follicular cysts are the most common. While it sounds strange, cystic cows can either be anovular (non-cycling) or cycling irregularly. Usually, it’s a matter of the cows not cycling. Q: What causes cystic ovaries? A
