首页 | 本学科首页   官方微博 | 高级检索  
相似文献
 共查询到20条相似文献,搜索用时 468 毫秒
1.
In a cross-sectional study on milk samples from 1155 cows from 22 Danish dairy herds, selected risk factors for paratuberculosis were identified. The diagnostic procedure used was an indirect enzyme-linked immuno-sorbent assay (ELISA) to detect antibodies against Mycobacterium avium subsp. paratuberculosis. A sample was considered test-positive if it had a corrected optical density >/=0. 025 (test sensitivity 71.4% and test specificity 89.7%). Of the 1155 samples, 8.8% (102/1155) were test-positive, and 19 out of the 22 dairy herds had >/=1 test-positive cows. The significant risk factors in a multiple logistic regression analysis were: Jersey versus large breeds, high parity versus low parity, the first month after calving versus other months of lactation, and a large herd size compared to a small herd size. The highest probability (37-38%) of a positive test was observed among older cows (parity >4) and tested within the first month after calving (irrespective of breed). The lowest probability (2%) of a positive test-result was observed among first parity, large-breed cows tested before calving or later than one month after.  相似文献   

2.
The objective of this study was to investigate the impact of paratuberculosis sero-status on milk yield, fat, protein, somatic cell count and calving interval in Irish dairy herds. Serum from all animals over 12 months of age (n = 2,602) in 34 dairy herds was tested for antibodies to Mycobacterium avium subsp. paratuberculosis using an ELISA. Herds were categorised by sero-status into positive, non-negative and negative, where a positive herd contained two or more positive cows, a non-negative herd contained only one positive cow and a negative herd contained no positive cows. Data at animal, parity and herd-level were analysed by multiple regression using general linear models. Positive herds (mean herd size = 129 cows) and non-negative herds (81 cows) were larger than negative herds (72 cows) (P < 0.01). Negative herds had the highest economic breeding index (EBI), while positive herds had the highest estimated breeding value (EBV) for milk yield. There was no significant effect of paratuberculosis sero-status at animal, parity or herd-level on milk yield, milk fat or protein production, somatic cell count score (SCCS) or calving interval. Negative herds tended to have a lower SCCS than positive and nonnegative herds (P = 0.087). This study only examined the effects of paratuberculosis sero-status but did not examine the clinical effects of Johne's disease at the farm or dairy industry levels.  相似文献   

3.
The postpartum reproduction functions of 84 Finnish Ayrshire and Friesian cows were studied on an experimental farm. The cows were divided according to type of feed into 2 groups of equal size: a hay-urea group and a silage group. The duration of the study was 3 years. Eighty-four cows were followed during their first postpartum period, 63 during 2 and 57 during 3 consecutive post partum periods.The cows were examined clinically by rectal palpation, and milk samples for progesterone assay were taken 3 times a week between calving and first insemination. External signs of heat were checked 3 times a day by the herdsmen.Intervals from calving to completed uterine and cervical involution, appearance of first palpable follicle, onset of first luteal function and onset of regular ovarian function were recorded. Intervals from calving to the first observed heat and to pregnancy were measured and the rate of successful pregnancies at the first insemination was calculated.Least squares methods were used for evaluation of the effect of individual cow, breed, parity/year and type of feed on postpartum reproductive function.The cows in the herd seemed to have equal reproductive functions which were influenced by the conditions during each year/parity rather than by the breed or type of feed.Individual cow effect was significant for the rapidity of uterine involution. Breed had no significant effect on any of the parameters studied.The effect of type of feed alone was not significant for any parameter, but when studying the intervals from calving to uterine involution and initiation of luteal function differences between the feed groups were noted within parity/year.The percentage of cows showing heat before the first dioestrus (luteal phase) increased with parity/year, and the first dioestrus was shorter than the second. The percentage of cows showing postoestrous bleeding increased with number of oestrous cycles post partum.  相似文献   

