• Journal of Nutrition and Health
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• v.33 no.7
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• pp.697-702
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• 2000

The objective of this study was to determine the extent to which the compensatory nutrition regimen modulates lactation performance and milk protein gene expression in the first and second lactation cycles. Female rats(28 days of age) were assigned to 1)control ad libitum ; 2) stari-step compensatory nutrition(SSCN) regimen an alternating 3-2-3-4-week schedule beginning with an energy restriction diet(40% restriction) for 3 weeks followed by the control diet(ad libitum) for 2 weeks and then alternating another 3-4 week feeding regimen. The SSCN rats were received an overall 20% energy restriction(average from all stair-step periods) compared with the conventionally fed control group. Rats were bred during the first week of the second realimentation. All pups were weaned on day 21 of lactation. About 1 week after weaning all dams were mated for the second pregnancy. Mammary tissues were obtained from pregnant and lactating rats during the first and second lactation cycles. During these lactation cycles the SSCN group had a 11% increase in average lactation performance over that of control. The SSCN group had significantly increased levels of milk protein gene($\alpha$- and $\beta$-casein) expression in mammary tissues during the first lactation cycle compared with those of the control group. During the second lactation period the levels of milk protein gene expression in lactating mammary tissues of the SSCN group were also higher than those of the control group. These results suggest that the effects of compensatory growth imposed at an early age extend to the second lactation cycle with regard to increased lactation performance and milk protein gene expression.

• Asian-Australasian Journal of Animal Sciences
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• v.15 no.5
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• pp.695-698
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• 2002

Performance data (from 1985 to 2000) of Jersey cattle imported from USA and maintained at Islamabad, Pakistan were evaluated. The purpose of this study was to assess the genetic merit of Jersey breed under Pakistani environment for further propagation. Cows with at least two calvings were considered for this study; records on 50 daughter-dam pairs were available on production and reproduction performance traits for genetic evaluation. The average age at first calving in parents was $25.2{\pm}2.4$ m as compared to $23.9{\pm}6.6$ m in progeny. Calving interval in parents and progeny was $416{\pm}74$ and $446{\pm}105$ d; lactation length $301{\pm}51$ and $325{\pm}73$ d; lactation milk yield $2,908{\pm}669$ and $2,707{\pm}903$ lit respectively. All these differences were found to be statistically significant except lactation length. The correlations between age at first calving and total lactation milk was -0.25, between calving interval and total lactation milk yield was 0.14, and between lactation length and total lactation milk yield was 0.79. The $h^2$ of these traits were low indicating important role of environment in expressing the genetic potential of animals. The S.E of $h^2$ of all the traits was high due to large variation in data.

• Asian-Australasian Journal of Animal Sciences
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• v.24 no.4
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• pp.540-572
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• 2011

The present review focuses on the effects of energy intake on performance, changes in body tissue during lactation, and metabolic parameters in dairy cows. Especially, pre-partum nutrition and its influence on lactation are emphasized. In recent decades the increase in genetic potential of dairy cows has increased milk yield. This fact sharpens the problem of a negative energy balance in early lactation because the amount of energy required for maintenance and milk production exceeds the amount of energy cows can consume. Around parturition, reduced feed intake reinforces the situation. Continuing negative energy balance causes decreasing milk yield, fertility problems, and incidence of metabolic diseases. Hence, the cow has to rely on body reserves that were stored in late lactation and the dry period. It is evident that the nutritional status pre-partum acts as the key factor for milk yield and fertility parameters in the following lactation. Cows overfed during the foregoing gestation and which have gained large quantities of body fat have lower dry matter intake along with the need to mobilize larger quantities of body reserves in lactation. The milk yield in the following lactation is lower than in cows fed according to their requirements. Cows restrictively fed in late gestation have a higher feed intake in lactation and a lower mobilization of body reserves. The effect of energy intake post-partum plays only a minor role for performance parameters in lactation. Lipid mobilized from body reserves makes a substantial contribution to the energetic cost of milk production in early lactation and adipose tissue undergoes specific metabolic alterations. Adipose tissue is degraded to free fatty acids, which are used in liver for energy purposes. High lipid mobilisation promotes the development of a fatty liver and therefore a reduced gluconeogenesis.

