• Korean Journal of Animal Reproduction
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• v.21 no.2
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• pp.191-195
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• 1997

The objective of this study were to compare two methods of analysis of milk urea nitrogen (MUN) and to relate conentration of MUN to pregnancy rate in dairy cows. The Azotest and Sigma method for MUN analysis were compared. The Azotest consistently underestimated the Sigma values for same samples, except for those in rank 3. The CV for the Azotest, within each rank, were less than 15%, demonstrating acceptable repeatability of the Azotest within a rank. Concentrations of MUN higher or lower than MUN in rank 3 and 4 were associated with decreased pregnancy rate. Mun concentrations in rank 5 and 6 were associated with a, pp.oximately a 16 percentage point decrease in pregnancy rate. Mun concentrations in rank 5 and 6 were associated with a, pp.oximately a 16 percentage point decrease in pregnancy rate after AI in dairy cow. This results suggest that Azotest may be benificial to dairy producers to monitor urea nitrogen concentration in their herd in efforts to maintain or improve reproductive efficiency.

• Journal of Veterinary Clinics
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• v.24 no.2
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• pp.142-149
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• 2007

The purpose of this study was to develop a computerized software program to help for reproductive management in dairy cows. The developed software program in the study is compatible with a window 95/98 or XP system. Data in the system were recorded, stored, and processed from two sources: 1) Data downloaded monthly from the database of the Korean Dairy Herd Improvement Association (milk yields, milk somatic cell counts, milk fat, protein, lactose and urea nitrogen content). 2) Data recorded by the farmer or veterinarians by the time (body condition score, heats, inseminations, veterinary diagnosis and treatments). These data indices after processing by computerized dairy management system were presented by numerical or graphical display. The presented data were obtained from three dairy farms with more than 50 milking cows. The presented reports of this program using milk fat, protein, urea nitrogen, and somatic cell counts enabled the dairy producer and veterinarians to monitor the protein-energy balance and feeding management practice, and for distribution of diseases (mastitis, metabolic and reproductive disorder) in individual cows. The presented analytical reports of this program also included herd average of reproductive indices such as day to first insemination, days open, and inseminations per conception. This software program will assist in analysis, interpretation and demonstrate the results of reproductive trials conducted in dairy herds.

• Korean Journal of Veterinary Service
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• v.24 no.3
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• pp.279-285
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• 2001

The change of the body condition score(BCS) and milk production graph as days in milk by lactation number show that the productivity of cow is on the increase as increase the lactation number, but the health condition is much worse because of the inappropriate nutrition intake. Metabolic profiles test(MPT) results indicate that the early-lactation for directly after the parturition to the peak production of milk during the total lactation period is the time of the more likely to be exposed to lack of energy, protein, minerals. To solve this problem, the early-lactation cows should be sufficiently supplied the required nutrients and should maximum intake the supplied nutrients not to be suddenly decline body weight and BCS from postparturition to the peak production of milk. To maximize the dry matter intake of a cow, there is have got to improve the management of body weight for heifer's skeletal development and in the dry period which is carelessly deal by mostly farms. This study presents that the use of measurement of body weight, graph of body condition score, distribution of milk production, metabolic profiles test in the monitoring for dairy herd health management is very valuable.

• Asian-Australasian Journal of Animal Sciences
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• v.24 no.9
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• pp.1318-1328
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• 2011