4.
AIM: To determine the effect of calcium supplementation of dairy cattle after calving on serum concentrations of calcium, magnesium, and phosphorous after calving, and on reproductive and productive performance in the following lactation. METHODS: This was a double-blind randomised clinical trial using 356 dairy cows of parity 3 or greater from six seasonally calving commercial dairy herds. Cows were randomly assigned to a treatment and control group. The treatment group received two doses of 380 ml of calcium chloride in oil (49 g of elemental calcium); the first dose was given as soon as practical after calving and the second 12 hours later. Control cows received 380 ml of a placebo using the same treatment regime. Treatment and control cows had blood samples taken during the first 7 days after calving to determine serum calcium, magnesium and phosphorous levels. Treatment and control cows were monitored throughout the lactation to measure production and reproductive performance. RESULTS: Treatment had no effect on PSM to first service intervals. Treatment significantly reduced PSM to conception intervals in only one of the four herds with data available for analysis (p = 0.09). There was no difference between treatment groups for adjusted corrected milk yield calculated from the first herd test milk yield (p = 0.93) or 305-day milk solids production (p = 0.19). CONCLUSION: Further studies are required to identify reasons for the between-herd effectiveness of calcium chloride treatment in improving fertility.  相似文献   

5.
We examined whether infrequent milk sampling for progesterone analysis could be used as a management or diagnostic tool by the dairy farmer to predict delayed ovarian cyclicity in dairy cows. The data included 1040 lactations from 324 Swedish Red cows and 183 Swedish Holstein cows and were randomly divided into two datasets. A logistic regression model was fit to the first dataset and the model was then validated on the other dataset. The model was also validated using a British dataset comprising 1212 lactations from 1080 British Holstein-Friesian cows. The dependent variable was whether delayed ovarian cyclicity occurred or not, delayed ovarian cyclicity defined as progesterone levels below threshold value for the first 56 or 45 days postpartum in the Swedish or British dataset, respectively. The basic model included the effects of breed, parity, season and housing type. To the basic model various progesterone-based measurements were added. These were the interval from calving to commencement of luteal activity and the percentage of samples with luteal activity within 60 days after calving, using all samples in the databases or one sample per month. The accuracy of the conditional probability of delayed ovarian cyclicity calculated with the different models was obtained using receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curves and calculating the area under curve. Sensitivity and specificity were calculated for cut-off probabilities using the ROC analyses. The accuracy was highest (0.94-0.99) when including the progesterone measurements based on milk sampling for progesterone analysis 2-3 times per week. The accuracy was between 0.85 and 0.88 when the progesterone measurements with monthly milk sampling were added to the model and 0.76 or 0.67 with the basic model. This study clearly shows that infrequent milk sampling for progesterone analysis, such as once a month as in the regular milk recording system, could be used to predict delayed ovarian cyclicity in dairy cows. This increases the opportunity for earlier treatment of anovulatory dairy cows and may therefore decrease involuntarily extended calving intervals in the herd.  相似文献   

6.
Associations between rearing conditions and the risk of culling in dairy cows were studied by survival analysis. Data were collected from 1039 Swedish Red cows, 1029 Swedish Holsteins, and 56 cows of other milk or cross-breeds, representing all female animals born in 109 Swedish herds during 1998. Length of productive life was defined as the number of days from 1st calving to culling. The applied Weibull proportional hazards model included time-independent effects of breed, housing from 3 to 7 months of age, number of housing changes before calving, grazing before 1st calving, herd median age at 1st calving, age at 1st calving, cow housing, herd lactational incidence risk of veterinary-reported clinical mastitis, and the random effect of herd. Time-dependent effects were year, month, the interaction year by month, parity, number of breedings, pregnancy status, the interaction parity by pregnancy status, herd mean milk-production level, relative milk yield within breed-parity, and veterinary-reported clinical mastitis. The lactation was divided into six stages in which pregnancy status was assumed to be known by the farmer and culling could occur. Median productive life time in culled cows was 780 d and 14% of the records were censored due to terminated data collection. An individual calving age of 28.2–30.9 months was associated with the highest culling risk, 1.2-fold higher than calving at ≤25.3 months, whereas the risk decreased almost linearly with a higher herd median age at 1st calving. Housing in slatted pens with >7 calves from 3 to 7 months was associated with a 1.7-fold increase in risk, relative to litter pens. If a cow had changed housing system 4 times before 1st calving it increased the risk of culling 1.4 times, relative to two housing changes. These results show that rearing factors affect the productive life time of dairy cows in Swedish family operations.  相似文献   

