OBJECTIVE This study estimated the genetic parameters for productive and reproductive traits. METHODS The data included production and reproduction records of animals that have calved between 1979 and 2013. The genetic parameters were estimated using multivariate mixed models (DMU) package, fitting univariate and multivariate mixed models with average information restricted maximum likelihood...

Fifteen Holstein dairy cattle were monitored for lymphocyte subsets and expression of adhesion molecules on cells in milk and blood at parturition and at intervals up to 21 days post-partum. Using flow cytometry, we determined percentages of T cells (CD4+, CD8+, gammadelta) and B cells from milk and blood of these cows. We also measured expression of adhesion molecules (CD62L, LFA-1, LPAM-1, an...

In the purpose to provide further information in respect of the relationship between metabolism and post partum (PP) ovarian activity resumption in dairy cows, the aim of the present study was to characterize the energy balance (EB) and leptin, NEFA and IGF-I plasma levels in Swedish Red and White (SRW) cows with and without ovarian activity re-initiation within 7 weeks PP. The study was conduc...

Gunay A., U. Gunay: Effects of Clinical Mastitis on Reproductive Performance in Holstein Cows. Acta Vet. Brno 2008, 77: 555-560. The objective of this study was to determine the effects of clinical mastitis on reproductive performance in 135 early lactation cows. The animals were divided into two groups according to the occurrence of mastitis as follows: group I (n = 45), clinical mastitis prio...

The objective of this study was to evaluate main indicators of milk production on total 60 commercial dairy herds from the Czech Republic during a 9-yr period (2006-2014). Breakeven points and sensitivity analysis were used and associations of age at first calving (AFC), milk yield (MY) and calving interval (CI) were analyzed. Lowest AFC≤749 d showed the highest fertility, the lowest death rate...

The objective of the present study was to estimate genetic trends for lactation milk yield, persistency of milk yield, somatic cell count and interval between first and second calving in Holstein dairy cows of Iran. The dataset consisted of 210,625 test day and 25,883 first parity cows with milk yield recorded from July 2002 to September 2007 comprising 97 herds in Iran. Breeding values of anim...

Nitrogen (N) is a limiting nutrient for many herbivores, especially when plant availability and N content are low during the period of maternal investment, which is common for arctic ungulates. We used natural abundance of N isotopes to quantify allocation of maternal nitrogen to neonatal calves and milk in wild migratory caribou (Rangifer tarandus). We contrasted female-calf pairs from two her...

The concept of extended lactation should improve cow health and productivity while reducing greenhouse gas emissions per kg milk produced in high-yield organic dairy herds. This is achieved through fewer calvings per year and hence production of fewer replacement heifers. Combined with fewer days dry per cow per year, this will reduce the annual herd requirement for feed while maintaining milk ...

We examined the effect of calving month (CM) on the production of milk and milk protein by Israeli Holstein dairy cows located in the main climatic zone of Israel during their third and fourth lactations, and found it to be significant. Cows that calved in December produced the highest milk and milk protein yields, and those that calved in June produced the lowest, 92.8% of the maximum. The com...