The conformation traits of cows are heritable and linked with functionality and longevity. The dominant dairy breed in Europe is the Holstein. The objectives of this study were to evaluate exterior traits dependence on genotype of Lithuanian Black and White cows according to the degree of Holstein genes. For analysis, the conformation traits data of 53160 cows (in average of 2.7±0.01 lactation)...

The dairy farming systems of Western Europe are based on a simple feeding system composed of grazed and preserved grass, maize silage and concentrates in variable proportions. There is, nevertheless, a great diversity of feeding strategies between dairy farms. Over 5 years, we studied the direct and delayed effects of four feeding strategies on the lactation and reproduction performances of Hol...

DNA sequencing, nested polymerase chain reaction (PCR), and PCR-restriction fragment length polymorphism were used to investigate mutations in the coding regions of the bovine myeloid antimicrobial peptide-28 (BMAP-28) and mannan-binding lectin-associated serine protease-2 (MASP-2) genes in 249 Chinese Holstein dairy cows. The associations between the polymorphisms and somatic cell score (SCS) ...

The molecular mechanisms regulating the physiological adaptation of tissues important for nutrient partitioning and metabolism in lactating cows are still not completely understood. The aim of our study was to identify tissue-specific regulatory mechanisms necessary to accommodate metabolic changes associated with different genetic potential for milk performance. For this purpose, we analyzed m...

This study was carried out to evaluate the effects of replacing alfalfa hay with ensiled mixed tomato and apple pomace (EMTAP) on ruminal fermentation and apparent digestibility of diets. Six multiparous Holstein dairy cows in mid lactation were used in 3×3 Latin square design and fed alfalfa hay plus concentrate mixture with three levels replacement with EMTAP (0, 15, 30%) during 63 days. Resu...

In a national survey of US dairy producers, only 2.7 +/- 0.5% of Holstein dairy operations reported achieving recommended target ranges of age < or = 24 months and body weight (BW) > or = 550 kg at first calving. Allowing for wider target ranges, still only 14.6 +/- 1.3% of Holstein dairy operations reported achieving age < or = 25 months and BW > or = 544.3 kg at first calving. Ages of individ...

Calving complications have an incidence on the economic profitability of dairy herds. In the Walloon Region of Belgium, calving ease data recording is being done on voluntary basis since 2000. This allows now the implementation of a genetic evaluation of Holstein dairy cattle addressing the need of dairy breeders to select bulls in order to reduce frequency of calving problems. Calving ease sco...

The present on-farm research evaluated the occurrence of fatty liver syndrome and its predisposing risk factors for multiparous dairy cows from a commercial herd in Venezuela. Liver biopsy samples were collected at 35 days (d) prepartum (Holstein, n = 14; Holstein × Carora crossbred, n = 17) as well as 1 to 7 d (Holstein, n = 8; Holstein × Carora crossbred, n = 11) and 28 to 35 d (Holstein, n =...

Weaning of dairy calves is an early life husbandry management practice which involves the changeover from a liquid to a solid feed based diet. The objectives of the study were to use RNA-seq technology to examine the effect of (i) breed and (ii) gradual weaning, on the whole blood mRNA transcriptome of artificially reared Holstein-Friesian and Jersey calves. The calves were gradually weaned ove...

mastitis is one of the most serious and costly diseases affecting dairy cattle production. in the present study, effects of a lactoferrin gene polymorphism (intron 6) on milk somatic cell count (scc) and subclinical mastitis was investigated in 121 holstein dairy cattle. two alleles of a and b and two genotypes of aa and ab were found in an ecori recognized single nucleotide polymorphism in int...