scholarly journals Coefficients of relationship and inbreeding among Finnish Ayrshire and Holstein-Friesian

2008 ◽  
Vol 13 (4) ◽  
pp. 338 ◽  
Author(s):  
T. VAHLSTEN ◽  
E. MÄNTYSAARI ◽  
I. STRANDÉN

Pedigree data from national breeding value evaluations were used in calculation of the coefficient and rate of inbreeding, average coefficient and rate of relationship and generation intervals for the Finnish Ayrshire and Holstein-Friesian dairy cattle populations. The data had 1,366,555 Ayrshire and 377,869 Holstein-Friesian animals. The mean coefficient of inbreeding for Ayrshire and Holstein-Friesian animals born in the 1990s was 2.29% and 0.90%, respectively, and the trend was towards higher inbreeding values. The average coefficient of relationship, mean increase in inbreeding and generation interval was calculated for bulls born between 1976 and 1999, and for cows born between 1986 and 1999. The mean coefficient of relationship of Ayrshire bulls increased 2.22 %-units per generation and inbreeding increased 0.20 %-units per generation during the years studied. The mean coefficient of relationship of Finnish Holstein-Friesian bulls increased 0.96 %-units per generation and inbreeding 0.17 %-units per generation. The mean coefficient of relationship and inbreeding of Ayrshire cows increased 0.38 %-units and 0.31 %-units per generation, respectively. For Holstein-Friesian cows the mean coefficient of relationship and inbreeding increased 0.25 %-units and 0.11 %-units per generation, respectively. Results show that inbreeding is low and it is increasing slowly in both breeds. However, especially the coefficients of relationship of Ayrshire bulls are high in some age classes and this may lead into faster increase in coefficients of inbreeding.;

1998 ◽  
Vol 1998 ◽  
pp. 108-108
Author(s):  
J. A. Fregonesi ◽  
J.D. Leaver

Space allowance could be an important variable affecting production, health, reproductive performance and behaviour of dairy cattle. Also, high and low yielding cows may have different ways of coping with insufficient space allowance. The aim of this experiment was to study the influence of space allowance and milk yield level on the performance and behaviour of strawyard housed dairy cows.The experiment was carried out using 24 Holstein Friesian cows with two groups in early lactation of high (over 30 kg/day milk yield) and two groups in late lactation of low yield (under 25 kg/day milk yield). The groups were allocated to strawyard systems with low stocking density (bed area/cow = 9 m2; pen area/cow = 13.5 m2; feed face width/cow = 1.5 m) or high stocking density (bed area/cow = 4.5 m2; pen area/cow = 6.75 m2; feed face width/cow = 0.75m) conforming to a changeover design with two periods, each of four weeks. The cows were fed a total mixed ration ad libitum and 2kg/cow/day of concentrate in the milking parlour. All animals were milked twice daily.


2015 ◽  
Vol 4 (6) ◽  
pp. 82
Author(s):  
Carlos Santos ◽  
Carlos Moniz ◽  
Cristina Roseiro ◽  
Vera Medeiros ◽  
Isabel Afonso ◽  
...  

<em>Longissimus thoracis</em> and <em>lumborum</em> (LTL) and <em>Gluteus medius</em> (Gm) muscles of culled dairy cows, differing in production status (Ps) at slaughter and carcass weight were assessed for intramuscular fat and myoglobin, color, shear force (SF) and sensorial characteristics, after being aged for 2, 7, 14, 28 and 42 days. Meat from dried-off cows was lighter, redder and had higher yellowness and chroma (<em>P </em>&lt; 0.05) than lactating cows. Meat of finished fed cows improved in color in relation to counterparts directly slaughtered, but not significantly. Color parameters increased with aging time and the mean values of LTL and Gm significantly differed mostly among lactating cows. SF of meat was affected by aging time, muscle type, Ps and by their respective interactions (<em>P</em> &lt; 0.001), with a greater impact in LTL muscle. Meat from LTL muscle of dried-off cows had lower SF (47.30 N) than that of lactating cows (65.61 N) (<em>P</em> &lt; 0.05), but such differences were not significant for Gm muscle. Meat tenderness of finished fed cows was higher than counterparts not finished (<em>P</em> &gt; 0.05). Main effects and the results from their interactions were significant for all sensorial attributes (<em>P</em> &lt; 0.001).


2004 ◽  
Vol 9 (2) ◽  
pp. 143 ◽  
Author(s):  
Torsten Nygaard Kristensen ◽  
Peter Løvendahl ◽  
Peer Berg ◽  
Volker Loeschcke

Animals ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 10 (10) ◽  
pp. 1767
Author(s):  
Patricia I. Colusso ◽  
Cameron E. F. Clark ◽  
Sabrina Lomax

Pre-commercial virtual fence (VF) neckbands (eShepherd®, Agersens, Melbourne, Vic, Australia) can contain cows within a designated area without the need for physical fencing, through associative learning of a paired audio tone and electrical pulse. Cattle are gregarious, so there may be an impact of herd mates on the learning process. To evaluate this, a VF was set 30 m down one of three test paddocks with a feed attractant 70 m past the VF. Twenty-three Holstein-Friesian cows were all fitted with VF neckbands and trained as individuals or in groups (5–6) for four 10 min tests; then, cows were crossed over to the alternate context for two more 10 min tests. The number of cows breaking through the VF and the number of paired stimuli reduced across time (from 82% to 26% and 45% to 14%, respectively, p < 0.01). Cows trained in a group (88%) were more likely to interact with the VF in the crossover compared to those trained as individuals (36%) (p < 0.01), indicating an influence of group members on individual cow response. Individual training is impractical, therefore, future research should evaluate group training protocols ensuring all cows learn the VF to avoid any adverse impacts on animal welfare.


