scholarly journals Effect of short period feed supplementation during early lactation on performance of cows and calves raised in extensive system

2011 ◽  
Vol 40 (6) ◽  
pp. 1381-1387 ◽  
Author(s):  
Cássio Cassal Brauner ◽  
Marcelo Alves Pimentel ◽  
Leonardo de Melo Menezes ◽  
Jean Pierre Martins Machado ◽  
José Carlos Ferrugem Moraes

Thirty-two multiparous Angus cows at moderate body condition score (3 in a 1-5 scale) received feed supplementation at the beginning of lactation for a short time to determine the effect on milk yield and composition and on performance of cows and calves. Supplementation started on days 22 ± 3.2 after calving. The cows were randomly distributed into two groups (n =16), one group receiving feed supplementation for 35 days (supplemented group), and the other without supplementation (control group). Each cow received 0.6% of its body weight in individual troughs daily. Both groups were kept in native pasture condition during supplementation period. Milk yield evaluation, performance of cows and calves were controlled on day 0 (initial), day 14 (middle) and day 35 (final) of the supplementation period. There was no effect of feed supplementation on milk yield or on any other milk component in both groups, and on calf performance as well. Milk composition differed among periods, when fat was the highest in the middle of supplementation and lactose was the highest in the end of the period. Supplemented cows presented more daily average weight gain at the final period of supplementation than cows from the control group. Beef cow with moderate body condition score can gain weight during the lactation period as a response to increase of energy availability in a short period without any influence on milk production and composition as well as a consequence on calf performance.

2020 ◽  
Vol 44 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Yuni Suranindyah ◽  
Budi Prasetyo Widyobroto ◽  
Sulvia Dwi Astuti ◽  
Tridjoko Wisnu Murti ◽  
Adiarto Adiarto

The study aimed to describe lactation characteristic of Etawah Crossed Breed goats raised under intensive management. The study located in BBPTU HPT Baturraden, Purwokerto, used 27 female pregnant goats, at 24 to 27 months old. The goats were managed followed standard operating procedure of the research institute. The data consisted of body size and body weight, colostrum and milk yield, lactation period and reproductive performance. The results showed the average of daily milk yield, lactation period, total milk and colostrum production in first lactation were 960±340 mL/day, 157±41 days, 114,720±68,900 mL and 415±240 mL/day. The proportion of monthly milk production from initial lactation to dry off were 21.27, 22.17, 20.18, 17.29, 12.52, 9.13, and 5.65% of total lactation yield, respectively. Peak production ranged from first to second months of lactation, the highest was in the week 4th, averaged of 1080 mL/day. Production persistency was 66.39%. The rate of increase toward peak was 5.60%/week and rate of decline from peak was -3.92% of milk yield in the previous week. Trend equation of lactation curve was Y = 8412.7 –233.65 x. Means period of postpartum mating, service per conception and body condition score were 88.7±39.2 days, 1.2 and 3.45, respectively. There was no correlation between postpartum mating, body condition score and milk production. The study concluded that Etawah Crossed Breed goat under intensive management had short lactation period, early peak production, low persistency. The dry period was estimated 3 months and pregnancy occurred after peak production. 


Author(s):  
Quang V. Nguyen ◽  
Hung V. Le ◽  
Don V. Nguyen ◽  
Peter Nish ◽  
John R. Otto ◽  
...  

The Australian dairy sheep industry is small and mostly based on a natural grass grazing system which can limit productivity. The current study tested different plant oil-infused and rumen protected polyunsaturated fats and their interactions with sire breeds to improve lactation traits and body condition score (BCS) of ewes grazing low quality pastures. It was hypothesised that supplementing lactating ewe diets plant-derived polyunsaturated oils will improve milk production and composition without compromising BCS. Sixty ewes (n=10/treatment) in mid-lactation, balanced by sire breed, parity, milk yield, body condition score, and liveweight were supplemented with: 1) control: wheat-based pellets without oil inclusion; wheat-based pellets including 2) canola oil (CO); 3) rice bran oil (RBO); 4) flaxseed oil (FSO), 5); safflower oil (SFO) and 6) rumen protected fat containing eicosapentaenoic acid and docosahexaenoic acid (RPO).  Except for the control group, all supplementary diets included the same level of 50 ml/kg DM of oil and all diets were isocaloric and isonitrogenous. Experimental animals were grazed in the same paddock with ad libitum access to pasture, hay and water during the 10-week study. RPO was the most effective diet that enhanced milk, fat and protein yields by approximately 30, 13, and 31% respectively (P<0.0001). Significant increase in milk production was also observed in CO, RBO, and SFO (P<0.0001). Breed significantly influenced animal performance with higher milk yield recorded for crossbred Awassi x East Friesian (AW x EF) (578 g/day) vs purebred Awassi (452 g/day) (P<0.0001). This study provides empirical evidence for the use of rumen-protected and plant-derived oil-infused pellets as supplements under low quality pasture grazing conditions, to improve production performance of purebred Awassi and crossbred AW x EF ewes.


