Association between growth rates, age at first calving and subsequent fertility, milk production and survival in Holstein-Friesian heifers

Cooke, Jessica S.; Cheng, Zhangrui; Bourne, N.; Wathes, D C

doi:10.4236/ojas.2013.31001

Cited by 65 publications

(85 citation statements)

References 38 publications

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“…A decrease in AFC from 27 to 24 months of age was associated with a 10% reduction in the odds of removal from the herd (Archer et al, 2013). This is echoed in a recent study, where heifers with an AFC of 23 to 25 months of age outperform later calving compatriots in terms of fertility, milk production and survival for first 5 years of life (Cooke et al, 2013). The main reason discussed for removal of first lactation heifers from a herd is due to poor fertility performance (Evans et al, 2006;Brickell and Wathes, 2011), with a high AFC being connected with worse fertility performance in the first lactation (Zavadilová and Zink, 2013).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 84%

The association between age at first calving and survival of first lactation heifers within dairy herds

Sherwin

Hudson

Henderson

et al. 2016

Animal

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The objective of this research was to evaluate the survival rate of primiparous heifers within a large sample of herds across the United Kingdom and specifically to assess the association between age at first calving (AFC) on their survival. Data from 437 herds were re-structured for analysis. Descriptive statistics were calculated, and a multilevel logistic regression model was used to explore factors associated with the risk of first lactation culling. Potential explanatory variables included AFC, herd size, culling rate within the whole herd, calving season, herd mean 305-day yield and herd mean calving interval. The mean within-herd culling rate for the primiparous heifers was 15.9%. The mean within-herd AFC was 29.6 months, with 35.9% of heifers having an AFC >30 months of age. Multivariable analysis revealed a negative association between survival rate of primiparous heifers and increasing AFC, and also associations with herd culling rate in older cows and calving season. This study highlights the importance of AFC for survival of primiparous heifers, as well as the need to address heifer wastage in herds with high culling rates.Keywords: age at first calving, heifers, longevity, culling ImplicationsThis study has identified that culling rate of primiparous heifers during first lactation varies greatly between farms and that the age at first calving (AFC) has a significant association with this. This study highlights the importance of maintaining an AFC of 23 to 24 months of age because prolonged AFC leads to a greater wastage of primiparous heifers with associated financial losses. IntroductionHeifer rearing is a key financial component of most dairy farms, with the rearing of replacements accounting for 15% to 20% of total dairy production costs (Heinrichs, 1993). The importance of replacement rate and the target number of replacements for each individual farm is dependent upon the culling rate of that particular farm. The annual culling rate within UK dairy herds has previously been reported to be between 22% and 25% (Esslemont and Kossaibati, 1997;Whitaker et al., 2000;Bell et al., 2010). Culls have traditionally been classified as voluntary or involuntary; however, another classification is 'forced culls' and 'economic culls'. Forced culls are those cows for which no possible productive future exists and economic culls are those cows for which a decision has been made that replacing them with another cow is a sensible economic option (Fetrow et al., 2006). As the majority of the culls on farm are economic (Orpin and Esslemont, 2010), this indicates that the incoming replacement animal needs to be a better financial option for the farm. Previous research highlights that the costs of rearing a replacement are not recovered until the second lactation (Archer et al., 2013), therefore it is imperative that replacement heifers survive to their second lactation.A variety of studies have recently investigated the survival rates of primiparous heifers. A study in Spain reported that 8.4% of 7768 Holstein heife...

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 84%

The association between age at first calving and survival of first lactation heifers within dairy herds

Sherwin

Hudson

Henderson

et al. 2016

Animal

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“…These differences may relate to differences in ages at which puberty is reached and/or nutritional management in different studies. A reduction in IGF-1 concentrations in beef heifers by immunisation against growth hormone releasing factor (GRF) reduced follicular growth and delayed puberty whereas treatment with bovine somatotrophin (bST) from 7 months of age increased IGF-1 levels and was associated with earlier puberty (Cooke et al, 2013). Interestingly the bST treatment did not alter growth rate but both backfat thickness and leptin concentrations were reduced in the treated animals.…”

Section: Timing Of Pubertymentioning

confidence: 97%

“…On the other hand, Simerl et al (1991) and Bach (2011) both reported that the AFC could be reduced to 22 months without an increased frequency of problems at parturition. At the other extreme, overconditioned animals are also at greater risk of calving problems and this is more likely to occur in animals with delayed first breeding or poor initial fertility which therefore have an increased AFC (Cooke et al, 2013).…”

