• Asian-Australasian Journal of Animal Sciences
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• v.12 no.4
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• pp.511-514
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• 1999

Data pertaining to 1111 first lactation performance record of Karan Fries (Holstein-Friesian $\times$ Zebu) cows spread over a period of 21 years and sired by 72 bulls were used to examine the efficiency of sire indices for lactation milk production using auxiliary traits. First lactation length, first service period, first calving interval, first dry period and age at first calving were considered as auxiliary traits. The efficiency of this method was compared with simple daughter average index (D), contemporary comparison method (CC), least-square method (LSQ), simplified regressed least-squares method (SRLS) and best linear unbiased prediction (BLUP) for lactation milk production. The relative efficiency of sire evaluation methods using one auxiliary trait was lower (24.2-32.8%) in comparison to CC method, the most efficient method observed in this study. Use of two auxiliary traits at a time did not further improve the efficiency. The auxiliary sire indices discriminate better among bulls as the range of breeding values were higher in these methods in comparison to conventional sire evaluation methods. The rank correlation between breeding values estimated using auxiliary traits were high (0.77-0.78) with CC method. The rank correlation among auxiliary sire indices ranged from 0.98 to 0.99, indicating similar ranking of sire for breeding values of milk production in all the auxiliary sire indices.

• Asian-Australasian Journal of Animal Sciences
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• v.6 no.4
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• pp.549-553
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• 1993

In 1985, fifty Jersey cows were imported to Pakistan from United States of America (USA). This paper compares milk production and reproduction performance of imported cows and their daughters under USA and Pakistan conditions. The imported cows which had yielded 5,858 kg, of milk (305 d lactation) in the USA produced only 3,192 kg, at NARC. The milk production of their daughters averaged 2,617 kg, being 22% lower than their mothers under the same environment at NARC. Year and season of calving had no significant effects on milk production. Average milk production of the first lactation was 10% lower than the mean of the second, third and fourth lactations, but, the differences between lactation means were non-significant. Mean calving interval in the USA was 385 days, whereas the same cows had a longer (p<.01) calving interval of 490 days at NARC. The calving interval of the daughters was longer (452 d; p<.01) than their mothers calving interval in the USA, and shorter (p<.01) than their mothers calving interval in Pakistan. The low age at first calving suggests that locally born Jersey cows were not reproductively disadvantaged by the local environment and nutrition, suggesting the adaptability of this breed in the new environment.

• Asian-Australasian Journal of Animal Sciences
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• v.15 no.4
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• pp.466-469
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• 2002

The data on 512 Hariana cows, progeny of 20 sires calved during period from 1974 to 1993 maintained at Government Livestock Farm, Hisar were considered for the estimation of genetic parameters. The means for first lactation milk yield (FLY), wet average (WA), first lactation peak yield (FPY), first lactation milk yield per day of first calving interval (MCI) and first lactation milk yield per day of age at second calving (MSC) were 1,141.58 kg, 4.19 kg/day, 6.24 kg/day, 2.38 kg/day and 0.601 kg/day, respectively. The effect of period of calving was significant (p<0.05) on WA, FPY and MCI while the effect of season of calving was significant only on WA. Monsoon calvers excelled in performance for all the production efficiency traits. The effect of age at first calving (linear) was significant on all the traits except on MCI. Estimates of heritabilty for all the traits were moderate and ranged from 0.255 to 0.333 except for WA (0.161). All the genetic and phenotypic correlations among different production efficiency traits were high and positive. It may be inferred that selection on the basis of peak yield will be more effective as the trait is expressed early in life and had reasonably moderate estimate of heritability.

• Asian-Australasian Journal of Animal Sciences
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• v.16 no.3
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• pp.331-334
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• 2003

The assessment of reproductive potentials of female gayal under semi-intensive management was conducted with 18 animals in Bandarban hilly area of Bangladesh. Age at first estrous (days), age at first conception (days), length of estrous cycle (days), number of service per conception (natural), gestation period (days), age at first calving (days), and calving interval (natural service) (days) of gayal were $598.2{\pm}168.44$, $723{\pm}169.94$, $21.86{\pm}2.93$, 1.41, $296.05{\pm}3.87$, $1014.42{\pm}260.32$ and $465{\pm}80.48$ respectively. Daily milk yield and lactation length of gayal were $304.98{\pm}30.46ml/day$ and $116.67{\pm}8.08days$. Gayal male calves had higher birth weight (19.67 kg) than female calves (15.58 kg) in first lactation. Birth weight increases in second and third lactation than first lactation in both male and female calves. Highest conception rate observed in winter season and 70.60% successful conception occur when service was given within 21-30 h of estrous. Maximum number of female gayal use to come in estrous in winter and calved in monsoon and autumn. Cervicitis and irregular heat were the most reproductive problems followed by metritis, case of abortion, anestrous and repeat breeding. From this study it was observed that the reproductive performance of gayal is very close with the domestic cattle. It may use as beef cattle for the hilly regions of Bangladesh.

