Eighteen suckled Brahman cows were allotted randomly to treatments arranged in a three-period crossover design according to calving date and prior treatment such that each cow received 30, 150 and 300 IU oxytocin (OT) i.v. on d 10, 20 or 30 postpartum. Blood was collected via an indwelling jugular catheter every 15 min for 195 min. Samples collected before OT administration were used to determine basal plasma 13,14-dihydro-15-keto prostaglandin F2 alpha (PGFM) concentration. Day, time and the day X dose interaction affected PGFM (P less than .0001). All doses of OT elevated PGFM on all days postpartum (P less than .0001). Basal PGFM was greater (P less than .0001) on d 10 (252.2 +/- 51.2 pg/ml) than on d 20 (78.2 +/- 14.8 pg/ml) or on d 30 (64.8 +/- 7.4 pg/ml). The rise in PGFM in response to OT was greatest on d 10 and decreased (P less than .001) with increasing days postpartum. On d 10, 150 IU of OT caused a greater (P less than .0007) rise in PGFM than either 30 or 300 IU. On d 20, the 300-IU dose raised PGFM more (P less than .005) than either 30 or 150 IU, whereas on d 30 no differences among doses were detected. Cows had higher basal PGFM and a greater response to OT on d 10 postpartum than on d 20 or 30; cows were more responsive on d 20 than on d 30. All doses of OT elevated PGFM at all three times postpartum; however, differences between doses were not detected.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)