Permanent URL to this publication: http://dx.doi.org/10.5167/uzh-60066
Piccand, V; Meier, S; Cutullic, E; Weilenmann, S; Thomet, P; Schori, F; Burke, C R; Weiss, D; Roche, J R; Kunz, P L (2011). Ovarian activity in Fleckvieh, Brown Swiss and two strains of Holstein-Friesian cows in pasture-based, seasonal calving dairy systems. Journal of Dairy Research, 78(4):464-470.
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The objectives of the study were to compare the ovarian activity of Holstein-Friesian (CH HF), Fleckvieh (CH FV) and Brown Swiss (CH BS) dairy cows of Swiss origin with that of Holstein-Friesian (NZ HF) dairy cows of New Zealand origin, the latter being used as a reference for reproductive performance in pasture-based seasonal calving systems. Fifty, second-lactation NZ HF cows were each paired with a second-lactation Swiss cow (17, 15 and 18 CH HF, CH FV and CH BS respectively) in 13 pasture-based, seasonal-calving commercial dairy farms in Switzerland. Ovarian activity was monitored by progesterone profiling from calving to first breeding service. CH BS cows produced less energy-corrected milk (mean 22·8 kg/d) than the other breeds (26·0-26·5 kg/d) during the first 100 d of lactation. CH HF cows had the lowest body condition score (BCS) at calving and the greatest BCS loss from calving to 30 d post partum. Commencement of luteal activity (CLA) was later for NZ HF than for CH FV (51·5 v. 29·2 d; P <0·01), with CH HF and CH BS intermediate (43 d). On average, NZ HF and CH HF cows had one oestrous cycle before the onset of the seasonal breeding period; this was less (P<0·01) than either CH FV (1·7) or CH BS (1·6). There was a low prevalence of luteal persistency (3%) among the studied cows. First and second oestrous cycle inter-ovulatory intervals did not differ between breeds (20·5-22·6 d). The luteal phase length of CH BS during the second cycle was shorter (10·6 d) than that of the other breeds (13·8-16·0 d), but the inter-luteal interval was longer (9·8 d v. 7·0-8·0 d). The results suggest that the Swiss breeds investigated have a shorter interval from calving to CLA than NZ HF cows.
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|Item Type:||Journal Article, refereed, original work|
|Communities & Collections:||05 Vetsuisse Faculty > Institute of Animal Nutrition|
|Dewey Decimal Classification:||570 Life sciences; biology
|Deposited On:||18 Mar 2012 17:43|
|Last Modified:||01 Dec 2013 12:50|
|Publisher:||Cambridge University Press|
|Additional Information:||Copyright: Cambridge University Press.|
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