The tropics is not an ideal location for calf rearing as the high temperatures and humidities introduce many potential disease problems to milk fed calves. In addition, the type of dairy farming (generally poorly resourced small holder farming) and the general lack of awareness of the long term implications of poorly reared stock do not encourage farmers to pay close attention to their calf and heifer rearing systems. Surveys of calf rearing systems in Asia, tropical Africa and South America highlight the high calf and heifer mortalities. A range of 15 to 25% pre-weaning calf mortality is typical on many tropical dairy farms. It is often as high as 50%, indicating very poor calf management. This contrasts with US findings of less than 8% mortality from birth to 6 months while surveys of Australian farmers report only 3% losses. Simple extension programs on farms in Sri Lanka and Kenya have drastically reduced calf mortalities and improved pre-weaning growth rates. Improved management strategies leading to lower calving intervals, higher calving rates, reduced still born and pre-weaned calf mortalities and fewer non pregnant heifers can supply many more dairy herd replacements than currently occurs. Such strategies can increase the number of replacement heifer calves in the herd from 15 to over 35%, thus allowing farmers to increase their herd sizes through natural increases. Simple management procedures such as ensuring adequate intake of good quality colostrum within the first 12 hours of life, housing and good hygiene to minimise disease transfer, providing clean drinking water, developing appropriate feeding protocols to encourage early rumen development and paying closer attention to climate control and animal health can all lead to improved calf vigour and performance. Good record keeping is also important so farmers can more easily identify susceptible calves and quickly treat potential problems.

• Asian-Australasian Journal of Animal Sciences
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• v.17 no.9
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• pp.1214-1218
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• 2004

Data on 958 Karan Fries (KF) and 780 Karan Swiss (KS) cows, born during 1974 to 1992 at National Dairy Research Institute, Karnal were evaluated for causes of culling and their impact on milk performance and herd strength. Causes of culling were classified as voluntary culling (low milk yield) and involuntary culling (other than milk yield). The milk yield of cows was evaluated inretrospectively by estimating expected breeding value (EBV) on the basis of first lactation yield (FLY) and all available lactation yield (ALY). The culling rate of KF cows over the years varied from 10.89 (1988) to 33.92% (1991) with an overall average of 20.96% and in KS from 19.91 (1984) to 33.74% (1989) with an overall average of 25.01%. Reproductive disorders, teat and udder problems, low milk production, health and locomotive disorders were the major reasons of culling accounted respectively for 5.56, 4.97, 4.61, 3.18 and 2.24% of herd strength in KF cows. The corresponding causes of culling were 6.20, 6.26, 7.69, 1.49 and 2.67% of herd strength in KS cows. The involuntary culling of cows accounted for 82.4% in K F and 76.1% in KS cows of total culling. The average annual disposal rate in KF and KS was 26 and 30% whereas annual replacement rate was 24 and 26% respectively. The EBV of involuntary culled cows on the basis of FLY and ALY was 3,111 and 3,515 kg in KF; and 2,669 and 2,940 kg in KS cows respectively. The EBV of selected cows on the basis of FLY and ALY was 3,242 and 3,549 kg in KF and 2,893 and 3,245 kg in KS cows respectively. The average breeding value of involuntary culled cows was not significantly different from selected cows in both the herds. The high rate of involuntary culling of potential cows might be major factor responsible for declined performance and size in these herds. The results indicated that higher genetic gain (2.14% of herd average in KF and 3.49% of herd average in KS) could be obtained by restricting the involuntary culling (50% of total culling) through improved management practices and increasing replacement rate.

• Asian-Australasian Journal of Animal Sciences
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• v.19 no.1
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• pp.26-30
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• 2006

The study was undertaken to investigate the validity of milk urea concentration as an index of the reproductive performances in crossbred Karan-Fries (Holstein Friesian${\times}$Tharparkar) cows under farm condition. Milk urea was analysed in noon milk samples (1200 to 1300 h) to interrelate with the interval from parturition to first service, number of insemination per conception, first service conception rate and service period. Milk progesterone (P4) was analysed in noon milk samples on the day 1, 10, 20 and 30 post insemination to study the effect of milk urea concentration on early embryonic mortality. The interval from parturition to first service was found significantly (p<0.01) higher ($77.2{\pm}5.5$ days) when milk urea concentration was ${\geq}63.4mg/dl$. The average milk urea concentrations (mg/dl) were found $42.1{\pm}2.5$, $47.9{\pm}1.5$ and $50.3{\pm}3.1$, respectively in cows that conceived at $1^{st}$, $2^{nd}$ and $3^{rd}$ insemination. However, the variation was not statistically significant. The first insemination conception rate was found significantly (p<0.05) higher (68.8%) when milk urea level was ${\leq}32.4mg/dl$. The service period was found significantly (p<0.05) higher ($125.4{\pm}8.8$ days) when milk urea concentration was ${\geq}45.1mg/dl$. The milk P4 level indicated that the cows, those were detected as non-pregnant on day 60 post insemination were initially pregnant but the pregnancy was terminated sometime during the day 30 to 60 post insemination. The study indicates that the milk urea values may be used as an index of reproductive performances in dairy herd when individual animals are not being monitored for nutritional status. The altered milk urea values may be utilised by the farmers as ready reference to rectify the protein and energy nutrition in cows to achieve the better reproductive performances in herd.