7.
Calcium chloride supplements such as gels and drench were studied to determine their effectiveness for increasing blood serum Ca concentrations in periparturient dairy cows. Multiparous, pregnant Holstein dairy cows (n = 36) were assigned to one of four treatments. After calving, cows in four treatments received basal diet and two doses of either control inert gel (CON), gel containing CaCl2 and vitamins (CVG), gel containing CaCl2 and minerals (CMG), or CaCl2 as drench containing vitamins (CVD). The first dose was given within 2 h after calving and the second dose 12 h after the first dose. Each dose provided .07, 54.5, 56.0, and 33.2 g of elemental Ca in CON, CVG, CMG, and CVD treatments, respectively. Blood samples were collected at 0, 15, 30, 60, 180, and 360 min after each oral dose. The blood serum Ca concentrations were 6.26, 7.56, 6.20, and 5.96 mg/dL during the pretreatment period and deviated -13.5, 7.1, 9.3, and 18.1% from pretreatment levels at 18 h after the first dose in CON, CVG, CMG, and CVD treatments, respectively. The average changes in serum P from pretreatment levels were not different among treatments. Serum Mg concentrations remained below the pretreatment levels in all four treatments. Blood serum beta-hydroxybutyrate during the first 2 wk and milk yields during the first 4 wk of lactation were the same in all treatments. Three cases of clinical milk fever were observed in CON treatment and one case in CVD treatment. The oral supplements of CaCl2 as gel or drench increased the blood Ca levels in periparturient dairy cows. Increased supply of Ca through oral supplements of CaCl2 may prevent milk fever in cows that are marginally hypocalcemic.  相似文献   

8.
To assess the profitability of control schemes for Mycobacterium avium subspecies paratuberculosis (Map)-infection implemented in dairy herds, accurate estimates of its production effects are needed. This study aimed at quantifying the variation in milk yield of dairy cows according to their Map-infection status. The cow-status was determined by combining (i) its testing(s)-result(s) (serum ELISA, faecal culture (FC), PCR, Ziehl staining), (ii) the Map-status of its herd, and (iii) its possible vaccination against Map. A total of 15 490 cows in 569 herds located in western France was considered. The effect on test-day milk yield (TDMY) of the cow-status to Map was assessed separately in parity 1, 2 and 3 or more, using mixed linear models, after adjustment for herd-season (random), days in milk and breed. Average TDMY was significantly lower in cows from herds with at least one Map-infected cow (defined as positive herds). Individual TDMY showed a reduction ranging from 1.58 to 3.30, 2.03 to 2.51, 5.36 to 7.20 kg/day (P < 0.001) depending on parity for unvaccinated cows and testing ELISA-positive, PCR- or FC-positive, and Ziehl-positive, respectively, compared to cows in Map-free herds. The loss in milk yield increased with increased parity in ELISA-positive and Ziehl-positive cows. Cows that were both tested ELISA-positive and vaccinated had a smaller loss in TDMY than those that were unvaccinated. The estimates from this study can be used to further assess the economic impact associated with Map-infection in dairy herds or to help in the culling decisions regarding infected cows.  相似文献   

