Effects of providing supplements during the wet season on beef production in the Darwin district of the Northern Territory.

1991 ◽  
Vol 13 (1) ◽  
pp. 3 ◽  
Author(s):  
TH McCosker ◽  
PK O'Rourke ◽  
AR Eggington

The effects of four wet season supplementation regimes on the pregnancy rates, mortality and liveweight of 870 Brahman x Shorthorn cross cattle (cows, bulls, heifers and steers) were investigated on Mt Bundey Station from 1980 to 1984. Treatments imposed were (i) Control (no wet season supplement), (ii) Mineral (supplementation with 13 minerals during the wet season), (iii) +Protein (the same minerals plus non-protein nitrogen and protein over the wet season), and (iv) Strategic (consecutive use of salt, mineral and non-protein nitrogen/protein supplements over the early wet, mid wet and late wet season periods respectively). Each treatment was replicated twice and all received a dry season supplement of non-protein nitrogen plus minerals while stocked at one breeder to 14 ha on native pasture. The pregnancy rate of lactating cows in the +Protein regime in 1982 was 77% compared with 60% for the other three regimes (P<0.05). The pregnancy rates in 1983 for both the +Protein (57%) and Strategic (54%) regimes were higher (P<0.05) than the Control (40%) and Mineral (31%) regimes. Mortality rates of breeders and heifers ranged from 2 to 5% in the Mineral, +Protein and Strategic regimes, compared with 8% (1982) and 12% (1983) (P<0.05) in the Control groups. Post pregnancy diagnosis losses were 8% in the +Protein regime compared with 16% in the other regimes (P<0.05). Breeders were 25 to 30 kg heavier in the +Protein than in Control regimes (P<0.05). Liveweight gain of steers in the +Protein regime was 11 to 31% higher than the other three regimes in two of the three steer drafts. Calf weight per breeder in the +Protein treatment was 55% higher in 1983 and 44% higher in 1984 than the other three regimes. It is concluded that wet season supplementation with non-protein nitrogen/protein and minerals has the potential to substantially increase herd productivity in the monsoonal tallgrass region. The response to the wet season +Protein regime, and the absence of a similar response to the Mineral regime, despite a phosphorus, sodium and sulphur deficiency in the pasture, was attributed to an overriding nitrogen requirement. Other factors affecting herd productivity were, paddock variability which was attributed to variation in the proportion of upland compared with floodplain/riparian land units in each paddock and seasonal differences related to the length of the preceding dry season.

1970 ◽  
Vol 26 (2) ◽  
pp. 54-60 ◽  
Author(s):  
MA Rahman ◽  
MMU Bhuiyan ◽  
MM Kamal ◽  
M Shamsuddin

Identification of risk factors is important for the design of control programmes for mastitis in cows. Information about farms and management was collected at a farm visit. California Mastitis Test (CMT) was performed to assess sub-clinical mastitis, and cows, udder and milk were examined for clinical mastitis. A total of 347 lactating cows from 83 farms in the dry season (November - February) and 388 lactating cows from 89 farms in the wet season (June - October) were studied. The overall prevalence of mastitis was 19.9% and 44.8% in dry and wet seasons, respectively. The prevalence of mild mastitis was 17.3% and 40.7%, whereas that of moderate mastitis was 2.6% and 4.1% in dry and wet seasons, respectively. The prevalence of mastitis was higher (P<0.01) in wet than in dry season. On average, 18.7% quarters had mastitis during the wet season and 6.9% in the dry season. In the dry and wet seasons, respectively, 63.9% and 11.2% had completely dry floors, and the prevalence of mastitis was 22.6% and 30.0%. On the other hand, 88.8% and 36.1% of 83 farms had partly or completely wet and soiled floor and the prevalence of mastitis was 40.0% and 59.5% in the dry and wet seasons, respectively. Udder cleanliness, milk yield and peri-parturient diseases significantly (P<0.01) increased the risk of mastitis. The prevalence of mastitis is regarded as quite high. Dry and clean floor to keep cow's udder and teat clean would help control mastitis in the dairy farms of Bangladesh. DOI: 10.3329/bvet.v26i2.4951 Bangl. vet. 2009. Vol. 26, No. 2, 54-60


1990 ◽  
Vol 12 (1) ◽  
pp. 7 ◽  
Author(s):  
AR Eggington ◽  
TH McCosker ◽  
CA Graham