• Journal of Animal Science and Technology
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• v.46 no.5
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• pp.773-782
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• 2004

The objective of this work was to establish an approaching method for TMR feeding system in the farm situation by testing the effects of herd-mix feeding system on the performance of lactating cows. Fifty six Holstein cows were fed for the experimental period of 16 months. Prior to test the herd-mix feeding system, animals were kept on conventional feeding system for 4 months, separate feeding of forage with concentrate, then provided 3 types of herd-mix rations formulated by mean level of energy concentration requirement of higher 1/2 ranker in each herd for remaining 12 months to compare the effect on milk yield performance of animals with conventional feeding system by using a switch-over method. The herd-mix feeding system influenced substantially upon the improvements of milk yield(P<0.01) and milk fat percentage(P<0.05). In all of lactational ages, milk yield and milk fat were enhanced by the herd-mix feeding system. Especially, actual milk yield(AMY) and milk fat in the 1st lactating cows, and AMY and 4.0% fat corrected milk yield(FCM) in the 2nd lactating cows were increased signiticantly by the herd-mix feeding system(P<0.05). In the early and mid-stage of lactation, the herd-mix feeding system showed higher AMY and FCM compared with the conventional feeding system although the milk fat was not different. AMY, milk fat and FCM in the late-stage of lactation were increased generally by the herd-mix feeding system. Especially, milk fat and FCM obtained by the herd-mix feeding system were significantly higher than those by the conventional feeding system(P<0.01). The herd-mix feeding system showed a good type of milking curve with a higher persistency of FCM(93.24%) than in conventional one(92.69%). The income over feed cost with the herd-mix feeding system was lA-fold higher than that with the conventional feeding method. In conclusion, the results of this work suggest that the herd-mix feeding system based on a correct level of energy concentration of TMR and well-determined feed ingredients increases not only milk yield of dairy herd by enhancing the performance of cows in early to mid stage of lactation with improved milk persistency but also gross income of dairy farm.

• Asian-Australasian Journal of Animal Sciences
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• v.28 no.6
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• pp.903-910
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• 2015

To maintain a predominantly pasture-based system, the large herd milked by automatic milking rotary would be required to walk significant distances. Walking distances of greater than 1-km are associated with an increased incidence of undesirably long milking intervals and reduced milk yield. Complementary forages can be incorporated into pasture-based systems to lift total home grown feed in a given area, thus potentially 'concentrating' feed closer to the dairy. The aim of this modelling study was to investigate the total land area required and associated walking distance for large automatic milking system (AMS) herds when incorporating complementary forage rotations (CFR) into the system. Thirty-six scenarios consisting of 3 AMS herds (400, 600, 800 cows), 2 levels of pasture utilisation (current AMS utilisation of 15.0 t dry matter [DM]/ha, termed as moderate; optimum pasture utilisation of 19.7 t DM/ha, termed as high) and 6 rates of replacement of each of these pastures by grazeable CFR (0%, 10%, 20%, 30%, 40%, 50%) were investigated. Results showed that AMS cows were required to walk greater than 1-km when the farm area was greater than 86 ha. Insufficient pasture could be produced within a 1 km distance (i.e. 86 ha land) with home-grown feed (HGF) providing 43%, 29%, and 22% of the metabolisable energy (ME) required by 400, 600, and 800 cows, respectively from pastures. Introduction of pasture (moderate): CFR in AMS at a ratio of 80:20 can feed a 400 cow AMS herd, and can supply 42% and 31% of the ME requirements for 600 and 800 cows, respectively with pasture (moderate): CFR at 50:50 levels. In contrast to moderate pasture, 400 cows can be managed on high pasture utilisation (provided 57% of the total ME requirements). However, similar to the scenarios conducted with moderate pasture, there was insufficient feed produced within 1-km distance of the dairy for 600 or 800 cows. An 800 cow herd required 140 and 130 ha on moderate and high pasture-based AMS system, respectively with the introduction of pasture: CFR at a ratio of 50:50. Given the impact of increasing land area past 86 ha on walking distance, cow numbers could be increased by purchasing feed from off the milking platform and/or using the land outside 1-km distance for conserved feed. However, this warrants further investigations into risk analyses of different management options including development of an innovative system to manage large herds in an AMS farming system.

