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...

The objective of this study was to investigate the effect of birth weight (BW) on future milk production and reproductive performance in Iranian Holstein cattle. Records of Holstein cows between 1967 and 2010 were obtained from the Animal Breeding Center of Iran. Birth weights within each herd were grouped into five categories based on the standard normal distribution curves (z ≤-0.8416, -0.841...

introduction: age at first calving (afc) has an important effect on profitability and reproductive management of dairy cattle. every month increase in afc beyond 24 months increases the cost of production. the time between birth and first calving represents a period in which replacement heifers are not generating income. instead this rearing period requires considerable capital expenditures inc...

This study was carried out in a commercial herd from 2008 to 2012 in order to determine the most prevalent reasons for culling Holstein cows and to assess the effects of risk factors. Overall, 519 (28.2%) cows were culled for involuntary (98.8%) and voluntary (1.2%) reasons. The involuntary causes of culling were diseases (38.7%), reproduction problems (36.0%), udder disorders (7.7%), lameness ...

The objective of this study was to evaluate calving intervals and repeatability of calving intervals of young beef cows when breeding seasons were initiated immediately after calving. Average calving date at 2, 3, and 4 yr of age was recorded, and duration of calving interval between the first and second and second and third parities was compared in 178 crossbred beef cows calving between 1981 ...

Calving difficulty is a trait that greatly affects animal welfare, herd profitability, and the amount of labor required by cattle farmers. It is influenced by direct and maternal genetic components. Selection and breeding strategies can optimize the accuracy of genetic evaluations and correctly emphasize calving difficulty in multiple-trait indices provided there are accurate estimates of genet...

This study was carried out in a commercial herd from 2008 to 2012 in order to determine the most prevalent reasons for culling Holstein cows and to assess the effects of risk factors. Overall, 519 (28.2%) cows were culled for involuntary (98.8%) and voluntary (1.2%) reasons. The involuntary causes of culling were diseases (38.7%), reproduction problems (36.0%), udder disorders (7.7%), lameness ...