Effect of pasture type and supplementary feeding on the milk yield of Shorthorn and Brahman cross cows and the growth rate of their progeny in the dry tropics of north Queensland

1979 ◽  
Vol 19 (99) ◽  
pp. 389 ◽  
Author(s):  
RG Holroyd ◽  
PK O'Rourke ◽  
PJ Allan

The milk yields of Brahman cross (Bx) or Shorthorn (Sh) cows and the birth weight and growth rate of their progeny to weaning were recorded over the four years 1970-73. Animals grazed either native pasture stocked at 1 breeder 4.9 ha-1 (NP) or native pasture oversown with Townsville stylo (Stylosanthes humilis) and fertilized with superphosphate and stocked at 1 breeder 2.4 ha-1 (TS). The animals on both pasture types were offered supplements of molasses, urea and phosphorus at various times of the year. Mating from September 1 to January 31 resulted in the cows commencing lactation during the dry season. Bx cows bore heavier calves than the Sh cows and had higher average daily milk yields. Bx calves grew faster from birth to weaning and were heavier at 180 days (P < 0.05 in both cases). Pasture type had a variable effect on milk yield in the two genotypes. Sh cows produced more milk on TS than on NP in all years (P < 0.05 for years 1 and 3). However, milk yields from the Bx were higher on NP than on TS in years 1 and 2 (P < 0.05 for year 1). Pasture type had little effect on birth weight but calves on TS generally grew faster and had higher weaning weights than those on NP. Supplements only increased milk yields in year 1 (P < 0.05 for urea and phosphorus fed during the dry season). Supplements caused no significant increases in birth weight, average daily gain (ADG), or weaning weight. In all years there were significant (P < 0.01) correlations of ADG with milk yield, birth weight and weaning weights. Male calves weighed more at birth and grew faster than female calves (P< 0.05)


1983 ◽  
Vol 23 (120) ◽  
pp. 4 ◽  
Author(s):  
RG Holroyd ◽  
PK O'Rourke ◽  
MR Clarke ◽  
ID Loxton

The reproductive performance of cows and growth rate of their calves to weaning was examined over a four-year period (1973-1977). Cows grazed either native pasture stocked at 1cowl4 ha, or native pasture oversown with Townsville stylo (Stylosanthes humilis) and fertilized with superphosphate stocked at 1 cow/2 ha. Animals were supplemented on each pasture type with urea-molasses in the dry season, phosphorus all year round plus urea-molasses in the dry season, or were unsupplemented. Mating was for three months from mid-January. Calving began towards the end of the dry season and cows lactated through the following wet season. Cows grazing fertilized legume pasture had significantly higher conception rates and earlier calving dates in one year only. In all years, foetal and calf losses between pregnancy diagnosis and weaning were lower on native pasture than on fertilized legume pasture. Cows grazing fertilized legume pasture were generally in better body condition and heavier throughout and their calves grew faster to weaning than on native pasture. Fertilized legume pasture produced a 2.4 fold increase over that of native pasture in cow and calf liveweight per unit area (382.7 kg/ha vs 159.8 kg/ha) over the four years. Supplementation did not influence liveweight or reproductive performance of cows or calf growth rate except during the final dry season when non-supplemented cows lost significantly more weight than those supplemented with phosphorus and urea.



1972 ◽  
Vol 15 (1) ◽  
pp. 53-59 ◽  
Author(s):  
Avraam Louca

SUMMARYSeventy-two Cyprus Fat-tailed and Chios ewes with their lambs were used over a 2-year period to study the effects of three suckling regimes on the lactation performance of ewes and growth rate of lambs. The regimes studied were continuous or 24-hr a day suckling, 12-hr suckling and no suckling. The lambs were weaned at the age of 10 weeks. All the ewes, including those suckling, were handmilked throughout the trial twice daily.Highly significant differences in milk yield (milk sucked by lambs plus milk withdrawn by hand) and lactation length were found between the Fat-tailed and Chios ewes, the respective average milk yields being 159 and 265 kg and the corresponding lactation lengths, 158 and 209 days. There were no significant differences between breeds in the live weight or average daily gain of lambs up to the age of 20 weeks. Suckling for 12 rather than 24 hr a day had no adverse effects on the milk yield of ewes or the growth rate of lambs. The no-suckling regime, however, adversely affected milk yield and lactation length but the effects were less pronounced for the Chios breed.