9.
There are inconsistent results for the association of Mycobacterium avium subspecies paratuberculosis (MAP) infection with production and reproduction in dairy cows. Determination of these associations in each region is essential to encourage participation of dairy cattle producers in disease control programs. This study was conducted in Shiraz, southern Iran, to quantify the association of subclinical MAP infection with 305-day milk production and calving interval in Iranian Holsteins. A total of 21 dairy herds were selected for the study and in each herd, quarter milk samples were collected from ten to 12 dairy cows for PCR analysis. Data about parity, calving interval, length of lactation period, total milk production and 305-day milk production were also provided for each animal. Overall, 252 individual milk samples were collected. Herd- and individual-level prevalence of MAP infection were 23.8% (95% CI, 6.2–41.4%) and 3.2% (95% CI, 1.3–5.1%), respectively based on IS900 nested PCR. The results for 305-day milk production revealed a 248 kg reduction in positive cows compared with negative ones (P = 0.009). When cows from positive herds were compared with cows from negative herds, a 335-kg reduction in 305-day milk production (P = 0.005) and a 30-day increase in calving interval (P = 0.057) were observed in the former group. These findings support the previous results that paratuberculosis infection is negatively associated with the performance of the animals.  相似文献   

10.
The objectives of this study were to determine the effects of parity on milk production, body condition change, periparturient health, and culling in Korean dairy herds. The data utilized included; milk yield, body condition score, cow parity, calving condition, periparturient disorders, culling, and reproductive status, which were recorded from 1290 calvings in eight dairy herds. The mean milk yield in cows over 305 days increased with increasing parity (p < 0.01). Cows with parities of 3, 4, and 5 or higher lost more body condition than those with a parity of 1 during month 1 of lactation (p < 0.01), and body condition recovery by cows with parities of 4 and 5 or higher was slower (p < 0.01) than recovery by cows with parities of 1, 2, or 3 until month 3 of lactation. The risk of retained placenta, metabolic disorder, and endometritis also increased with advancing parity (p < 0.05). Moreover, the incidence of ovarian cysts was lower in cows with a parity of one than in cows with greater parities (p < 0.01). Culling rate due to reproductive failure also increased with advancing parity (p < 0.01). These results suggest that parity increases milk yield, body condition loss during early lactation, the risk of periparturient disorders, and culling due to reproductive failure in dairy herds.  相似文献   

11.
SUMMARY A total of 498 dairy cows in 5 predominantly pasture-fed herds were allocated to pairs. One cow in each pair was treated with a single dose of ivermectin during the dry period. Treated and untreated cows were managed as a single group throughout the trial. Most cows calved between 45 and 115 days after treatment. When data from all herds were pooled, treated cows produced an extra 74 L of milk over the first 100 days of the subsequent lactation (95% confidence interval 20 to 128). Means were greater among treated groups relative to untreated groups in all 5 herds. However, when analysed individually, differences were statistically significant (P < 0.05) in 1 herd only. Over the complete lactation, mean milk volume for treated cows was 86 L greater than for untreated cows (95% confidence interval of difference -57 to 229; P = 0.24). Untreated cows produced 2473 L and 5883 L for the first 100 days of lactation and for the complete lactation, respectively. Milk production responses to treatment did not vary significantly with parity, body condition score, previous production index, calving date category or with plasma pepsinogen concentration or faecal egg count at the time of treatment. Faecal egg counts and plasma pepsinogen concentrations were low at the start of the study. The interval from calving to conception was 4.8 days less in treated cows (95% confidence interval 1.2 to 8.2) relative to untreated cows when data from all 5 herds were pooled. Differences within individual herds were not statistically significant.  相似文献   

12.
A two-year longitudinal study was conducted to assess the reproductive and lactation performances of smallholder crossbred dairy cattle in Fitche, central Ethiopia. Twenty-four smallholder dairy farms were monitored and data on reproductive, breeding, lactation and management aspects of crossbred dairy cows (n = 69) were collected and analysed. Moreover, milk samples were collected and analysed for progesterone. The overall Least-squares means for calving interval (CI), calving to conception interval (CCI) and first observed oestrus after calving were 516, 253 and 141 days, respectively. Suckling significantly prolonged these intervals. The mean first onset of luteal activity (OLA) after calving was 52 days, while 67.4% (n = 43) had a delayed (>55 days) return to cyclicity after calving. Suckling and parity number significantly (p < 0.05) influenced the OLA. The mean lactation length was 54.4 weeks. The overall daily mean milk yield for the first 43 weeks of lactation after calving was 11.7 L/day. The estimated daily milk yield increased slowly and reached peak (13.8 L/day) around the 11th week post partum and declined gradually and steadily. Suckling status, season of calving and parity number significantly influenced the estimated daily milk yield. In conclusion, the present study indicated that the smallholder crossbred dairy cows in the study area had prolonged intervals to first oestrus after calving, to conception and to the next calving, and thus their reproductive performance is unsatisfactory. Delayed first onset of luteal activity (postpartum anoestrus) contributed to these extended intervals. Further detailed investigation is suggested to examine the effects of other relevant factors on the reproductive and lactation performances of smallholder crossbred dairy cows for appropriate intervention.  相似文献   

