COMPARISON OF PRODUCTIVE AND REPRODUCTIVE PERFORMANCE BETWEEN CULLED COWS AND THEIR CONTEPORARIES RETAINED IN A HERD OF FRIESIAN CATTLE. | ||||
| Journal of Animal and Poultry Production | ||||
| Article 5, Volume 25, Issue 12, December 2000, Page 7569-7575 PDF (424.21 K) | ||||
| Document Type: Original Article | ||||
| DOI: 10.21608/jappmu.2000.260272 | ||||
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| Authors | ||||
| M. B. Aboul-Ela,; N. A. Shalaby; M. A. Mostafa | ||||
| Department of Animal Production, Faculty of Agriculture, Mansoura University, El-Mansoura, Egypt. | ||||
| Abstract | ||||
| Records of production and reproductive performance of Friesian cows that were either culled after completing a particular lactation (n = 2545) or retained to give subsequent lactation(s) , up to the 4th lactation, (n = 3904) were analysed to compare the productive and reproductive efficiency between the two groups. The data covered milk production traits: total milk yield (TMY), 305-d milk yield (305-d MY), average daily milk yield (ADMY), peak daily milk yield (PDY), lactation period (LP), and persistency (Prs); reproductive performance traits: days open (DO) and number of services per conception (NSC); and productive efficiency traits: milk yield per day of life (MY/DL) and lifetime total milk yield (LTMY). Culling rate increased with advance of parity, being 27.2 and 81.0 % at the end of the 1st and 4th lactations, respectively. Culled cows had significantly higher TMY, 305-d MY and ADMY than those retained, and the differences between the two groups were generally more pronounced in the first two lactations. Culled cows had also significantly longer DO and larger NSC than retained cows. Productive efficiency was higher in culled than in retained cows. The differences between the two groups (culled – retained) were most pronounced in the 2nd lactation (+730 kg TMY, + 419 kg 305-d MY, +0.6 NSC, + 53 DO , and 0.8 kg MY/DL, P<0.01). TMY was significantly (P<0.001) correlated with NSC ( r = 0.403) and DO (r = 0.381). The results indicated that more attention should be given to high yielding cows, particularly their reproductive management, to increase their longevity, and hence improve herd productivity. | ||||
| Keywords | ||||
| Friesian; culling; milk production; reproductive performance; Hungary | ||||
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