The objective of this study was to estimate the relation of body condition score (BCS) near calving to the body condition change in early lactation, the reproductive performance, milk yield and culling rate in the first lactation Estonian Holstein dairy cows. Cows were divided into three groups based on their BCS at calving; thin, BCS ≤3.0 (n=29); moderate, BCS 3.25–3.5 (n= 48); and fat, BCS ≥3...

Two studies were performed to evaluate the effects of dried distillers grains with solubles (DDGS) on the lactational performance of dairy cows. The intent of experiment 1 was to evaluate the effects of feeding increasing concentrations of DDGS on the feed intake and production of Holstein dairy cows. Twenty multiparous Holstein cows averaging 76 +/- 24 d in milk and 638 +/- 68 kg of body weigh...

The aim of the present study was to investigate the changing profiles of plasma metabolic hormones during the ovarian cycles of beef and dairy cattle. We used 16 non-pregnant, non-lactating Japanese Black beef cattle (6 heifers and 10 cows; parity=2.3 +/- 0.8) and 12 multiparous Holstein dairy cows (parity=3.0 +/- 0.3). Blood samples for hormonal analysis (growth hormone, GH; insulin-like growt...

A study was carried out to investigate the effect of restricting silage feeding on time of calving and calving performance in Holstein-Friesian cows. In the treatment group (n = 1,248 cows, 12 herds) silage feeding commenced in the evening (17:00 to 20:00 h), after a period of restricted access (2 to 10 h) while in the control group ad-libitum access to silage was provided over the 24 h period ...

the aim of the study was to detect allelic and genotypic frequencies of a variants of betacasein (csn2) in Holstein cows and bulls in slovakia and to analyze milk production traits of tested cows in dependence on their csn2 genotypes. totally, 92 cows at the first parity and 5 bulls were tested. The samples were taken from cow’s vaginal smear and bull’s semen. DNA analyses were performed using ...

Utilizing pasture-based systems may increase cow comfort during late gestation and calving as it lacks the constraints of confinement housing. The objective of this study was to quantify lying behavior and activity of Holstein dairy cows housed on pasture during the 6 d before calving. Sixteen Holstein dairy cows were moved to pasture 3 weeks before their projected calving date. Data loggers we...

The detrimental effects of heat stress on fertility in cattle are less pronounced in heat-tolerant breeds. Although these genetic differences reflect differences in thermoregulation, cells from heat-tolerant breeds are less adversely compromised by increased temperature (that is, heat shock) than cells from heat-sensitive breeds. Experiments were performed to test the hypothesis that cells and ...

OBJECTIVE The aim of the current study was to describe the relationship between milk yield and lactation number, stage, length and milking frequency in Korean Holstein dairy cows using an automatic milking system (AMS). METHODS The original data set consisted of observations from April to October 2016 of 780 Holstein cows, with a total of 10,751 milkings. Each time a cow was milked by an AMS ...

As ruminants are able to digest fibre efficiently and assuming that competition for feed v. food use would intensify in the future, cereals and other field crops should primarily be destined to cover the dietary needs of humans and monogastric animals such as poultry and pigs. Farming systems with a reduced or absent concentrate supplementation, as postulated by organic agriculture associations...

Association Between β-Defensin Gene Polymorphism and Clinical Mastitis in Holstein Dairy Cows: A Case-Control Study