13.
The objectives of this study were to determine the risk factors for postpartum endometritis by evaluating several reproductive factors in individual cows, and to determine the effect of endometritis on the subsequent reproductive performance in dairy herds in Korea. The data, including health status, parity and body condition score (BCS) of cows, and calving date, were collected from 320 cows in eight dairy herds calving from January 2001 to October 2002. We used logistic regression to evaluate the effects of these factors on endometritis. A stepwise procedure, used to obtain the appropriate model with alpha=0.05, revealed that retained placenta, metabolic disorders and parity are the important risk factors for endometritis. The mean intervals from calving to first service and conception were prolonged (P<0.01) by 23 and 36 days, respectively, in the endometritis group compared to the non-endometritis group. The first service conception rate was lower (P<0.05) in the endometritis group (47.6%) than in the non-endometritis group (62.6%). The number of services per conception was higher (P<0.05) in the endometritis group (1.9) than in the non-endometritis group (1.6). We conclude that retained placenta, metabolic disorders and cow parity are strongly correlated with the development of postpartum endometritis, which decreases reproductive performance in dairy herds in Korea.  相似文献   

14.
The study was undertaken to determine the trends in the reproductive performance of Holstein dairy cows in Iran during 1994 to 2008. Reproductive performance data for 528,034 lactations of 246,132 cows in 1,822 Holstein dairy herds of Iran were used. The potential effect of calving season, herd, parity, calving year, as well as herd size and 305-day milk production on reproductive performance traits was investigated using multiple regression models. The least squares means of age at first calving decreased by 3.1 (±0.06) days per year from 806.5 (±96.3) days in 1994 to 788 (±89.9) days in 2008. The least squares means of calving interval increased 1.02 (±0.03) days per year from 394.1 (±65) days in 1994 to 413.2 (±81) days in 2008. Greater 305-day milk production was associated with an average increase of 6.55 (±0.08) days in calving interval per 1,000-kg increase in milk yield. Larger herd size was associated with an average decrease of 0.22 (±0.02) days in calving interval per 50 cows per herd. The mean number of days dry was 88.6 (±51.3) days and increased by 0.82 (±0.02) days per year. In conclusion, reproductive performance in Holstein dairy herds has generally decreased, whereas herd size and milk production have increased over time. Producers may make significant improvements in herd reproduction by reviewing management strategies including the sire selection, reproductive management, inseminator training and techniques, and improved estrous detection. Moreover, it may be advisable for the fertility traits to be included in the genetic selection indices to reduce the rate of reproductive decline.  相似文献   