Four supplementation treatments to investigate wet seasons responses were imposed on eight Brahman/Shorthom cross herds totalling 870 animals of all classes (cows and calves, bulls, heifers and steers). They grazed 12,300 ha of native pasture in the Darwin district of the Northern Territory. The treatments were: (i) control (no wet season supplement), (ii) Mineral (Ultraphos - supplementation with 13 minerals during the wet season), (iii) +Protein (Ultrapro-50 - the same 13 minerals plus non-protein nitrogen (WN) and true protein over the wet season), and (iv) Strategic (strategic use of salt, mineral and hTN supplements over the early wet, mid wet and late wet seasons respectively). All treatments received an hTN plus mineral supplement (Uramol) during the dry season. Supplement intakes by the herds were measured monthly for three years. Intake of Salt, Ultraphos and Ultrapro-50 supplements averaged 43, 124 and 149 g/animal/day respectively during the three wet seasons. Losses of the molasses-based block formulations due to rain were small (7%) during the wet season. However, up to one third of each pure salt block was eroded. Intake of Uramol during the three dry seasons averaged 182 g/animal/day across all herds. No urea toxicity problems were noticed over the three years of the supplement programme, despite high intakes during the dry season. All animals consumed some supplement. However, levels of supplement intake: (i) increased with the seasonal decrease in native pasture quality, (ii) decreased with an increase in proportion of paddock burnt, (iii) varied between animal classes, with lactating cows consuming 64% more supplement than non-lactating cows in two of the three years, and (iv) varied between individuals within classes. Individual intake varied widely (from 10 to 835 glanirnallday for lactating cows) with no significant correlation between individual intake and the pregnancy rate or average daily liveweight gain.


1982 ◽  
Vol 35 (3) ◽  
pp. 413-420
Author(s):  
N. G. Buck ◽  
D. Light

ABSTRACTThe breeding records of 2710 lactating cows, of the Africander (1208), Tswana (542) and Tuli (960) breeds, were analysed to examine the effects of breed and environment on reconception. The reconception rate of Africander cows (0·56) was significantly lower than that of Tswana and Tuli cows (0·80 and 0·81 respectively) (P<0·01). The environmental effects of ranch, calving year, calving period and age/parity all had significant effects on reconception (P<0·01). Interactions between breed and the other main effects were all significant.The Africander is considered to be a breed of lower fertility than the other two Sanga breeds, the Tswana and Tuli, in Botswana. The results are discussed with respect to determining management interventions to improve cow reproductive performance.


2020 ◽  
Vol 32 (2) ◽  
pp. 130
Author(s):  
D. Demetrio ◽  
A. Magalhaes ◽  
M. Oliveira ◽  
R. Santos ◽  
R. Chebel