• Asian-Australasian Journal of Animal Sciences
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• v.7 no.2
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• pp.261-264
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• 1994

The lactation milk yields of 209 buffaloes and cattle were measured on farms in Taplejung and Dhankuta Districts in East Nepal. This includes local and crossbred buffaloes and cows. The average milk yield (${\pm}\;SD$) of 97 local buffaloes was $833\;{\pm}\;94.6\;kg$ whereas that for 83 local cows was only $455\;{\pm}\;61.5\;kg$. The milk yield of buffaloes decreased with number of calvings, but that for the cows increased. The milk yields of 18 Murrah crossbreds were on average 215 kg higher than the yields of local buffaloes, and the yields of 11 Jersey crossbred cows averaged 247 kg more than the local cows. Lactation length (${\pm}\;SD$) which averaged $326\;{\pm}\;100$ days for the buffaloes and $292\;{\pm}\;98$ days for the cows, was not affected by crossbreeding. The milk yields of the crossbreds were more variable than the local buffaloes and cows. In addition to milk yield the overall productivity of a milking animal depends on calf mortality, age at first calving, calving interval, longevity, food intake, the work performance of male cattle and the meat production of male buffaloes. Among these parameters, the work performance of Jersey crossbred and local male cattle was studied later. However, other factors could not be measured.

• Journal of Animal Science and Technology
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• v.66 no.2
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• pp.295-309
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• 2024

To investigate the effect of dietary supplementation with a fermented mixture of bean dregs and wheat bran (FBW) on sow performance. FBW was given to sows during late gestation and lactation; in total, 24 sows were randomly assigned to 4 groups (control diet; 3% FBW diet; 6% FBW diet; 9% FBW diet, n = 6). The weight ratio of bean dregs (wet) to wheat bran was 4:6. Sows were fed different diets from 85 d of gestation until weaning. The results showed that supplementation with FBW increased average daily feed intake (ADFI) during lactation (p < 0.05). FBW supplementation also increased litter weight and milk yield (p < 0.05). The contents of Escherichia coli in the feces of the treatment groups were significantly reduced by FBW supplementation (p < 0.01). FBW supplementation significantly improved the fecal morphology (p < 0.05), alleviating sows' constipation. In conclusion, FBW could increase the ADFI, improve lactation and piglet litter weight in sows and reduce the pathogenic bacterial content in sow feces and constipation.

• Asian-Australasian Journal of Animal Sciences
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• v.13 no.12
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• pp.1691-1698
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• 2000

An in situ digestion trial (Experiment 1) and a lactation trial (Experiment 2) were conducted to determine the effects of replacing corn and wheat bran with soyhulls (SH) in lactating dairy cow diets on the extent and kinetics of digestion of DM and NDF, and lactation performance. In experiment 1, five mixed feeds consisting of mixed concentrate and roughages (50:50 on a DM basis) were formulated on isonitrogenous and isoenergetic bases to produce five levels (0, 25, 50, 75 and 100%) of SH replacement for corn and wheat bran. SH had high in situ digestion (92 and 89% for potentially digestible DM and NDF) and fairly fast digestion rate (7.2 and 6.3 %/h for DM and NDF). Increasing level of SH replacement resulted in increased NDF digestibility (linear, p=0.001-0.04) and similar DM digestibility (beyond 12 h incubation, p=0.10-0.41). As level of SH replacement increased, percentage of slowly digestible fraction (b) of DM increased (linear, p=0.03), percentage of rapidly digestible fraction (a) of DM tended to decrease (linear, p=0.14), and DM digestion lag time tended to be longer (linear, p=0.13). Percentage of potentially digestible fraction (a+b) and digestion rate (c) of slowly digestible fraction of dietary DM remained unaltered (p=0.36-0.90) with increasing SH in the diet. Increasing level of SH for replacing corn and wheat bran in the diet resulted in increases in percentages of b (quadratic, p<0.001), a (linear, p=0.08), a+b (quadratic, p=0.001) and a tendency to increase in c for NDF (linear, p<0.19). It was also observed that there was a satisfactory fit of a non-linear regression model to NDF digestion data ($R^2=0.986-0.998$), but a relatively poor fit of the model to DM digestion data ($R^2=0.915-0.968$). In experiment 2, 42 lactating Holstein cows were used in a randomized complete block design. SH replaced corn and wheat bran in mixed concentrates at 0, 25, and 50%, respectively. These mixed concentrates were mixed with roughages and fed ad libitum as complete diets. Replacing corn and wheat bran with SH at 0, 25 and 50% levels did not influence (p=0.56-0.95) DM intakes (18.4, 18.6, and 18.5 kg/d), milk yields (27.7, 28.4 and 27.6 kg/d), 4% fat-corrected-milk (FCM) yields (26.2, 27.6, and 27.3 kg/d) and percentages of milk protein (3.12, 3.17 and 3.18%), milk lactose (4.69, 4.76 and 4.68%) and SNF (8.50, 8.64, and 8.54%). On the other hand, milk fat percentges linearly increased (3.63, 3.85 and 3.90% for SH replacement rates of 0, 25 and 50% in the diet, p=0.08), while feed costs per kg FCM production were reduced.

