scholarly journals Three Times a Day Milking: Effects on Milk Production, Reproductive Efficiency, and Udder Health

1986 ◽  
Vol 69 (5) ◽  
pp. 1441-1446 ◽  
Author(s):  
Diana B. Allen ◽  
E.J. DePeters ◽  
R.C. Laben
2007 ◽  
Vol 2007 ◽  
pp. 148-148
Author(s):  
A. Heravi Moussavi ◽  
M. Danesh Mesgaran ◽  
T. Vafa

Reproduction and milk production are the principal factors that are influencing dairy farm profitability. The dairy industry in Iran has changed dramatically in the last decade. The shift toward more productive cows and larger herds in Iran is associated with a decrease reproductive efficiency (Heravi Moussavi et al., 2004). Increased knowledge about the principal causes of reduced fertility is essential. The root cause of the declining fertility is probably a combination of a variety of physiological and management factors that have an additive effect on reproductive efficiency. Dairy cattle are inseminated and pregnancy is established while dairy cows are lactating. Based on the analyses of large datasets, there is clearly an antagonistic relationship between milk production and reproduction in dairy cattle (Lucy, 2001). It was shown that the hazard ratio for cumulative first 60-day milk yield and conception in high producer cows was 8 percent less than the others and also high milk yield was a risk factor for several reproductive disorders (Grohn and Rajala-Schultz, 2000). The objective of this study was to evaluate the effect of first 60-day cumulative milk yield on days open in Iranian Holstein dairy cows.


2020 ◽  
Vol 52 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Thierry Tribout ◽  
Pascal Croiseau ◽  
Rachel Lefebvre ◽  
Anne Barbat ◽  
Mekki Boussaha ◽  
...  

Abstract Background Over the last years, genome-wide association studies (GWAS) based on imputed whole-genome sequences (WGS) have been used to detect quantitative trait loci (QTL) and highlight candidate genes for important traits. However, in general this approach does not allow to validate the effects of candidate mutations or determine if they are truly causative for the trait(s) in question. To address these questions, we applied a two-step, within-breed GWAS approach on 15 traits (5 linked with milk production, 2 with udder health, and 8 with udder morphology) in Montbéliarde (MON), Normande (NOR), and Holstein (HOL) cattle. We detected the most-promising candidate variants (CV) using imputed WGS of 2515 MON, 2203 NOR, and 6321 HOL bulls, and validated their effects in three younger populations of 23,926 MON, 9400 NOR, and 51,977 HOL cows. Results Bull sequence-based GWAS detected 84 QTL: 13, 10, and 30 for milk production traits; 3, 0, and 2 for somatic cell score (SCS); and 8, 2 and 16 for udder morphology traits, in MON, NOR, and HOL respectively. Five genomic regions with effects on milk production traits were shared among the three breeds whereas six (2 for production and 4 for udder morphology and health traits) had effects in two breeds. In 80 of these QTL, 855 CV were highlighted based on the significance of their effects and functional annotation. The subsequent GWAS on MON, NOR, and HOL cows validated 8, 9, and 23 QTL for production traits; 0, 0, and 1 for SCS; and 4, 1, and 8 for udder morphology traits, respectively. In 47 of the 54 confirmed QTL, the CV identified in bulls had more significant effects than single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) from the standard 50K chip. The best CV for each validated QTL was located in a gene that was functionally related to production (36 QTL) or udder (9 QTL) traits. Conclusions Using this two-step GWAS approach, we identified and validated 54 QTL that included CV mostly located within functional candidate genes and explained up to 6.3% (udder traits) and 37% (production traits) of the genetic variance of economically important dairy traits. These CV are now included in the chip used to evaluate French dairy cattle and can be integrated into routine genomic evaluation.