15.
本研究通过对北京地区1998-2016年28个场区的奶牛生产性能测定(DHI)数据进行分析,旨在比较不同产犊季节对1~3胎奶牛泌乳曲线相关参数的影响。使用Wood模型对1~3胎不同产犊季节群体和个体泌乳曲线进行拟合,并获得相应胎次下不同产犊季节奶牛泌乳曲线参数a、b、c (分别代表泌乳潜力、产奶量上升至顶峰速率、产奶量达到顶峰后下降速率)、泌乳曲线二级参数Per、PY (分别代表泌乳持续力、泌乳峰值)及305 d产奶量(305MY)。群体和个体水平的曲线拟合采用SAS 9.2中NLIN模块进行,采用混合线性模型分析不同产犊季节对各胎次奶牛泌乳曲线参数的影响。结果显示:产犊季节对Wood泌乳曲线的泌乳潜力、达到峰值的上升速率、达到峰值后的下降速率、泌乳峰值及305MY均有显著影响(P<0.05),对于泌乳持续力没有显著影响(P>0.05)。夏季产犊牛泌乳曲线整体低于其他产犊季节,且胎次越高趋势越明显,1胎牛受到的影响较小;从胎次上分析,头胎牛泌乳持续力极显著高于经产牛(P<0.01);头胎牛夏季产犊305MY比其他产犊季节的低274.33~490.17 kg,经产牛夏季产犊305MY比其他产犊季节的低440.76~930.68 kg。以上结果提示,北京地区牛场应注重做好经产牛和头胎牛的防暑降温工作,注意调整配种时间,避免夏季产犊牛过多,造成损失。  相似文献   

16.
Recently, it has been demonstrated that administration of equine chorionic gonadotropin (eCG) in the postpartum period in dairy cows can enhance follicle growth, reduce the interval from calving to first ovulation and increase plasma estradiol concentrations, and, thus, could enhance reproductive performance in a dairy herd when administered on day 6 postpartum. The aim of this study was to investigate the effects of a single dose of eCG between days 9 and 15 postpartum on parameters of reproductive performance in dairy cows. German Holstein cows (n = 1937; primiparous cows: n = 748; pluriparous cows: n = 1189) in a commercial dairy farm were randomly assigned to three experimental groups. Animals within the group eCG received a single dose of 600 IU eCG intramuscularly (i.m.) between days 9 and 15 postpartum followed by an i.m. administration of 500 μg cloprostenol after 14 days. Those of treatment group PG received cloprostenol only between days 23 and 29 postpartum. Cows of the control group remained untreated. Starting on day 49 postpartum, cows were subjected to a Presynch‐Ovsynch protocol and inseminated artificially. The impact of application time (days postpartum) of eCG on the intervals calving to first service and calving to conception was statistically not significant. Outcomes of reproductive performance (i.e. first service conception rate, proportion of pregnant cows until 100 and 150 days in milk [DIM], number of inseminations until 150 DIM, calving to first service interval and calving to conception interval) did not differ significantly between treatment group eCG and group PG compared to control group. Regarding postpartum eCG administration, significant interactions between treatment and parity, season, milk yield, and early puerperal disorders, respectively, could not be shown. In conclusion, an eCG treatment of dairy cows between days 9 and 15 postpartum to increase reproductive performance cannot be recommended under the given circumstances.  相似文献   

17.
Reproductive performance of Holstein dairy cows in Iran   总被引:2,自引:2,他引:0  
The objectives of the present study were to describe the current reproductive parameters of Holstein dairy cows in Iran and to determine factors which have a significant effect on reproductive performance with emphasis on high-producing dairy cows. Five large Holstein dairy herds from the major milk production areas of Iran were selected for this study. Reproduction data including parity of dam, calving date, days to first service, days open, number of services, dry period, and occurrence of diseases for cows that calved from 2004 to 2007 were collected from the herds' databases. To determine the effects of year and season of calving, disease status, level of milk production, and parity of dam on reproductive parameters, the proc-mixed procedure in SAS software was used. Overall, data about 8,204 lactation were collected for the study. Results showed that mean (±SD) days open, calving interval, and days to first service for study herds were 134 (±89), 403 (±86), and 67 (±38) days, respectively. Conception rates at the first service and the overall service-conception rate were 41.6% and 41%, respectively. The level of milk production and diseases had significant negative effects on days open and service per conception (P < 0.05); statistical analysis showed that for every 100-kg increase in milk yield, days open will increase by about 0.3 days. However, no significant effect of level of productivity was observed on days to first service. The results of this study indicate that high milk production is a risk factor for decreasing fertility in Iran, like many other parts of the world.  相似文献   

