The dairy farming systems of Western Europe are based on a simple feeding system composed of grazed and preserved grass, maize silage and concentrates in variable proportions. There is, nevertheless, a great diversity of feeding strategies between dairy farms. Over 5 years, we studied the direct and delayed effects of four feeding strategies on the lactation and reproduction performances of Hol...

Pure Holsteins (n = 380) were compared to Normande/Holstein crossbreds (n = 245), Montbeliarde/Holstein crossbreds (n = 494), and Scandinavian Red/Holstein crossbreds (n = 328) for 305-d milk, fat, and protein production during first lactation. Scandinavian Red was a mixture of Swedish Red and Norwegian Red. Cows were housed at 7 commercial dairies in California and calved from June 2002 to Jan...

The conformation traits of cows are heritable and linked with functionality and longevity. The dominant dairy breed in Europe is the Holstein. The objectives of this study were to evaluate exterior traits dependence on genotype of Lithuanian Black and White cows according to the degree of Holstein genes. For analysis, the conformation traits data of 53160 cows (in average of 2.7±0.01 lactation)...

Previously, our laboratory showed that Holstein cattle experimentally infected with Neospora caninum develop parasite-specific CD4+ cytotoxic T lymphocytes (CTL) that lyse infected, autologous target cells through a perforin-granzyme pathway. To identify specific parasite antigens inducing bovine CTL and helper T-lymphocyte responses for vaccine development against bovine neosporosis, the tachy...

the objective of this study was to evaluate the effects of sources of four starch on milk production and composition, nutrients digestibility and blood metabolites of lactating holstein cows. eight multiparous holstein cows (683±31 kg of body weight; 83±9 dim) were used in a replicated 4×4 latin square design with 21-d periods. the exprimental diets contained wheat, barley, corn, or potato as t...

The objectives of this study were to determine estrus behavior, interval to estrus, duration of estrus and time of ovulation of Boran, and Boran × Holstein Friesian (HF) breeds. A total of 113 cows and heifers from the two breeds were synchronized with two estrus synchronization protocols: 1) estradiol benzoate (EB) + controlled internal drug release (CIDR) + prostaglandin (PGF2α); and 2) gonad...

Daily milk records of 88 cows in a multibreed dairy herd were used to describe lactation curves and test the ability of seven models to predict daily milk yields, and accumulated 100-d and 305-d milk yields. The seven mathematical models were a gamma function, a mixed log second-degree polynomial model, and five polynomial regression models. Cows were of three breed groups: Holstein Friesian (H...

Holstein is known to provide higher milk yields than most other cattle breeds, and the dominant position of Holstein today is the result of various selection pressures. Holstein cattle have undergone intensive selection for milk production in recent decades, which has left genome-wide footprints of domestication. To further characterize the bovine genome, we performed whole-genome resequencing ...

A high incidence (about 70%) of alteration in endometrial epidermal growth factor (EGF) profile, i.e., loss of 2 peaks on days 2-4 and 13-14, has been linked to a reduced fertility in multiparous repeat breeder Holstein cows. However, the EGF profile in Holstein heifers and other breeds (types) of cattle has not been investigated. In study 1, EGF concentrations were determined using endometrial...

The aim of the present study was to assess the effects of Holstein dam’s colostrum and milk on growth rate, immunoglobulin levels, and metabolic traits in Jersey calves produced by embryo transfer: comparison with Holstein calves. All calves received colostrum within half an hour after birth at the rate of 2.4-3.9 L were 10% BW basis, and continued for the first 3 days and milk from after that ...