• Korean Journal of Veterinary Research
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• v.39 no.5
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• pp.995-1005
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• 1999

Staphylococcus aureus is one of most prevalent intramammary pathogens and have characteristics which are not easily eradicated. Recently, to understand the sources and transmission of S aureus, many studies have focused on the subtyping of field isolate. This study was preformed to investigate the distribution pattern and characteristics of the isolates using phenotyping and genotyping. Samples were collected from milk of each udder, cow bodies (perianal region, vagina, tail, udder skin, sole) and environment (floor, liner, milker's hands, water, towel, insect) from 6 herds located in Kyung-gi province. Forty five strains of S aureus were isolated from 3 dairy herds (A, B, C) and were typed by hemolytic pattern, antibiotic resistant pattern, enterotoxin typing and PCR-based DNA fingerprinting. Slime productivity was also compared by each subtype to examine potential infectiousness. Of 45 strains, 41 were isolated from milk samples and 4 were isolated from liners. No strains isolated in the bodies and environment. Forty five strains isolated were classified as 18 subtypes by phenotyping and genotyping. There was common subtype between A and B herd, but the subtype of C herd showed different pattern. Among predominant subtypes, 60% of S aureus strain isolated from A and B herd showed subtype I and 50% of S aureus strain isolated from C herd belonged to subtype VI and X II. Neither somatic cell count (SCC) nor slime production was significantly different between predominant and minor subtypes. In summary, the study revealed that liners play more important roles in the mode of transmission than environmental sources. Several subtypes can be found in a herd, only a few subtype, however, was largely associated with the majority of infection.

• Asian-Australasian Journal of Animal Sciences
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• v.9 no.5
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• pp.525-531
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• 1996

Nutritional status of minerals of beef and dairy cattle and buffalo in central Thailand were investigated by evaluating the mineral concentrations in feedstuff and blood plasma of animals. Three crossbred beef cow herds, a native cow herd, a buffalo female herd and 3 dairy cattle herds which consisted of the herds of lactating cows, dry cows and heifers were studied in both rainy and hot seasons. Low Na concentrations (<0.07% on a dry matter basis) in pasture samples from the fields for a cross bred beef cow were observed. Copper concentrations in all the pasture samples ranged from 3.7 to 13.5 mg/kg. Iron and Se concentration in pasture samples had a wide variety ranging from 185 to 1,345 and 0.033 to 1.127 mg/kg, respectively. The concentrations of K, Ca, Mg, P, Zn and Mn in total diets were higher than the requirements for beef and dairy cattle. Some animals with subnormal plasma Cu concentrations(< $0.65{\mu}g/ml$) existed in each herd. The animals which showed subnormal plasma Se concentrations(< $0.03{\mu}g/ml$) were observed in beef cow herds. The concentrations of Ca, Mg and Zn in plasma of animals were normal. Attention should be paid to the deficiencies in Na, Cu and Se of the animals in central Thailand.