2020 ◽  
Vol 60 (13) ◽  
pp. 1598
Author(s):  
Hani M. El-Zaiat ◽  
Dyaaeldin Mohamed ◽  
Sobhy M. Sallam

Effects of rumen-protected fat (RPF) on suppressing the negative performance responses in early lactation period of Holstein dairy cows were investigated. Three hundred multiparous Holstein cows (647 ± 16 kg bodyweight and 90 days in milk (DIM)) were randomly housed into three free-stall barns (100 cows per barn) and assigned to the treatments for 90 days, as follows: (1) control (CTL) diet without RPF; (2) calcium salt of palm fatty acids (CaFA) 30 g/kg DM, and (3) fractionated fatty acids of palm oil (FFA) 25 g/kg DM. Cows were fed total mixed ration containing 580 g of concentrate and 420 g of roughage per kilogram DM. Cows fed FFA exhibited a higher (P < 0.05) DM intake and body condition score than did those fed CaFA or CTL diets respectively. Moreover, cows fed the FFA diet showed decreased (P < 0.05) changes to bodyweight at 30 DIM and to body condition score at 60 DIM and increased digestibility of ether extract and neutral detergent fibre. Blood concentrations of triglycerides, cholesterol and glucose were higher (P < 0.05) for cows fed FFA diet than for those fed the other diets, between 4 and 30 DIM, whereas concentrations of non-esterified fatty acids, β-hydroxybutyric acid and urine ketones were lower for cows fed RPF sources (P < 0.05). Relative to CTL diet, CaFA and FFA diets increased (P < 0.05) milk yield and milk fat content at 4–30 DIM. Feeding FFA improved feed efficiency by 8.9% (P = 0.006), between 31 and 60 DIM, compared with CaFA. Inclusion of a palmitic acid-enriched fat supplement in Holstein cow diet increased milk yield and fat content and mitigated the deleterious effects of metabolic disorders during the early lactation period.


Sensors ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 21 (4) ◽  
pp. 1414
Author(s):  
Ramūnas Antanaitis ◽  
Vida Juozaitienė ◽  
Dovilė Malašauskienė ◽  
Mindaugas Televičius ◽  
Mingaudas Urbutis ◽  
...  

The aim of the current study was to evaluate the relation of automatically determined body condition score (BCS) and inline biomarkers such as β-hydroxybutyrate (BHB), milk yield (MY), lactate dehydrogenase (LDH), and progesterone (mP4) with the pregnancy success of cows. The cows (n = 281) had 2.1 ± 0.1. lactations on average, were 151.6 ± 0.06 days postpartum, and were once tested with “Easy scan” ultrasound (IMV imaging, Scotland) at 30–35 d post-insemination. According to their reproductive status, cows were grouped into two groups: non-pregnant (n = 194 or 69.0% of cows) and pregnant (n = 87 or 31.0% of cows). Data concerning their BCS, mP4, MY, BHB, and LDH were collected each day from the day of insemination for 7 days. The BCS was collected with body condition score camera (DeLaval Inc., Tumba, Sweden); mP4, MY, BHB, and LDH were collected with the fully automated real-time analyzer Herd Navigator™ (Lattec I/S, Hillerød, Denmark) in combination with a DeLaval milking robot (DeLaval Inc., Tumba, Sweden). Of all the biomarkers, three differences between groups were significant. The body condition score (BCS) of the pregnant cows was higher (+0.49 score), the milk yield (MY) was lower (−4.36 kg), and milk progesterone in pregnant cows was (+6.11 ng/mL) higher compared to the group of non-pregnant cows (p < 0.001). The pregnancy status of the cows was associated with their BCS assessment (p < 0.001). We estimated that cows with BCS > 3.2 were 22 times more likely to have reproductive success than cows with BCS ≤ 3.2.