Maddox Dairy, located in Riverdale, CA, USA, is a Holstein herd that milks 3500 cows with a 305-day mature-equivalent milk production of 12 800 kg, and they have been producing high genetic animals by embryo transfer (ET) since the early 1980s. Invivo-derived embryos from Holstein donors were transferred fresh (grade 1 or 2) or frozen (grade 1), at morula (4), early blastocyst (5), or blastocyst (6) stage, to virgin heifers (VH, natural oestrus, 13-15 months old) or lactating cows (LC, Presynch-Ovsynch, 86 days in milk, first or second lactation) 6 to 9 days after oestrus. Pregnancy diagnosis was done by transrectal ultrasonography at 32-46 days in VH and by the IDEXX PAG test at 30 days in LC. June, July, August, September, and October were called critical months (first service AI conception rate drops below 44%) and compared with the other months. The data from 32 503 ETs between January 2008 and December 2018 are summarised on Table 1. Pregnancy rates (PR) are lower for LC recipients than for VH. Embryo transfers performed 7 or 8 days after oestrus had higher PR in both types of recipients and embryos, but Day 6 and 9 oestrus are also used with fair results. The season does not seem to affect PR. There is not enough difference in the combination of stage and days from oestrus for invivo-derived embryos. These numbers do not belong to a planned experiment. Several management changes during the years were made, which make it very difficult to apply statistical methods to analyse the data correctly. They are used as a tool to make decisions in an attempt to improve future results. Table 1.Pregnancy rate (PR) of virgin heifers (top) and lactating cows (bottom)-fresh (SH) and frozen (OZ) invivo-derived embryo transfer1 Heat-months SH-ST4 SH-ST5 SH-ST6 SH-All OZ-ST4 OZ-ST5 OZ-ST6 OZ-All PR% n PR% n PR% n PR% n PR% n PR% n PR% n PR% n Heifers 6 d-CM 62 934 66 243 68 69 63 1246 56 473 58 219 62 42 57 734 6 d-OM 62 1623 67 489 69 211 64 2323 56 600 55 296 48 137 55 1033 6 d-T 62 2557 67 732 69 280 63 3569 56 1073 57 515 51 179 56 1767 7 d-CM 64 1506 68 495 67 221 65 2222 60 822 62 340 63 156 61 1318 7 d-OM 66 2723 68 1021 69 510 67 4254 57 1120 59 581 57 231 58 1932 7 d-T 66 4229 68 1516 69 731 67 6476 58 1942 60 921 60 387 59 3250 8 d-CM 65 1348 64 518 67 322 65 2188 59 595 64 258 63 108 61 961 8 d-OM 66 2166 68 886 70 510 67 3562 61 770 60 364 51 130 60 1264 8 d-T 66 3514 67 1404 69 832 66 5750 60 1365 62 622 56 238 60 2225 9 d-CM 60 109 56 43 70 20 60 172 60 5 33 6 50 4 47 15 9 d-OM 58 129 63 57 60 40 60 226 63 16 50 18 75 4 58 38 9 d-T 59 238 60 100 63 60 60 398 62 21 46 24 63 8 55 53 All-CM 64 3897 66 1299 67 632 65 5828 58 1895 61 823 63 310 60 3028 All-OM 65 6641 67 2453 69 1271 66 10 365 58 2506 58 1259 53 502 58 4267 All-T 65 10 538 67 3752 69 1903 66 16 193 58 4401 60 2082 57 812 59 7295 Lactating cows 6 d-CM 54 265 48 86 50 12 53 363 38 141 31 77 50 10 36 228 6 d-OM 49 463 52 203 45 56 50 723 46 101 48 54 59 27 48 182 6 d-T 51 728 51 289 46 68 51 1086 41 242 38 131 57 37 42 410 7 d-CM 54 755 59 274 56 103 55 1137 43 928 48 450 43 192 45 1570 7 d-OM 55 914 66 367 54 109 58 1393 46 1052 45 564 47 353 46 1969 7 d-T 55 1669 63 641 55 212 57 2530 45 1980 46 1014 46 545 45 3539 8 d-CM 63 252 68 82 76 33 65 368 48 219 56 80 42 33 50 332 8 d-OM 61 257 64 161 53 47 61 466 50 191 53 77 56 16 51 284 8 d-T 62 509 65 243 63 80 63 834 49 410 55 157 47 49 50 616 All-CM 56 1272 58 442 60 148 57 1868 44 1288 47 607 43 235 45 2130 All-OM 55 1634 62 731 51 212 56 2582 47 1344 46 695 48 396 47 2435 All-T 55 2906 60 1173 55 360 57 4450 45 2632 47 1302 46 631 46 4565 1ST=stage; CM=critical months (June, July, August, September, and October); OM=other months.