18.
Associations of body condition scores and blood metabolites, measured before calving and at different periods during early lactation, with recurrence of luteal activity were investigated in a 250-head commercial dairy farm during a 4-year period (1999-2002). The study was conducted on 48 dairy cows (60 lactations) with average 305-day milk yield of 8149 kg per cow. Blood samples taken 1-14 days before calving and 1-14, 28-42 and 63-77 days after calving were analysed for aspartate aminotransferase, glucose, ketone bodies, triglycerides, non-esterified fatty acids and cholesterol. Milk progesterone (P(4)) profiles (samples collected twice a week, P(4) levels measured in whole milk by enzyme immunoassay) were used to evaluate the interval from calving to first luteal response, P(4) >5 ng/ml, and the interval from calving to first normal cycle. The MIXED procedure of the sas system was used to study the association of investigated parameters. A higher concentration of ketone bodies before calving was associated with shorter interval to recurrence of first normal cycle (P = 0.007) and tended to be related to shorter interval from calving to first luteal response (P = 0.071). A lower prepartum aminotransferase activity showed a tendency to be associated with shorter interval from calving to first luteal response (P = 0.084). Results suggest metabolic status up to 2 weeks prepartum to be related to the resumption of postpartum luteal activity in Estonian Holstein dairy cows.  相似文献   

19.
OBJECTIVE: To determine the effect of induction of parturition on health, milk production and reproductive performance of dairy cows. DESIGN: A prospective cohort study in 62 dairy herds. PROCEDURE: Health, milk production and fertility indices were documented for 1449 dairy cows treated with dexamethasone trimethylacetate, with or without prostaglandin to induce calving. Equivalent data was collected for 603 untreated herd mates that calved at approximately the same time. RESULTS: The median interval from initial treatment to calving was 11 days. Induction was associated with a substantially lower calf survival and commercial value of surviving calves. Calf viability and value was lower when induced cows were at an earlier stage of pregnancy. Retained foetal membranes, photosensitisation and other problems were significantly more frequent in the induced group compared to the untreated group. Milk production of induced cows was approximately 4% lower than untreated ones, but the majority of reproductive indices were not significantly different between the two groups. CONCLUSIONS: The practice of induction of parturition in seasonal calving dairy herds is a reliable way of shortening the gestation period of cows. Costs associated with morbidity and mortality of induced cows and losses in lactation and calf production are offset by benefits of improved reproductive performance and more efficient management of the herd. The welfare aspects of induction on calf survival must be considered.  相似文献   

20.
This study aimed to determine the relationships between N'Dama cows body condition score (BCS) and (i) calf growth and the milk collected; and (ii) the probabilities of pregnancy and juvenile mortality. Animals from 10 herds ranging from 20 to 210 animals in herd size were followed monthly in an extensive range management system in Southern Senegal between 1993 and 1998. For daily weight gains and milk collected, linear mixed-effects models were fitted between calving and 6 months postpartum. Cow lactation was included as random effect, with an unstructured variance-covariance matrix. Calving season, parity, herd size, and calving BCS were the fixed effects. For the probabilities of pregnancy and juvenile mortality, survival models for grouped data were fitted on a monthly scale. The model selection was based on the Akaike information criteria. In large herds, calving BCS had little effect on milk production. In small herds, calves born to cows scoring ≥2.5 points at calving grew quicker and their dam were more milked. The relative difference in milk production between thin and fat cows averaged 23%. The relative gain was higher in the cool dry season than in the other seasons, and for primiparous than for multiparous cows. Except during the hot dry season, the probability of pregnancy was twice as high for cows scoring ≥2.5 points the two previous months than for other cows. The BCS had no effect on calf survival until 1 year of age in large herds. In small herds, calves born to thin cows at calving showed a survival at 1 year more than five points lower than calves born to fatter cows. The threshold of 2.5 points on a five-point scale is pertinent to describe the production performance of N'Dama cows in such a breeding context.  相似文献   

设为首页 | 免责声明 | 关于勤云 | 加入收藏

Copyright©北京勤云科技发展有限公司  京ICP备09084417号