2003 ◽  
Vol 86 (6) ◽  
pp. 2193-2204 ◽  
Author(s):  
D.P. Berry ◽  
F. Buckley ◽  
P. Dillon ◽  
R.D. Evans ◽  
M. Rath ◽  
...  

2019 ◽  
Vol 59 (1) ◽  
pp. 148
Author(s):  
Geoffry Fordyce ◽  
Kerri Chandra

Growth of 1368 Brahman cross heifers from 6 year cohorts was monitored over the 2 years post-weaning in Australia’s northern forest, a low-animal-growth dry tropical environment. Heifers weighing 47–266 kg at weaning were managed in groups weighing &lt;100 kg, 100–149 kg, 150–199 kg, and &gt;199 kg during the post-weaning dry season. Weaner heifers were allocated to receive 300 g/day of a protein meal during the dry season or to basic nutritional management to sustain health. Heifers in three cohorts were allocated to first mating at 1 or 2 years of age, in four cohorts to vaccination against androstenedione, and in a small proportion of two cohorts to ovariectomy post-weaning. Growth was highly variable between seasons and years; average cohort liveweight by the start of 2-year-old mating was 256–319 kg. Heifer groups not receiving protein supplementation gained –16 to 21 kg (2 kg average) during 6-month dry seasons, and 49–131 kg (101 kg average) during wet seasons to reach an average of two-thirds of mature liveweight (445 kg) and 95% of mature hip height (1350 mm) by the start of mating at 2 years. Average body condition score (1–5) fluctuated by 1–2 units between seasons. Hip height gain continued, irrespective of season, commencing at ~0.60 mm/day at 6 months of age, and decelerating by ~0.00075 mm/day through to 2.5 years of age. Standard errors of predicted means across analyses were ~0.015 for average daily weight gains, 0.4 mm for average monthly height gain and 0.06 score units for average seasonal body condition score change. Post-weaning dry-season supplementation increased gains in liveweight, height and body condition score by an average of 0.1 kg/day, 0.1 mm/day and 0.5 units, respectively, during the supplementation period. Periods of poor nutrition or high nutritional demand secondary to reproduction suppressed daily gains in liveweight and hip height, at which times body condition score was also reduced. Subsequent to this, partial to full compensation occurred for all measures. Ovariectomy had negative effects on growth. Androstenedione vaccination had no effect on growth. The main conclusion is that heifer growth in Australia’s dry tropical northern forest region is highly variable between seasons and years, thus limiting significant proportions of some cohorts from reaching target weights for mating at 2 years of age, even after compensatory growth.


2008 ◽  
Vol 53 (No. 9) ◽  
pp. 357-367 ◽  
Author(s):  
F. Jílek ◽  
P. Pytloun ◽  
M. Kubešová ◽  
M. Štípková ◽  
J. Bouška ◽  
...  

The objective of this study was to confirm the relationship among body condition score at the time around parturition, milk yield in subsequent lactation, reproductive efficiency and BCS development in Czech Fleckvieh dairy cows. The BCS and milk yield were measured once a month and the cows were divided into groups according to their BCS before and after calving. Next, data from the database of cattle reproduction of the Czech Fleckvieh herd book were used. The dataset was analyzed by multifactorial analysis of variance using procedures COOR and GLM of the statistical program SAS. Cows with lower BCS in the 1<sup>st</sup> month after calving showed an increase in both milk yield and fat and protein corrected milk (FPCM) yield. No significant relationship was found between the BCS level before calving and subsequent milk yield. The body condition level in the last month before parturition influenced its subsequent decrease in the first phase of lactation. The group of cows with the highest BCS level before calving retained a high BCS level in the first five months of lactation. Adequately, the group of cows with the lowest BCS in the first month of lactation had the lowest BCS in the next four months. BCS before calving was not related to reproduction indicators, but the significant effect of BCS in the 1<sup>st</sup> month after calving on the length of calving to the first service interval was confirmed. The group of cows with BCS > 3.5 in the 1<sup>st</sup> month after calving had the most favourable reproduction indicators, also when the milk yield level was taken into account.


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