2019 ◽  
Vol 44 (1) ◽  
pp. 47 ◽  
Author(s):  
A. Argiris ◽  
S. I. Santoso ◽  
Y. S. Ondho ◽  
E. Kurnianto

The objective of this study was to develop models for determination the superiority of Holstein bulls as a producer of frozen semen and inheritance of the genetic traits of milk production. The ability of the bull to produce frozen semen per years was analyzed descriptively. Reproductive efficiency of frozen semen in artificial insemination was calculated by service per conception (S/C). Estimation sire breeding value for milk production was calculated by contemporary comparison (CC) method. Model of superiority bulls was analyzed by Structural Equation Model with Partial Least Square method (SEM-PLS). Total average production of frozen semen was 23,109±14,970 doses/year. The average S/C was 2.83. The CC value ranged from -1,865.7 until +1,636.3. Potency of milk production resulted from lactation cow offspring per bulls ranged from 951,749.2 to 52,347,822.9 liters per year. The economic value of bulls based on the potency milk production of offspring ranges from IDR 4,758,745,999 to IDR 261,739,114,505. The superiority of bulls was affected significantly (P<0.05) by frozen semen production, reproductive efficiency and average milk production of daughter cows (DC) as much as 0.59, -0.53 and 0.33, respectively. In conclusion, the superiority of bull can be explained about 78.3% by the production of frozen semen production, reproductive efficiency and milk production of offspring.


1994 ◽  
Vol 74 (2) ◽  
pp. 167-201 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jeanne L. Burton ◽  
Brian W. McBride ◽  
Elliot Block ◽  
David R. Glimm ◽  
John J. Kennelly

Unprecedented numbers of technical papers, abstracts, and short communications have been published in the past decade regarding the effects of exogenous bovine growth hormone on milk production, health, and reproductive efficiency of treated dairy cows. In well-managed dairy herds, exogenous growth hormone increases milk production without altering normal variability in milk composition. This has held true regardless of dairy breed tested, geographical location studied, or feeding management system used. Also consistent across studies is the rapidity of the galactopoietic effect of administered bovine growth hormone, which arises from altered partitioning and use of post-absorptive nutrients and increased synthetic capacity of the mammary gland. Growth hormone and its associated peptide, insulin-like growth factor-I, are now known to provide chronic lipolytic, diabetogenic, and gluconeogenic signals to target tissues culminating in increased mammary gland availability of glucose and nonesterified fatty acids. Together with yet ill-defined effects on mammary secretory tissue, this homeorhetic control of metabolism elicited by exogenous growth hormone is so efficient that treated cows are not more susceptible to metabolic disorders than untreated cows. However, some studies have reported an increased frequency of mastitis in groups of treated cows. This has been attributed mainly to increased milk volume in the mammary glands of treated cows and no convincing data are available that show decreased mammary gland immunity as a result of growth hormone treatments. On the contrary, an expanding body of evidence implicates growth hormone as a key neuroendocrine factor that is required for immunological competence. Trends of decreased reproductive efficiency in cows treated with growth hormone have also been reported, but available data imply that this is probably an indirect effect via prolonged negative energy balance in cows treated in early lactation rather than a direct negative effect on estrous cycling via altered reproductive hormone profiles. The objectives of the present review are to bring into focus and summarize pertinent biological discoveries regarding the treatment of dairy cows with recombinant bovine growth hormone, and to explore areas where additional growth hormone research is needed or warranted. Key words: Growth hormone, somatotropin, dairy cows, insulin-like growth factor-I


2010 ◽  
Vol 93 (5) ◽  
pp. 2168-2175 ◽  
Author(s):  
H.H. Montaldo ◽  
H. Castillo-Juárez ◽  
M. Valencia-Posadas ◽  
E.G. Cienfuegos-Rivas ◽  
F.J. Ruiz-López

2015 ◽  
Vol 13 (3) ◽  
pp. e0503 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ana Villar ◽  
Marta López-Alonso