2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jun Deng ◽  
Zhaoxia Li

&lt;p&gt;Determining the impacts of environmental and socioeconomic factors on nitrogen (N) and phosphorus (P) loss in the watershed is critical to reducing non-point source (NPS) pollution. This paper, we set 13 sampling points in the main stream and tributaries of watershed and sampled every two weeks from 2018 to 2020 to monitor the total nitrogen (TN) and total phosphorus (TP) concentration in the waterbodies. Twenty-six potential influencing factors affecting the nitrogen and phosphorus loss in the watershed were selected. The partial least squares regression (PLSR) was used to determine the relationship between TN and TP concentrations in the watershed and the 26 selected potential influencing factors. The results showed that the mean TN concentrations and mean TP concentrations in the dry season (11.42 mg&amp;#183;L&lt;sup&gt;&amp;#8722;1&lt;/sup&gt; and 0.09 mg&amp;#183;L&lt;sup&gt;&amp;#8722;1&lt;/sup&gt;, respectively) were both less than those in the wet season (13.20 mg&amp;#183;L&amp;#8722;1 and 0.11mg&amp;#183;L&amp;#8722;1, respectively). The optimal PLSR model explained 69.6%, 73.1% and 66.1% of the TN concentration variability, and 65.7%, 79.5% and 67.4% of the TP concentration variability during annual, dry season and wet season, respectively. According to the importance of the variables in the predicted value (VIP), topographic wetness index (TWI), planting structure (PS), interspersion and juxtaposition index (IJI), Orchard land use (OP), nitrogen fertilizer application (NF), per capita income (INCOME) and catchment area (AREA) were the key factors affecting TN concentration, whereas topographic wetness index (TWI), interspersion and juxtaposition index (IJI), population density (POP), slope gradient (SLOPE) and hypsometric integral (HI) were the key controlling factors of TP concentration. In addition, TN concentration was affected by cropland land use (CP) during the dry season and proportion of labor (LABOR) and per capita agricultural land area (ALA) during the wet season. TP concentration was affected by mean patch size (AREA_MN), phosphate fertilizer application (PF) and patch density (PD) during the dry season and residential area (RP) and values during the wet season. This study illustrates the impact of environmental and socioeconomic factors on NPS pollution, and can be used as a guide for effective NPS pollution control and water quality management.&lt;/p&gt;


1930 ◽  
Vol 21 (4) ◽  
pp. 421-428 ◽  
Author(s):  
H. S. Leeson

1. The ornamentation of the wings in Anopheles funestus, Giles, is variable.2. Nine distinct arrangements of the wing scales were observed in a random sample of 1,084 individuals.3. Nearly nine-tenths of the specimens occurred in one group, in which there were dark and pale forms.4. Variations in wing markings are not solely related to sex or to habitat.5. The pale form was more prevalent in the wet season and the dark form in the dry season.6. It is suggested that further study may reveal whether the dark form is the hibernating variety and whether one form is more important as a carrier of malaria than the other, and that these details of wing ornamentation should be recorded in future.


1997 ◽  
Vol 37 (2) ◽  
pp. 141 ◽  
Author(s):  
G. Fordyce ◽  
L. A. Fitzpatrick ◽  
T. J. Mullins ◽  
N. J. Cooper ◽  
D. J. Reid ◽  
...  

Summary. Three experiments were conducted in the dry tropics of north Australia using Bos indicus-cross cows. Cows in mid–late pregnancy were either unsupplemented during the late dry season or offered ad libitum (2 kg/day) molasses with 7.4% urea (w/w) (M8U) or cottonseed meal (1 kg/day) for up to 54 days commencing 2 months before the start of the calving season. Supplementation reduced weight loss in experiments 1 and 2 (P<0.05), but had no significant effect on weight or body condition in experiment 3. Supplementation had no effect on subsequent calf growth or cow lactation yields. Following early wet season rains in experiment 1, 9 and 49% of cows were ovulating 40 and 80 days post-partum, respectively, with no effect of supplementation. In experiment 2, 10 and 100% of cows had ovulated by 60 and 200 days post-partum, respectively. At any time between 80 and 180 days post-partum, supplemented cows were more likely to be cycling (P<0.05), independent of supplementation effects on weight or body condition. The average post-partum interval to oestrus was 30 days less in cows supplemented for 42 days (P = 0.08). In experiment 3, pregnancy rates in 1/2 and 3/4 Brahmans supplemented with M8U for 54 days (MU54) or whose calves were weaned at 2–3 months of age (WEAN) were 14% higher in the latter 2 months of mating than in cows supplemented for less than 40 days. Good seasonal conditions resulted in high pregnancy rates in all mature 5/8 Brahmans; when not weaned early, their average calving to conception interval (CCI) was 54 days (s.e. = 8.5 days). Pregnancy rates of first-lactation 5/8 Brahmans (average CCI of 125 days) supplemented for 39 days or less and weaned when calves averaged 6 months of age were 14–32% lower between 2 and 9 months post-partum than in contemporaries in the MU54 or WEAN treatment groups. It was concluded that dry-season supplementation of mid- to late-pregnant Bos indicus-cross cows with an energy concentrate for 42–54 days (‘spike’ feeding) may reduce post-partum anoestrus intervals via a mechanism which is not dependent on the effects on weight or body condition.


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.


