Excellent reviews of cattle breed comparisons or breed-cross comparisons have been previously reported by Franke (1980), Long (1980), and Marshall (1994). However, these reviews do not contain information on the calving ease, performance, carcass characteristics, or beef palatability of crossbred progeny of Holstein dams sired by different beef breeds. In many countries dairy females are common...

BACKGROUND Objectives of the study were to document the impact of some management factors on the occurrence of clinical mastitis in primiparous dairy cows and to identify common udder pathogens of clinical mastitis in freshly calved heifers and multiparous cows on the day of calving. METHODS A one-year study was conducted during 2004 and 2005 in 11 selected Estonian dairy herds. Data consiste...

BACKGROUND Heifers can calve down with intramammary infections (IMI) and udder damage. This will have a negative impact on their longevity, future milk yield and financial return. Co-housed pre-weaned calves that are fed fresh milk have the opportunity to suckle each other's teats and may infect udders of fellow heifer calves with pathogens present in milk. The prevalence of IMI in pregnant hei...

Replacement heifers, whether they are raised on the farm, purchased from other dairies, or raised by contract growers, are critical to herd productivity because they represent the future milking and breeding stock in all dairy operations. The goal should be to provide an environment for heifers to develop full lactation potential at the desired age with minimal expense. Animal health and well-b...

This study was undertaken to evaluate the biological potency of two synthetic human growth hormone-releasing factors, hGRF (1-44)NH2 and hGRF (1-29)NH2, on growth hormone (GH) release in young dairy heifers (n = 10) and pigs (n = 10). In each species, the GH response to an iv injection (0, .067, .2, .6 and 1.8 nmol.kg-1 body weight) of each peptide was evaluated in a double 5 X 5 Latin square d...

Heifer development depends on nutritional management decisions throughout all growing phases. Optimizing costs to raise heifers improves profitability of dairy farms. Feed costs for heifers make up 50% of heifer costs. Required growth rates depend on the desired age at first calving and estimated mature body weight. Intensive milk feeding improves calf growth and subsequent milk production. Pre...

Intramammary infections (IMIs) in unbred and pregnant dairy heifers were once thought to be very infrequent. However, during the last 2 decades, several studies have shown that IMIs in heifers occur frequently during the prepartum and peripartum periods. Many of these infections can persist for long periods of time, may be associated with elevated somatic cell counts (SCC), and may impair mamma...

Lameness is one of the most painful conditions that affects dairy cattle. This study was conducted to evaluate clinical signs and plasma concentration of several pain and stress biomarkers after oligofructose-induced lameness in dairy heifers. Lameness was induced using an oligofructose overload model in 12 non-pregnant heifers. Clinical parameters and blood samples were obtained at 48 and 24 h...

Heifer rearing is one of the largest production expenses for dairy cattle operations, which is one reason milking operations outsource heifer rearing to custom developers. The cost of harvested feedstuffs is a major expense in heifer rearing. A possible way to lower feed costs is to graze dairy heifers, but little research exists on this topic in the mid-south United States. The objectives of t...

The purpose of the heifer herd is to provide replacements for cows leaving the herd and to improve genetic progress. First-lactation cows significantly contribute to herd production and profit. A recommended goal for dairy replacement heifers is to calve at 24 months of age with a targeted postcalving body weight of 1250 pounds. A common misconception is that this goal is either unattainable or...