<p>This paper presents first data on the udder health status of organic dairy farms in Northern Spain and analyses some management and productive characteristics related to milk production comparing with the conventional sector. Five certified organic farms from the Cantabrian Region were monitored monthly from February 2006 to January 2008 and individual samples of all lactating cows were taken from parturition to the end of lactation. Although organic farms in our study showed a great individual variability, overall these were small (&lt;50 lactating cows) traditional farms, with a high degree of pasture (66-82% dry matter intake) and a milk production (average milk yield: 5950 L) 23% lower compared with the reference conventional sector (&lt;50 cow farms). The organic farms had higher (<em>p</em>&lt;0.05) average number of calves per cow (3.93) and a lower number of first-lactation cows (16.9%) than the comparable conventional farms (2.47 calves per cow and 33.1% first-lactation cows). Organic farms showed higher (<em>p</em>&lt;0.05) somatic cell counts (SCC) than the reference conventional farms (mean log<sub>10</sub>±SD for all cows: 5.25±0.49 and 5.06±0.59, respectively). Detailed analysis of the SCC depending on the number of lactation and % of monthly SCC tests with linear scores indicative of udder infection suggest that while the heifers’ sanitary condition at the beginning of their productive cycle was similar in both types of farms, this seems to become worse along the productive cycle in the organics. This could be related to a low use of antibiotics for prophylaxis and treatment of udder infections and merits further investigation.</p>


1998 ◽  
Vol 131 (3) ◽  
pp. 347-351 ◽  
Author(s):  
S. K. HAMADEH ◽  
E. BARBOUR ◽  
M. ABI SAID ◽  
K. DAADAA ◽  
C. G. TARRAF

Spring postpartum reproductive performance was investigated in 19 Awassi and 15 Finn×Texel×Awassi (FTA) crossbred ewes, weaned at 2 months postpartum and simultaneously exposed to rams for a period of 48 days. The study was conducted in 1991/92 in the Bekaa Valley of Lebanon.Postpartum FTA ewes tended to have higher fecundity and prolificacy than those of Awassi ewes. Forty percent of the FTA ewes conceived and gave birth to 1·3 lambs per lambing, while 31·4% of the Awassi ewes conceived and lambed (1·1 lambs per lambing). Lambing to lambing and ram introduction to lambing intervals were similar in both genotypes and confirmed that a sizeable proportion (30–40%) of Awassi ewes and their crosses may rebreed during spring postpartum anoestrus and lamb at c. 8 months interval. Furthermore, relative progesterone values revealed continuous ovarian activity in 16% of Awassi ewes and 40% of FTA ewes and confirmed estimates of conception in ewes. All ewes with continuous ovulation mated and lambed. Weekly estimates of milk production over a 2-month period, starting the second week of lactation, showed that daily milk yields were almost twice as much in Awassi as in FTA ewes (P<0·01). These results indicate the potential for Awassi ewes and their crosses to be incorporated into frequent lambing systems. Reproductive efficiency in these ewes could be monitored efficiently by measuring progesterone at 2-weekly intervals.


2013 ◽  
Vol 80 (3) ◽  
pp. 344-348 ◽  
Author(s):  
J Paul Edwards ◽  
Bernadette O'Brien ◽  
Nicolas Lopez-Villalobos ◽  
Jenny G Jago

The objective of the study was to determine the effect of varying degrees of overmilking on teat-end hyperkeratosis, milk production variables and indicators of udder health during late lactation. This was examined by assessing the effect of four end-of-milking criteria on 181 spring-calving, mixed-age Holstein-Friesian cows, at an average 217±24 d in milk, over a six-week period. The four treatments were: remove cluster once milk flow rate fell to 0·2 kg/min plus 5 s (Ovr0), plus 120 s (Ovr2), plus 300 s (Ovr5), and plus 540 s (Ovr9). Daily measurements included individual cow milk yield, milking duration, overmilking duration, maximum milk flow rate, milk flow rate at cluster removal and the number of cluster re-attachments. Individual cow bulk milk samples were collected weekly at AM and PM milkings to determine composition (fat, protein and lactose) and somatic cell count (SCC; AM only). Teat-end hyperkeratosis score was assessed at weeks 0, 3, 5 and 6. At week 6 mean teat-end hyperkeratosis score of the Ovr2 treatment was not greater than Ovr0, whilst Ovr5 was greater than Ovr2 and Ovr9 was greater than Ovr5 and Ovr2. Milk production, milking characteristics and SCC were not different between treatments, except milking duration and milk flow rate at cluster removal. However, higher teat-end hyperkeratosis scores may have a longer-term impact on indicators of udder health if teat-end condition reaches severe levels. Results indicate that to minimise changes in teat-end condition overmilking should be limited to 2 min, which has implications for milking management in large parlours not fitted with automatic cluster removers.


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