A Study on Milk Yield, Fertility and Milk Quality Characteristics of Primiparous Red-Holstein and Holstein-Friesian Cows

Abstract

The aim of this study was to determine the reproductive characteristics, milk yield and milk quality of Primiparous Red-Holstein (RH) and Holstein-Friesian (HF) cows. For this aim, records and monthly taken milk samples of 83 RH and 14 HF raised on a farm in Aydın, Turkey were used. The averages of the first calving age (FCA), gestation length (GL), days open (DO), calving interval (CI), daily milk yield (DMY), 305-day milk yield (305-dMY), solid non-fat (SNF) and Log10 somatic cell count (Log10SCC) of milk were found to be 27.6±0.24 mo, 278.4±1.09 d, 144.0±7.12 d, 421.4±7.66 d, 22.7±0.21 kg, 6981±137.0 kg, 9.8±0.04% and 4.59±0.024 (38905 cells/ml), respectively. Except for DMY, the differences between the breeds were statistically insignificant for FCA, GL, DO, CI, 305-dMY, SNF and Log10SCC. DMY averages for RH and HF were 21.8±0.21 kg and 24.3±0.49 kg, respectively. The effect of season on FCA and the effect of lactation month on SNF and Log10SCC were also found to be statistically significant. Apart from DMY, not any significant difference was observed between RH and HF breeds in terms of the characteristics emphasized.

A Research on Fertility, Herd Life, Milk Production and Milk Quality Characteristics of Simmental (Fleckvieh) Cows: 1. Reproduction, Herd Life and Milk Production Characteristics

“…The mean FCA found for SIM cattle in this study was lower than all reported values (Akbulut, 1998;Şekerden et al, 1999;Özkan and Güneş, 2011a;Koç, 2016bKoç, , 2017 for the same breed. Akbulut (1998) and Koç (2016b) both of them compiled studies on SIM cattle raised in Türkiye, reported the average of FCA as 908±52.7 days, and 913±37.03 days, respectively.…”

“…The mean CI (422.98±3.18 days) calculated for SIM cattle in this study was determined to be higher than the values reported by Akbulut (1998), Çilek and Tekin (2006), Özkan and Güneş (2011a), Erdem et al (2015), Koç (2016b), Koç and Arı (2020) for the same breed and higher than the averages reported by Koç (2016b) for MB, Koç and Arı (2020) for the RH, Koç et al (2011) for RH. The mean of 446.88±7.06 days calculated for the SIM breed in this study in the first parity is higher than the mean (421.4±7.66 days) reported by Koç and Gürses (2020) for RH and HF breeds at the first parity.…”

“…Fertility, accepted as the basis of all yields in livestock, is also important in terms of transferring genetic variation to the next generation. There are some studies on the fertility of SIM cattle in Türkiye (Akbulut, 1998;Şekerden et al, 1999;Çilek and Tekin, 2006;Özkan and Güneş, 2011a;Erdem et al, 2015;Koç, 2016b;Koç, 2017;Okuyucu et al, 2018;Koç and Arı, 2020).…”

“…Oltenacu (2009) stated that HL is expressed by the proportion of those still alive at the age of 48 months in the north of the USA, and that the ratio of those still alive at this age in HF cows decreased from 80% to 60% between 1957 and 2002, indicating that HL has decreased. There are some studies on HL in cattle in Türkiye and abroad (Savaş et al, 1999;Yaylak, 2003;Işık, 2006;Mundan and Karabulut, 2008;Sawa and Bogucki, 2010;Kara et al, 2010;Boğokşayan and Bakır, 2013;Fouz et al, 2014;Weller and Ezra, 2015;Gavrilă et al, 2015;Olechnowicz et al, 2016;Koç, 2017;Tutka, 2019).…”

“…There are also some previous studies on the milk yield of foreign cattle breeds raised in Türkiye, including the SIM breed (Şekerden and Erdem, 1997;Akbulut, 1998;Şekerden et al, 1999;Koç, 2001;2016b;Çerçi, 2006;Çilek and Tekin, 2006;Yılmaz, 2010;Özkan and Güneş, 2011b;Erdem et al, 2015;Okuyucu et al, 2018;Koç and Arı, 2020;Koç and Gürses, 2020).…”