2007 ◽  
Vol 50 (5) ◽  
pp. 476-486 ◽  
Author(s):  
D. Škorjanc ◽  
M. Brus ◽  
M. Čandek Potokar

Abstract. A study was conducted to find out the effect of birth weight and sex on growth rate of piglets in pre-weaning period. A total of 466 piglets from 48 litters of multiparous sows (Landrace) were involved in the experiment. Using a clustering approach piglets were assigned into three birth weight groups (Heavy (H), Intermediate (I), Light (L)). For the analysis of growth performance, pigs were weighed every 7 days until weaning at 28 days of age and average daily gain (ADG) was calculated. During lactation, body weight of L piglets was 5.5-fold increased, whereas the increase in I and H piglets were only 4.7-fold and 3.4-fold, respectively. Piglets of L group were significantly lighter at all studied ages compared to piglets of I and H group. The highest ADG was noted in the second week for all three groups; thereafter it decreased in H and L piglets (24% and 17%, respectively). The average birth weight of piglets was positively and significantly correlated with body weight at days 7, 14, 21 and 28. Sex did not affect significantly the ADG of the investigated animals during the four weeks of lactation. The present results indicate that neither milk production after the second week of lactation nor consumption of creep feed are sufficient enough to cover nutrition needs of fast growing piglets. There’s still a lack of optimization of nutrition in pre-weaning period especially for heavier piglets with their higher growth potential.



1977 ◽  
Vol 17 (85) ◽  
pp. 197 ◽  
Author(s):  
RG Holroyd ◽  
PJ Allan ◽  
PK O'Rourke

A study was made over a four year period ( 1970-1 973) on the reproductive performance of cows grazing either native pasture stocked at 1 breeder 4.9 ha-1 or native pasture oversown with Townsville stylo (Stylosanthes humilis) and fertilized with superphosphate, stocked at 1 breeder 2.4 ha-1. Animals were supplemented on each pasture type with combinations of molasses, urea and phosphorus at various times of the year. Mating from September 1 to January 31 resulted in animals lactating during the dry season. At double the stocking rate, lactating cows on fertilized pastures had similar conception rates to those on native pasture. During a prolonged dry season, lactating cows on fertilized pasture had twice the conception rate and fewer required survival feeding. Urea compared with non-urea based supplements produced significant increases in conception rates of cows grazing native pasture especially during a dry year. Calves were born earlier, had shorter intercalving intervals and fewer cows had to be fed a survival ration when urea was available. On fertilized pasture, urea based supplements caused only a marginal increase in conception rate except in a dry year, when there was a significant increase. Over the four years, there was a diminishing response in the conception rate of lactating cows grazing native pasture and supplemented with phosphorus during the wet season compared with the control. On fertilized pasture, there was a variable but non-significant response. The addition of phosphorus either as a wet or dry season supplement to urea caused variable responses on each pasture type, but none differed significantly from that of urea.



1977 ◽  
Vol 17 (86) ◽  
pp. 357 ◽  
Author(s):  
L Winks ◽  
FC Lamberth ◽  
PK O'Rourke

The effect of phosphorus supplementation on the performance of steeres grazing unfertilized native pasture and Townsville stylo (Stylosanthes humilis) with andwithout superphosphate fertilizer on the subcoastal spear grass region of the dry tropics of north Queensland was studied over a period of 40 months. Liveweight gains in the absence of supplementation on fertilized Townsville stylo pastures were greater than on unfertilized Townsville stylo, where performance was similar to that recorded on untreated native pasture. Phosphorus supplementation increased weight gains during the wet season on both unfertilized Townsville stylo and native pasture but had no significant effect on dry season performance or performance on fertilized Townsville stylo. Fertilized areas became dominated by annual grasses, Digitaria ciliaris and Brachiaria milliiformis, and legume yields were higher on unfertilized than on fertilized areas. Fertilizer improved the quality of available pastures.



1982 ◽  
Vol 35 (2) ◽  
pp. 193-197 ◽  
Author(s):  
R. G. Campbell ◽  
A. C. Dunkin

ABSTRACTTen littermate pairs were used to study the effects of light and heavy birth weight on the development of muscle tissue, growth rate, body composition and the estimated milk consumption of piglets reared on the sow to 6·5 kg live weight.Neither average daily gain to 6·5 kg nor body composition at the latter weight were significantly affected by birth weight. Birth weight also had no effect on the weight or deoxyribonucleic acid content of the semitendinosus musde at 6·5kg. However, pigs of hght birth weight -were lighter at 2\ days of age (P < 0·01) and older at 65 kg (P < 0·01) than those of heavy birth weight.Pigs of heavy birth weight consumed more milk per suckle than their lighter birth weight littermates (P < 0·01). However, the relative milk consumption (g/kg live weight) of both groups was similar.