• Asian-Australasian Journal of Animal Sciences
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• v.16 no.5
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• pp.644-649
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• 2003

The effects of housing and nutrition on the performance of first lactation sows of the Nepalese Pakhribas breed were investigated. A total of 36 sows, from a previous experiment on nutrition during gilt rearing, were allocated according to a factorial design with 2 levels of nutrition, 60 or 80% of the calculated lactation requirement, and two types of housing, traditional or improved. The mean live weight loss of sows during lactation was reduced to a slightly greater extent by improved housing (p<0.05) than by better nutrition (p<0.10). There was also a significantly lower loss of $P_2$ backfat thickness (p<0.05) and mean body condition score (p<0.05) for sows on the higher plane of nutrition. Piglet weight gain in early and mid lactation was influenced by gestation feeding of the gilt (p<0.10) and by housing (p<0.05). Late lactation gain was influenced only by lactation feeding (p<0.05). In consequence, piglet weight at 42 day weaning was increased to a similar extent by improved housing (p<0.05) and better lactation nutrition (p<0.01). Significantly more sows were remated by day 10 after weaning from a higher level of rearing nutrition ($x^2=13.57$, p=0.001), and from improved housing and improved lactation (both $x^2=4.57$, p=0.033). It is concluded that, under Nepalese village conditions, improvements in housing may be a more cost effective way of improving sow performance than expenditure on additional feed resources.

• Asian-Australasian Journal of Animal Sciences
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• v.33 no.8
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• pp.1323-1331
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• 2020

Objective: Three types of dietary fiber were fed to sows during gestation and lactation stages to monitor their physiological and metabolic adaptations during the pre-partum period and to determine how these effects may influence the lactation period and sow performance. Methods: Soon after breeding, 54 sows were selected and were fed with 20% supplementation as fed of wheat bran (WB), soya hulls (SH), or rice hulls (RH) in diets during gestation and lactation. Sows were weighed, backfat thickness was measured ultrasonically and jugular blood samples were collected from all sows. The litter size was equalized to 10, by fostering piglets from sows on the same treatment. Results: Sows gained 22.0, 21.8, and 25.5 kg of net maternal body weight during gestation (for WB, SH, and RH sows, respectively; p = 0.007). There was no treatment effect on the body weight change during lactation (p = 0.158), however RH sows consumed an average of 133.66 kg of feed, WB sows took 121.29 kg and SH sows took 126.77 kg during lactation (p<0.001). The SH litters gained an average of 59.34 kg of weight during lactation, while other litters gained 51.58 and 49.98 kg (for WB and RH litters, respectively; p<0.001). Exception for aspartate aminotransferase and alanine aminotransferase, measured serum biochemical values were broadly in agreement with earlier reports. Despite the use of additional vegetable oil to balance the energy level, RH sows still had lower concentrations of serum triglycerides in late gestation. Conclusion: Different types of fibrous ingredients in the gestation diet influenced most of the investigated reference values for sows. The values of serum biochemical parameters were generally not affected by fiber type during the lactation stage. The SH supplementation for sows is an effective approach to give heavier litters at birth and weaning and to increase voluntary feed intake in early lactation.

• Asian-Australasian Journal of Animal Sciences
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• v.17 no.4
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• pp.533-537
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• 2004

The experiment was conducted to test the hypothesis that supplementing diets of lactating first parity sows with a mixture of carbohydrases (CS) improves lactation performance and second parity reproductive performance. The CS used in this study contained 7 units/g of $\alpha$-1,6-galactosidase, 22 units/g of $\beta$-1,4-mannanase, $\beta$-1,4-mannosidase and trace amounts of other enzymes. Twenty primiparous sows (Newsham Hybrid) were allotted to either the control group (no CS supplement) or the CS group (0.1% CS supplement) and fed the experimental diets during 21 d lactation period. Sows and nursing pigs were weighed at birth and weekly until weaning. Days of weaning-to-estrus were recorded. Sows had free access to feed and water. Feed intake of sows was measured daily. During the second parity gestation and lactation, all the sows were fed the same gestation and lactation diets and their reproductive performance was measured. During the second parity, there were 14 sows (7 sows per group) remained productive. For the first lactation, maternal body weight loss of the CS group was smaller (p<0.05) than that of the control group. There was no difference in litter weight gain between two groups. Voluntary feed intake of sows did not differ between the two groups. Days of weaning-to-estrus of the CS group were smaller (p<0.05) than those of the control group. In the second parity, there was no difference in the reproductive performance between the two groups. In conclusion, supplementing CS in the diet of lactating sows during the first parity decreased body weight loss and days of weaning-to-estrus of sows. However, these effects of the CS supplementation in the first parity were not successfully carried over to the second parity.

• Asian-Australasian Journal of Animal Sciences
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• v.16 no.5
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• pp.677-684
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• 2003

Twenty eight multiparous lactating cows were utilized in an experiment to evaluate the response to an exogenous fibrolytic enzyme on their lactational performance during early lactation period (in terms of milk production, milk composition, feed intake, milking efficiency, body weight change) and the exact time of this response. Cows were randomized into two groups (14 each) with similar parities and were fed a concentrate ration of barley, ground corn, soybean meal, and wheat bran and roughage ration of alfalfa hay. One of the two groups was supplemented with the fibrolytic enzyme immediately after parturition up to 100 post partum. The experiment was of two phases with 50 days each. The enzyme, which has a cellulase/hemicellulase activity (derived from Trichoderma group), was added to the concentrate part of the ration in a dry powder form. Milk production, 3.5% fat corrected milk, energy corrected milk were higher (p<0.05) for cows fed treated diet. At the same time, No differences were observed in percentages of milk components, feed intake, body weight, body weight change, or rectal temperature for the whole experimental period or during any of the two phases. Efficiency of milk production was higher (p<0.05) for treatment group cows than for that of the control ones. However, efficiency was better during the second phase than during the first phase. Feeding enzyme treated diets to dairy cows improved lactational performance during early 100 day of the lactation period. However, the first 50 days of lactation looked to be the critical.

