Some anatomical characteristics of 507 Belgian Blue (BB) cattle, withers height (WH), heart girth (HG), the distance between the two tubera coxae (TcTc) and the distance between the two tubera ischiadica (TiTi), were compared with the internal pelvic measurements of width, height and area. Mean values were 58.9 ± 6.2 cm for TcTc, 14.6 ± 2.3 cm for TiTi, 15.2 ± 2.1 cm for pelvic width (PW), 18.8...

Effects of heterosis on reproduction were evaluated in a comprehensive experiment comparing straightbred Hereford (H), Angus (A) and Shorthorn (S) females to reciprocal cross females among these breeds when mated to produce crossbred calves with equal additive and non-additive genetic composition. This phase of the experiment involved 570 matings (cow-years) of straightbred cows and 687 matings...

Hip pain is a common paediatric presentation and is potentially serious. While hip pain can be attributed to primary hip pathology, the hip area is also a common site for referred pain. This often poses a diagnostic challenge particularly in the young child who may not verbalise the point of pain and may not report an injury. Differential diagnoses for paediatric hip joint pain range from fract...

OBJECTIVE The effects of the pre- and postpartum supplementation of cows with Se on their plasma P4 concentrations after calving were investigated. METHODS Thirty-four Holstein cows were used to investigate the effects of dietary selenium supplementation on the postpartum recovery of the luteal function in cows. Selenium-rich yeast (containing 300 ppm selenium) was mixed with total mixed rati...

Schmallenberg virus (SBV), an orthobunyavirus discovered in European livestock in late 2011 for the first time, causes premature or stillbirth and severe fetal malformation when cows and ewes are infected during pregnancy. Therefore, cattle of two holdings in the initially most affected area in Germany were closely monitored to describe the consequence for fetuses and newborn calves. Seventy-on...

Cryptosporidium is an obligate intracellular protozoan parasite infecting a wide range of hosts. The current study investigated the genetic profile of Cryptosporidium species in calves in Liverpool, England. Fifty-two calve fecal samples were collected from a farm and initially screened by Auramine Phenol, modified Ziehl-Neelsen and ELISA. PCR analysis of 18S rRNA gene was carried out for the p...

Bovine perinatal mortality is an increasing problem in dairy industries internationally. The objective of this study was to determine the risk factors associated with high and low herd-level calf mortality. Thirty herds with a history of either high (case) or low (control) calf mortality were recruited. A herd-level questionnaire was used to gather information on management practices likely to ...

• A calving interval of 13.5 months is an achievable goal that will produce higher daily milk yield and higher milk yield over the length of the lactation. To achieve this goal average days to first service should be <80, yearly 21-day Pregnancy Rates should average >20% and culling for reproductive failure should not exceed 10%. • Management must set standard operating procedures for all aspec...