2021 ◽  
Vol 23 (1) ◽  
pp. 12-15
Author(s):  
C. O. N. IKEOBI ◽  
O. A. FALETI

A study was conducted over two years  With the to determine the changes in the liveweight of Yankasa sheep and Maradi goat in goats and sheep in two locations in Ogun State, South-Western Nigeria Factors found to be important included breed of goat, season, location, and sex of the animal. The Maradi goat had a greater variation in its liveweight than the West African' dwarf goat. The mean weekly gain in the liveweight of goats was 0.18±02 dry season and 0.26±0.05 kg in the wet season. Liveweight changes were greater in yearling Yankasa sheep reared in this part of the Southwestern Nigeria than in older ones; these differences were significantly greater in the dry than in the wet season.


1959 ◽  
Vol 50 (2) ◽  
pp. 333-353 ◽  
Author(s):  
P. Symmons ◽  
A. J. M. Carnegie

Observations were made on the red locust, Nomadacris septemfasciata (Serv.), between October 1957 and February 1958 in an area of grassland, six miles long by one mile wide, marked out by beacons and divided lengthwise by a line of beacons down the centre, in the Rukwa Valley of south-west Tanganyika.One half of the plot had been burnt off completely in the latter part of the dry season; the other half was unburnt and carried in part a four-year accumulation of growth and in part an area of standing grass that had regenerated after a damaging fire during the previous wet season and then, for the most part, flooded. Vegetation profiles were made along the whole length of the plot, and rain gauges, soil thermometers and soil tensiometers were installed at regular intervals along the three lines of beacons. Assessments of the population and distribution of adult locusts within the plot were made from Land-Rover or on foot in mid-October, mid-December (ten days after the onset of the rains) and early in January. A systematic search was made for egg-pods, starting at the end of December, along furrows ploughed down the middle of each of a number of narrow strips mown in the grass in sets near each beacon and sampling equally the burnt and unburnt halves of the plot. The first hoppers were seen on 3rd January, and assessments of hopper populations were carried out four times during January.The primary object of the work was to study the effect on choice of oviposition site and on incubation success of the type and condition of the grassland (whether burnt during the previous dry season, at an earlier date, or left unburnt) and its possible bearing on control of the species in an outbreak area. Data were also obtained on the conditions of air temperature, soil moisture, soil temperature and rainfall in which eggs are laid and incubated; and the effect of variations in these factors on oviposition and on incubation success was examined.It was observed that, in the hot, dry conditions of mid-October, adult locusts were completely absent, from the recently burnt-over ground, and were found almost exclusively in that part of the standing grass that had suffered a wet-season burn. By mid-December, the locusts had spread out from the unburnt into the burnt-over zone, where the grass had put out fresh growth, but many were still to be found hi the former, with a concentration along the line of contact with the latter. By early January, the size of the population had been greatly reduced and it was evenly distributed over the whole plot.The distribution of egg-pods snowed that the locusts had laid almost exclusively in the burnt-over zone, about 50 per cent. being found within 0·1 mile of the line of contact with the unburnt zone.The hoppers were likewise almost exclusively confined to the burnt-over zone, and with numbers significantly higher in the ¼-mile band next to the contact line than in the band at ¼–½ mile from it. The numbers of hoppers in the unburnt grass was significantly lower than might have been expected from the results of the egg-pod survey, suggesting that survival was lower there than under fresh grass following a dry-season fire. A subsidiary experiment, in which adult locusts were confined in cages placed on the lately burnt-over zone, the early-burnt and unburnt areas, respectively, suggested that, where there was no choice of oviposition site, the greatest number of surviving egg-pods occurred in the first zone, almost as many in the second and about half as many in the third.During the incubation period, the soil under the unburnt grass was significantly colder, and tended to be moister, to moisten more slowly and to dry out less rapidly than that which had been burnt over. No significant correlation was found between incubation success in the burnt-over zone and total rainfall, mean recorded soil temperature or soil moisture.It is concluded that, since these observations show that, for oviposition, adults of N. fasciata exhibit a very significant preference for ground that has been burnt over in the previous dry season, the burning of selected strips should lead to the concentration of oviposition and, consequently, of hoppers, thus making chemical control of the latter easier and cheaper.There was some evidence, also, that when locusts could not move to bare ground, either oviposition or egg-pod survival (or both) were least successful where the grass cover was thickest.


Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document