2019 ◽  
Vol 51 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Floor Biemans ◽  
Mart C. M. de Jong ◽  
Piter Bijma

Abstract Background For infectious diseases, the probability that an animal gets infected depends on its own susceptibility, and on the number of infectious herd mates and their infectivity. Together with the duration of the infectious period, susceptibility and infectivity determine the basic reproduction ratio of the disease ($$ R_{0} $$R0). $$ R_{0} $$R0 is the average number of secondary cases caused by a typical infectious individual in an otherwise uninfected population. An infectious disease dies out when $$ R_{0} $$R0 is lower than 1. Thus, breeding strategies that aim at reducing disease prevalence should focus on reducing $$ R_{0} $$R0, preferably to a value lower than 1. In animal breeding, however, $$ R_{0} $$R0 has received little attention. Here, we estimate the additive genetic variance in host susceptibility, host infectivity, and $$ R_{0} $$R0 for the endemic claw disease digital dermatitis (DD) in Holstein Friesian dairy cattle, and estimate genomic breeding values (GEBV) for these traits. We recorded DD disease status of both hind claws of 1513 cows from 12 Dutch dairy farms, every 2 weeks, 11 times. The genotype data consisted of 75,904 single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) for 1401 of the cows. We modelled the probability that a cow got infected between recordings, and compared four generalized linear mixed models. All models included a genetic effect for susceptibility; Models 2 and 4 also included a genetic effect for infectivity, while Models 1 and 2 included a farm*period interaction. We corrected for variation in exposure to infectious herd mates via an offset. Results GEBV for $$ R_{0} $$R0 from the model that included genetic effects for susceptibility only had an accuracy of ~ 0.39 based on cross-validation between farms, which is very high given the limited amount of data and the complexity of the trait. Models with a genetic effect for infectivity showed a larger bias, but also a slightly higher accuracy of GEBV. Additive genetic standard deviation for $$ R_{0} $$R0 was large, i.e. ~ 1.17, while the mean $$ R_{0} $$R0 was 2.36. Conclusions GEBV for $$ R_{0} $$R0 showed substantial variation. The mean $$ R_{0} $$R0 was only about one genetic standard deviation greater than 1. These results suggest that lowering DD prevalence by selective breeding is promising.


1965 ◽  
Vol 45 (3) ◽  
pp. 133-140 ◽  
Author(s):  
A. H. Martin ◽  
J. C. Rennie ◽  
G. H. Bowman

A study of first-lactation records, collected under Canadian Record of Performance and involving 12,815 Holstein–Friesian heifers by A.I. (artificial insemination) sires, and 13,543 Holstein–Friesian heifers by non-A.I. sires, within the same herds and season, revealed a superiority in average breeding value of 4.62 ± 0.48 B.C.A. (breed class average) for milk and 4.98 ± 0.50 B.C.A. for butterfat in favor of the A.I. sires. Expressed in terms of mature equivalent yield the superiorities were 248 ± 26 kg (546 ± 57 lb) milk; and 9.8 ± 1.0 kg (21.6 ± 2.2 lb) butterfat. The difference in butterfat test between the two sire groups was not statistically significant.The total volume of data examined consisted of 33,425 records of cows of all ages. Cows mated to A.I. sires were shown to be slightly superior, both in milk and fat production, to cows mated to non-A.I. sires [Formula: see text]. Adjustment procedures for this source of bias are discussed.Important seasonal differences were demonstrated, emphasizing the necessity of comparisons on a within-season basis.


1999 ◽  
Vol 68 (3) ◽  
pp. 527-532 ◽  
Author(s):  
A. O. Darwash ◽  
G. L. Ward ◽  
G. E. Lamming ◽  
J. A. Woolliams

