Associations between strain, herd size, age at first calving, culling reason and lifetime performance characteristics in Holstein-Friesian cows

Abstract

Cow longevity and lifetime performance traits are good indicators of breeding effectiveness and animal welfare. They are also interrelated with the economics of dairy herd. Unfortunately, a high milk yield is often associated with deteriorated cow health and fertility and, consequently, with an increased culling rate. This situation, observed also in the Polish population of Holstein-Friesian cattle, inspired us to undertake a study on the associations between some factors and lifetime performance characteristics. The data set consisted of the records on 135 496 cows, including 131 526 of the Black and White strain (BW), and 3970 of the Red and White strain (RW) covered by performance recording and culled in 2012. It was found that cows of the BW strain and those from the largest herds (>100 cows) reached higher lifetime and mean daily energy-corrected milk (ECM) yields than cows of the RW strain and those from smaller herds culled at a similar age. Cows youngest at first calving (<2.0 years) were characterised by the highest lifetime ECM yield. It indicates that heifers can be bred even when they are younger than 15 to 16 months with no significant negative effect on their later performance. Infertility and reproduction problems (39.6%) and udder diseases (15.5%) constituted the most frequent reasons for cow culling. Cow longevity and lifetime productivity were considerably affected by the interactions between the studied factors.

Associations between Peak Yield and Peak Day with Productive and Reproductive Traits of Holstein-Friesian Dairy Cows in Egypt

“…However, unfortunately, a high milk yield is often associated with deteriorated cow health and fertility and, consequently, with an increased culling rate (Adamczyk et al, 2017). Moreover, in the period between calving and peak yield, incidences of most health problems, including mastitis are high (Strapakova et al, 2016), and that had a detrimental impact on cows reproductive and milk peak performance (Boujenane et al, 2015).…”

Analysis of Genotype × Environment Interaction for milk production in dairy cow

“…Серед генетичних факторів, що суттєво впивають на рівень молочної продуктивності корів, одним з найбільш важливих є вплив їхнього батька (Broucek et al, 2004;Hammoud et al, 2010;ElBoshra et al, 2016) або його лінії. Так, нащадки чорно-рябих або червоно-рябих голштинських бугаїв вірогідно відрізнялися за середніми прижиттєвими добовими надоями їх дочок (Adamczyk et al, 2017). Було також встановлено, що походження тварин впливає на форму їхньої лактаційної кривої, що позначилося насамперед на рівні пікового значення надоїв протягом 2-3-го місяців їх лактації (Horan et al, 2005).…”

Bovine gonadotrophs express anti-Müllerian hormone (AMH): comparison of AMH mRNA and protein expression levels between old Holsteins and young and old Japanese Black females

“…Ribeiro et al (2014) reported a difference in blood AMH concentrations among dairy cow breeds. Infertility in Holsteins is an important issue in dairy industries worldwide (Kadokawa and Martin 2006;Adamczyk et al 2017;Gernand and König 2018). Therefore, we also evaluated the relationship between AMH expression in APs and various physiological factors, i.e., stage of the estrus cycle, age, and breed.…”