Section: Influence Of Heifer Rearing System On Subsequent Performancementioning

confidence: 99%

“…Several groups have reported that a younger AFC in dairy heifers does not reduce, or may even increase, the first lactation yields, providing the animals are sufficiently well grown and the AFC is not less than 23 months (Ettema and Santos, 2004;Macdonald et al, 2005;Sakaguchi et al, 2005;Cooke et al, 2013). An AFC below 23 months is however generally detrimental with a large study by Eastham (2012) of UK dairy cows showing that heifers with an AFC < 23 months underperformed by producing less milk in each of lactations 1 to 4.…”

Section: Milk Productionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Heifer fertility and carry over consequences for life time production in dairy and beef cattle

Wathes

Pollott

Johnson

et al. 2014

Animal

141

116

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The rearing period has a key influence on the later performance of cattle, affecting future fertility and longevity. Producers usually aim to breed replacement heifers by 15 months to calve at 24 months. An age at first calving (AFC) close to 2 years (23 to 25 months) is optimum for economic performance as it minimises the non-productive period and maintains a seasonal calving pattern. This is rarely achieved in either dairy or beef herds, with average AFC for dairy herds usually between 26 and 30 months. Maintaining a low AFC requires good heifer management with adequate growth to ensure an appropriate BW and frame size at calving. Puberty should occur at least 6 weeks before the target breeding age to enable animals to undergo oestrous cycles before mating. Cattle reach puberty at a fairly consistent, but breed-dependent, proportion of mature BW. Heifer fertility is a critical component of AFC. In US Holsteins the conception rate peaked at 57% at 15 to 16 months, declining in older heifers. Wide variations in growth rates on the same farm often lead to some animals having delayed first breeding and/or conception. Oestrous synchronisation regimes and sexed semen can both be used but unless heifers have been previously well-managed the success rates may be unacceptably low. Altering the nutritional input above or below those needed for maintenance at any stage from birth to first calving clearly alters the average daily gain (ADG) in weight. In general an ADG of around 0.75 kg/day seems optimal for dairy heifers, with lower rates delaying puberty and AFC. There is some scope to vary ADG at different ages providing animals reach an adequate size by calving. Major periods of nutritional deficiency and/or severe calfhood disease will, however, compromise development with long-term adverse consequences. Infectious disease can also cause pregnancy loss/abortion. First lactation milk yield may be slightly lower in younger calving cows but lifetime production is higher as such animals usually have good fertility and survive longer. There is now extensive evidence that as long as the AFC is > 23 months then future performance is not adversely influenced. On the other hand, delayed first calving > 30 months is associated with poor survival. Underfeeding of young heifers reduces their milk production potential and is a greater problem than overfeeding. Farmers are more likely to meet the optimum AFC target of 23 to 25 months if they monitor growth rates and adjust feed accordingly.

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“…Management decisions on planes of nutrition, housing, disease control and breeding all influence growth and development [3] [4]. This, in turn, will affect the age at conception and the age at first calving (AFC), which can have long term economic consequences [5].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

A Study of Dairy Heifer Rearing Practices from Birth to Weaning and Their Associated Costs on UK Dairy Farms

Boulton¹,

Rushton²,

Wathes³

2015

OJAS

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There are many inputs into the dairy replacement herd which impact not only on the cost of rearing heifers from birth to first calving, but also on their future longevity and production potential. This study determined the current cost of rearing dairy heifers in the UK through the calculation and analysis of individual costs on a subset of 102 UK dairy farms. Each farm was visited and an extensive heifer rearing questionnaire was completed. Current heifer rearing practices were recorded to provide insight into critical management decisions. A cost analysis workbook was developed to calculate the costs of inputs in the pre-weaning period for labour, calving, feed, housing, health treatments and vaccinations, waste storage, machinery and equipment, and utilities. The average age at weaning was 62 d. The mean cost of rearing from birth to weaning was £195.19 per heifer with a mean daily cost of £3.14 (excluding the opportunity cost of the calf). This ranged from £1.68 to £6.11 among farms, reflecting major differences in management strategies and efficiency. The highest contribution to total costs came from feed (colostrum, milk, starter and forage) at 48.5% with milk feeding making up the greatest proportion of this at 37.3%. The next major expenses were bedding and labour, contributing 12.3% and 11.2% respectively. Unsurprisingly, delaying age at weaning increased total cost by £3.53 per day. Total costs were on average 45% higher on organic farms than conventional due to higher feed costs and later weaning. Calving pattern also had a strong association with the total cost being lowest with spring calving, intermediate with autumn calving and highest in multi block and all year round calving herds.

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Association between growth rates, age at first calving and subsequent fertility, milk production and survival in Holstein-Friesian heifers

Cited by 65 publications

References 38 publications

The association between age at first calving and survival of first lactation heifers within dairy herds

The association between age at first calving and survival of first lactation heifers within dairy herds

Heifer fertility and carry over consequences for life time production in dairy and beef cattle

A Study of Dairy Heifer Rearing Practices from Birth to Weaning and Their Associated Costs on UK Dairy Farms

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