1975 ◽  
Vol 26 (6) ◽  
pp. 1093 ◽  
Author(s):  
GW Seifert

The response to one generation of selection for weight per day of age at 18 months (W/Af), in Africander cross (AX) and Brahman cross (BX) cattle, was evaluated in the female offspring of the up and down selected parents. The high W/A< line gained significantly more than the low line over a year from weaning. The advantage of the high W/A line occurred during flush nutritional periods. The realized heritability (h2) of W/Af at 18 months was 0.52, while the estimates of h2 from mid-parental means computed within sires was higher. Heritability estimates for birth weight (Wb), weaning weight per day of age (W/Aw), pre-weaning average daily gain (Gbw) and total average daily gain from birth to final weight (Gt) were all high, while the estimate for post-weaning average daily gain from weaning to final weight (Gpw) was low. The correlated responses of all the traits were high. The genetic correlations estimated from the response and the parent-offspring regressions were all positive and high. Birth weight was the most highly correlated with Gt. All phenotypic correlations were positive but lower than the genetic correlations, the correlation between Gbw and Gpw being the lowest. Environmental correlations between birth weight and pre-weaning traits were essentially zero, and between birth weight and post-weaning traits and Gt, negative. Weight per day of age at 18 months appeared to be the most efficient and practical single trait to select beef cattle for increased growth rate.



2015 ◽  
Vol 31 (1) ◽  
pp. 63-72
Author(s):  
Mohammad Rahimi ◽  
S.A. Rafat ◽  
J. Shoja ◽  
S. Alijani

Production, reproduction, management and economical parameters obtained from data collected from 1993 to 2012 Makui sheep research station of West Azerbaijan province in Iran were evaluated in the present study. Traits included of fertility, pregnancy rate, lamb weights from birth to the end of period, survival rate of lambs, wool production weight, average daily gain and milk production. The present value of profit computed as the difference between total revenues and total costs per ewe per year. The numeric derivation of each considered trait is calculated by increasing and decreasing the average value of the trait while was kept the other characters in the average. First all costs, revenues, profits and flock structure determined then interned input files and running the software ECOWEIGHT. The results showed that economic values per unit increase in the traits of birth weight, daily gain from birth until weaning, daily gain from weaning until end of period, conception rates ewes, little size, lamb survival, lifetime for ewes, milk yield and wool yield were 0.66, 0.51, 0.03, 0.66, 0.25, 0.85, 0.93, 0.53 and 1, respectively. Breeding objective in Makui sheep breed were productive wool yield, lifetime, lamb survival at weaning, conception rates ewes, birth weight, milk yield, daily gain from birth until weaning, little size, daily gain from weaning until end of period.



2020 ◽  
Vol 65 (No. 11) ◽  
pp. 473-479
Author(s):  
H Jankowiak ◽  
P Balogh ◽  
A Cebulska ◽  
E Vaclavkova ◽  
M Bocian ◽  
...  

The piglet birth weight and its variance within a litter may be considered important traits that influence pig productivity in the first and later stages of rearing. 222 piglets were evaluated from the moment they were born until weaning, and then as fattening pigs until the end of the fattening (n = 207) in three birth weight groups. Negative consequences of an excessively low piglet birth weight were observed, including higher mortality until weaning and a lower average daily gain during suckling. The correlation coefficients between the piglet birth weight and the remaining indicators confirmed the negative impact of the low piglet birth weight, fattening performance and carcass slaughter value (P &lt; 0.01). The regression analysis between the piglet birth weight and the growth rate during the whole rearing phases indicated that only the piglet growth rate from birth to weaning is determined by their birth weight.



1971 ◽  
Vol 51 (3) ◽  
pp. 561-577 ◽  
Author(s):  
H. B. JEFFERY ◽  
R. T. BERG ◽  
R. T. HARDIN

Two years data involving 176 and 201 cows from the University of Alberta beef breeding herd were used to study the influences on calf preweaning performance of: breed, age, weight, summer and winter weight changes and milk yield of dam; breed of sire; and birth weight, weaning age and sex of calf. All independent variables combined explained 73 and 70% of total variance in average daily gain (ADG) to weaning and 81 and 70% of total variance in weaning weight, respectively, for 1966 and 1967. Of all variables considered, milk yield had the greatest influence on preweaning performance, explaining about 60% of the variation in ADG to weaning and 40 to 50% of the variation in weaning weight. A 1-kg increase in daily milk yield resulted in an 11- to 14-kg increase in weaning weight. Breed of dam explained about 23% of total variance in ADG to weaning, most of which was accounted for by breed differences in milk yield. Breed-of-sire differences accounted for 5.7 and 1.4% of variance in ADG of progeny for 1966 and 1967 data, respectively. Male calves exceeded female calves in birth weight by 2 kg, in ADG to weaning by 0.03 kg, and in weaning weight by 8 to 9 kilograms. Birth weight was positively associated with calf growth rate. A 1-kg increase in birth weight resulted in 1.74- and 1.59-kg increases in weaning weight for 1966 and 1967, respectively. A 10-kg increase in post-calving weight of cow, independent of milk yield and cow age, resulted in approximately a 0.7-kg increase in weaning weight of calf. Average daily gain to weaning was influenced slightly more by cow age than by post-calving weight of cow. However, about 80% of the variation in ADG explained by either cow age or post-calving weight of cow was accounted for by differences in milk yield associated with either variable.



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