• Asian-Australasian Journal of Animal Sciences
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• v.26 no.8
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• pp.1137-1143
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• 2013

To evaluate lactation performance and changes in plasma and fecal lipopolysaccharide (LPS) concentrations in response to the supplementation of Saccharomyces cerevisiae fermentation product (SC), two dairy farms were selected. On each farm, 32 cows in early to mid lactation (21 to 140 DIM) were blocked by parity and days in milk (DIM), and randomly assigned to one of the two treatments within block (Control or 56 g SC/cow/d). Effect of SC on lactation performance (daily) and changes in blood and fecal LPS level were examined on d 0 and 28 of supplementation. The results showed that SC supplementation increased lactation performance of dairy cows on both farms. On Farm 1, milk production, 3.5% fat corrected milk (FCM), and yield of milk fat and protein were greater (p<0.01) for cows supplemented with SC. Supplementation of SC increased percentage milk fat (p = 0.029) from 81 to 110 DIM. There was no significant effect (p>0.05) of SC supplementation on percentage of milk protein, dry matter intake and feed efficiency. On Farm 2, cows supplemented with SC had a greater (p<0.05) milk yield, percentage of milk fat and milk protein, yield of milk fat and protein, 3.5% FCM and feed efficiency. Supplemental SC had no effect on LPS concentrations in feces (p>0.05) while it trended to reduce (p = 0.07 or 0.207) the concentration in plasma. The results indicate that supplemental SC can increase lactation performance of dairy cattle and has potential for reducing plasma LPS concentration.

• Asian-Australasian Journal of Animal Sciences
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• v.15 no.9
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• pp.1364-1370
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• 2002

The objective of this study was to examine the effect of compensatory growth nutritional regimen on mammary gland growth and lactation. One hundred twenty-two Sprague Dawley female rats (35 days of age) were randomly assigned to either a control or a stair-step compensatory nutrition (SSCN) feeding regimen or an alternating 2-2-3-3-week schedule beginning with 40% energy restriction for 2 weeks followed by re-alimentation (control diet) for 2 weeks. Pup weight gain and milk yield were improved 8% and 8 to 15%, respectively, by the SSCN regimen. The gene expression of $\beta$-casein was 2.3-fold greater in the SSCN group than in the control group during early lactation, but they were greater at all stages of the second lactation. The gene expression of insulin-like growth factor-I was 40% lower in the SSCN group than in the control group during early lactation of the second lactation, but during late lactation it was 80% greater than in the control group. The concentration of serum corticosterone tended to be higher in the SSCN group during the late stage of the first lactation. These results suggest that the stair-step compensatory nutrition regimen improves lactation performance and persistency by modulation of cell differentiation and apoptotic cell death.

• Journal of agriculture & life science
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• v.51 no.6
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• pp.137-144
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• 2017

A diverse of recommendation has been made for the structure and management of dairy cows, despite demanding research, the relationship between lactation number and various factors is yet to be established. The present study was aimed to investigate the covariance among lactation number, growth performance, calving interval, and milk production was considered to increase an efficiency of selection schemes and to manage more efficiently Holstein dairy cows that have been raised on small-scale family farms in Republic of Korea. For that purpose, the data were observed from 850 Holstein dairy cows, which a total of 3929 milking, since April 2016 - January 2017. We measured the body weight, height, age, calving interval, and milk production of the each dairy cow. Also, information about the date of lactation, calving interval, and milk production was recorded using an automatic milking system(AMS) with identification numbers. Milk production was calculated per udder quarter in the AMS. Our study results showed the increased average body weight(p>0.05) in 1, 2, 3, and $4^{th}$ lactating dairy cows and afterwards, we noticed the tendency on the average body weight(p<0.05) per lactation progressed. There was no significant difference noticed on height measurement of dairy cows. From the processing data of 850 Holstein dairy cows, the lactation number 1 and 7 had a greater calving interval with significantly lowered milk production, and the lactation number 2, 3, 4, 5, and 6 had significantly lowered the calving interval(p<0.05) with a greater milk production. From our study results, we evidenced that there is a significant relationship between the lactation number, growth performance, calving interval, and milk yield, and the maximum production of milk occurring in the $3^{rd}$ and $4^{th}$ lactation dairy cows. The achieved results from this study can be used by the small-scale farmers to encourage the structure and management of growth performance, calving interval, and milk yield in Holstein dairy cows in Korea.