{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,9,1]],"date-time":"2026-09-01T05:17:18Z","timestamp":1788239838832,"version":"build-2803163510"},"reference-count":36,"publisher":"MDPI AG","issue":"17","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2026,8,30]],"date-time":"2026-08-30T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1788048000000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"funder":[{"DOI":"10.13039\/501100009232","name":"University of Debrecen","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","id":[{"id":"10.13039\/501100009232","id-type":"DOI","asserted-by":"crossref"}]},{"id":[{"id":"https:\/\/ror.org\/02xf66n48","id-type":"ROR","asserted-by":"publisher"}]}],"content-domain":{"domain":[],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["Animals"],"abstract":"<jats:p>This study evaluated factors affecting pregnancy outcomes, full-term calving success, and pre-weaning performance following embryo transfer in Holstein\u2013Friesian cattle under commercial farm conditions. A total of 604 in vivo-derived embryos (fresh and frozen\u2013thawed) were transferred into 384 heifers and 220 cows, and pregnancies were diagnosed by ultrasonography. Calves were monitored from birth to weaning. Pregnancy rate per embryo transfer (PR\/ET) was higher in heifers than in cows, indicating superior reproductive performance of heifer recipients under field conditions. Recipient corpus luteum (CL) stage II yielded favorable pregnancy outcomes compared to CL stage I, whereas CL stage III comprised a small subgroup (n = 8) exhibiting a descriptive PR\/ET of 87.5% that required cautious interpretation due to the limited sample size. Fresh embryos were associated with higher PR\/ET than frozen\u2013thawed embryos. Embryo developmental stage did not significantly affect initial pregnancy establishment or full-term calving rates, although stage 6 embryos (blastocyst) showed a non-significant numerical trend toward higher calving rates. Post-diagnosis gestation loss was a primary limiting factor, particularly in multiparous cows. Regarding pre-weaning performance, calves derived from frozen\u2013thawed embryos exhibited a slightly higher birth weights than those from fresh embryos, whereas weaning weight and pre-weaning average daily gain did not differ between embryo types. Overall, recipient category and embryo type are key factors influencing pregnancy success, whereas postnatal performance is less affected. These findings highlight the importance of recipient selection and embryo management strategies for improving reproductive efficiency under commercial dairy farm conditions.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.3390\/ani16172694","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2026,8,31]],"date-time":"2026-08-31T02:08:58Z","timestamp":1788142138000},"page":"2694","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3390\/mdpi_crossmark_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":0,"title":["Factors Associated with Pregnancy Success and Calf Growth via Multiple Ovulation and Embryo Transfer in Holstein\u2013Friesian Cattle"],"prefix":"10.3390","volume":"16","author":[{"given":"Eszter","family":"T\u00f3th","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Doctoral School of Animal Science, University of Debrecen, H-4032 Debrecen, Hungary"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"},{"role":"conceptualization","vocabulary":"credit"},{"role":"validation","vocabulary":"credit"},{"role":"investigation","vocabulary":"credit"},{"role":"resources","vocabulary":"credit"},{"role":"data-curation","vocabulary":"credit"},{"role":"writing-original-draft","vocabulary":"credit"},{"role":"writing-review-editing","vocabulary":"credit"},{"role":"visualization","vocabulary":"credit"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-7208-1896","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"J\u00e1nos","family":"Posta","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Animal Science, Institute of Animal Science, Biotechnology and Nature Conservation, Faculty of Agricultural and Food Sciences and Environmental Management, University of Debrecen, H-4032 Debrecen, Hungary"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"},{"role":"conceptualization","vocabulary":"credit"},{"role":"methodology","vocabulary":"credit"},{"role":"software","vocabulary":"credit"},{"role":"validation","vocabulary":"credit"},{"role":"formal-analysis","vocabulary":"credit"},{"role":"writing-review-editing","vocabulary":"credit"},{"role":"visualization","vocabulary":"credit"}]},{"given":"Viktor","family":"Sz\u0151nyi","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Sz-Consult Ltd., H-4080 Hajd\u00fan\u00e1n\u00e1s, Hungary"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"},{"role":"data-curation","vocabulary":"credit"},{"role":"project-administration","vocabulary":"credit"}]},{"given":"J\u00f3zsef","family":"R\u00e1tky","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Obstetrics and Farm Animal Medicine Clinic, University of Veterinary Science, Istv\u00e1n Street 2, H-1078 Budapest, Hungary"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"},{"role":"writing-review-editing","vocabulary":"credit"},{"role":"project-administration","vocabulary":"credit"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-4863-8287","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Ren\u00e1ta","family":"Knop","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Animal Science, Institute of Animal Science, Biotechnology and Nature Conservation, Faculty of Agricultural and Food Sciences and Environmental Management, University of Debrecen, H-4032 Debrecen, Hungary"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"},{"role":"validation","vocabulary":"credit"},{"role":"writing-review-editing","vocabulary":"credit"},{"role":"supervision","vocabulary":"credit"},{"role":"funding-acquisition","vocabulary":"credit"}]}],"member":"1968","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2026,8,30]]},"reference":[{"key":"ref_1","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"5246","DOI":"10.3168\/jds.2019-17932","article-title":"Pure-breeding with sexed semen and crossbreeding with semen of double-muscled sires to improve beef production from dairy herds: Factors affecting heifer and cow fertility and the sex ratio","volume":"103","author":"Bittante","year":"2020","journal-title":"J. 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