AbstractIn order to investigate the rationale of manipulating post-ovulation progesterone (P4) concentrations, luteal activity was measured in 10 Holstein-Friesian cows treated with a progesterone-releasing device (CIDR, 1·9 g P4) inserted on the morning of day 2 post-oestrus for a period of 7 days and compared with 10 untreated control animals. Milk samples were collected daily during afternoon milking from 7 days pre- to 24 days post-oestrus and P4 concentrations were measured using enzyme-linked immuno-sorbent assay (ELISA). The milk P4 profiles were used to assess the effects of early post-oestrus P4 elevation on five intervals of the luteal phase. In the treated (T) and control (C) animals, the mean interval from oestrus to P4 rise (≥3 μg/l), was 2·38 (s.e. 0·18) and 4·90 (s.e. 0·28) days, respectively, (P < 0·01). The mean interval from oestrus to the attainment of peak P4 concentrations was not significantly different (P > 0·05) between the T (14·75 (s.e. 1-62) days) and С (14·30 (s.e. 0·70) days) animals, with cows in the T group showing a more variable (F7 9 = 4-30, P < 0·05) interval to the occurrence of the peak. The interval from peak P4 to corpus luteum (CL) regression (when P4 fell below ≥3 μg/l) was not significantly different between the T (4·13 (s.e. 1·30 days) and С (5·60 (s.e. 0·88) days) groups. Furthermore, CIDR insertion did not alter luteal phase length, number of days with P4 concentrations ≥3 μg/l (T = 16·50 (s.e. 0·80) v.C = 15·00 (s.e. 0·47) days) or the interval from oestrus to CL regression (T = 18·88 (s.e. 0·79) v.C = 19·90 (s.e. 0·41) days). We conclude that treatment with CIDR 2 days after oestrus successfully increased the availability of P4 to cows without significantly affecting luteal phase characteristics.


2001 ◽  
Vol 72 (3) ◽  
pp. 539-546 ◽  
Author(s):  
A. O. Darwash ◽  
G. E. Lamming ◽  
M. D. Royal

AbstractThe objective of the present study was to evaluate the efficacy of a prostaglandin F2α(PGF2α) and progesterone (P4) treatment in initiating oestrus and ovulation post partum (PP) in Holstein-Friesian cows. Using four herds, the treatment protocol consisted of a single intra-muscular injection of PGF2α(Estrumate) between days 12 to 14 PP followed 48 h later by progesterone treatment via intra-vaginal CIDR insertion for a period of 7 days. Milk samples for progesterone determination were collected three times weekly from 7 to 65 days PP. The ovarian activity and reproductive performance of treated (T, no. = 153) animals and untreated control cows (C, no. = 315) were compared. Treatment was effective (P< 0·001) in reducing the mean interval to PP commencement of luteal activity from 29·62 (s.e. 0·82) days to 22·09 (s.e. 0·70) days. The mean interval to first PP oestrus in the T animals was significantly reduced (P< 0·001) from 55·62 (s.e. 1·58) days to 44·91 (s.e. 1·44) days and the incidence of silent ovulation in cycles between days 21 to 65 PP was reduced (P< 0·001) from 56·28% to 42·27%. In two herds under one management regime and with a similar block-calving pattern (no. = 280 animals), the treatment protocol was beneficial to the overall reproductive performance as there was a significant shortening in the mean interval to first PP service (75·82 (s.e. 1·93) v. 80·86 (s.e. 1·32) days) and in the interval to PP conception (83·07 (s.e. 2·49) v. 88·90 (s.e. 1·95) days), bothP< 0·05.


1998 ◽  
Vol 1998 ◽  
pp. 108-108
Author(s):  
J. A. Fregonesi ◽  
J.D. Leaver

Space allowance could be an important variable affecting production, health, reproductive performance and behaviour of dairy cattle. Also, high and low yielding cows may have different ways of coping with insufficient space allowance. The aim of this experiment was to study the influence of space allowance and milk yield level on the performance and behaviour of strawyard housed dairy cows.The experiment was carried out using 24 Holstein Friesian cows with two groups in early lactation of high (over 30 kg/day milk yield) and two groups in late lactation of low yield (under 25 kg/day milk yield). The groups were allocated to strawyard systems with low stocking density (bed area/cow = 9 m2; pen area/cow = 13.5 m2; feed face width/cow = 1.5 m) or high stocking density (bed area/cow = 4.5 m2; pen area/cow = 6.75 m2; feed face width/cow = 0.75m) conforming to a changeover design with two periods, each of four weeks. The cows were fed a total mixed ration ad libitum and 2kg/cow/day of concentrate in the milking parlour. All animals were milked twice daily.


2017 ◽  
Vol 65 (1) ◽  
pp. 60-65
Author(s):  
Boglárka Vincze ◽  
András Gáspárdy ◽  
Levente Kovács ◽  
Ervin Albert ◽  
Luca Kézér ◽  
...  

Transabdominal ultrasonography has been shown to be a useful and reliable method for assessing fetal well-being in horses and cattle. To test the applicability of fetal aortic diameter measurement in cattle, 44 late-term pregnant cows and heifers were examined 21 to 0 days prior to calving. Mean fetal aortic diameter was 2.07 ± 0.14 cm and mean fetal heart rate (FHR) was 109 ± 17 bpm. Three dead calves were dissected and their aortic diameter was measured in a water bath. The mean birth weight (n = 44) was 39.9 ± 5.8 kg. There was a significant negative correlation between FHR and fetal aortic diameter. However, although some studies have shown that fetal aortic diameter strongly correlates with birth weight in near-term horses and cattle, in this study there was no correlation between fetal aortic diameter and birth weight in Holstein-Friesian cows and heifers irrespective of whether the fetus was born alive or dead.


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