The aim of this experiment was to evaluate the effect of calf management during lactation on dam performance and nursing behaviour. Thirty-six multiparous beef cows (aged 7.5 ± 0.52 years) of Parda de Montaña breed (mean live-weight (LW) at calving 566 ± 9.3 kg) with a moderate body condition (mean 2.6 ± 0.02 on a 1 to 5 scale), were assigned to three nursing frequencies from the day after part...

Introduction Ireland is the fifth largest net exporter of beef in the world, exporting 90% of the total 520,000 tonnes of carcass weight produced in 2014, valued at just under €2.1 billion. A further 210,000 cattle, worth €162 m, were exported live. Beef production is the most ubiquitous farm enterprise activity in Ireland with the beef sector one of the main contributors to the Irish agri-food...

BACKGROUND Reproduction is the single greatest factor limiting beef cattle production. Previous research on beef suckler luteal activity has largely focused on the mechanisms, and duration, of postpartum anoestrus. However, the temporal pattern of luteal activity after resumption of post-partum ovarian activity, and the impact of pattern type on days open (DO) in purebred beef suckler cows, are...

Clinical scenario During a visit to one of your small hobby suckler herds, the owner asks you to disbud three suckler calves, born within the last few weeks. The last time she had animals disbudded with a hot iron she was upset by how the animals behaved after the procedure; she says they were ‘out of sorts’ and looked uncomfortable. While the owner knows the animals must be disbudded, she asks...