• Asian-Australasian Journal of Animal Sciences
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• v.15 no.9
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• pp.1267-1272
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• 2002

The present research was undertaken to monitor the effects of restricted and ad. libitum feeding during last trimester of pregnancy on the performance of crossbred dairy cows and their calves. For this purpose two groups of crossbred cows having eight animals in each group were put into two plane of nutrition during their last three months of pregnancy. Dietary energy level in one group was calculated as per Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food, (MAFF, UK) and the cows on other group received ad. libitum feeding (concentrate level similar to MAFF, recommendation+ad. libitum roughage). After calving, the cows of both groups were given same diet (ad. libitum) to study the effect of feeding during pregnancy on subsequent lactation performance of the cows. It was observed that during pre-calving period cows on ad. libitum feeding gained significantly (p<0.05) more body weight than that of cows on restricted feeding ($38.50{\pm}6.04$ vs $21.37{\pm}8.04kg/cow$). There was no significant differences between the birth weight of calves of restricted ($21.31{\pm}2.18kg$) and ad. libitum ($20.31{\pm}3.27kg$) groups. Dietary energy intake of ad. libitum group ($50.22{\pm}4.24$ MJ ME/d/cow) was significantly higher (p<0.01) than that of restricted group ($39.76{\pm}1.03$ MJ ME/d/cow). During lactation period cows that were on restricted feeding produced little more milk (3.06 lit/cow/day), than that of the cows on ad. libitum feeding (2.84 lit/cow/day). Although growth rate of the calves of restricted group upto one month ($0.23{\pm}0.09kg/calf/d$) was significantly (p<0.01) higher than that of ad. libitum group ($0.17{\pm}0.08kg/calf/d$) but after four months the growth rate of the calves of two groups become nearly similar ($0.35{\pm}0.02$ vs $0.37{\pm}0.03kg/calf/d$) and difference between them was non-significant. During lactation period cows of restricted group gained little weight but cows of ad. libitum group lost significantly (p<0.05) more weight. Per day metabolizable energy intake in both group during lactation period was nearly similar (67.54 vs 69.58 MJ ME). It is concluded that ad. libitum feeding during last trimester of pregnancy is neither economic for getting maximum milk yield nor for calf growth rate and MAFF, recommended level of dietary energy during that period could be applied on our pregnant crossbred dairy cows.

• Journal of Animal Science and Technology
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• v.62 no.3
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• pp.334-347
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• 2020

The adequate intake of energy and lysine for primiparous sows are necessary for maternal growth of sows and growth of their progeny. This study was conducted to evaluate the effects of dietary energy and lysine levels on primiparous sows and their progeny. A total of 48 gilts (Yorkshire × Landrace), with an initial body weight (BW) of 168.1 ± 9.71 kg and at day 35 of gestation, were allotted to eight treatment groups with a 2 × 4 factorial arrangement. The first factor was metabolizable energy levels in diet (3,265 or 3,365 kcal of ME/kg), and the second factor was lysine levels in diet (gestation 0.55%, 0.65%, 0.75%, 0.85%, lactation 0.70%, 0.85%, 1.00%, 1.15%). The BW gain (p = 0.07) and backfat thickness (p = 0.09) in the gestation period showed a tendency to be increased in sows fed the high-energy diets. In the lactation period, sows fed the high-energy diets tended to be greater BW (p = 0.09) and less BW loss (p = 0.05) than those of sows fed the low-energy diets. Sows fed high-energy diets had a tendency of greater piglet weight at day 21 of lactation and greater piglet weight gain (p = 0.08 and p = 0.08, respectively). Although the blood urea nitrogen (BUN) was increased linearly as dietary lysine level increased at day 110 of gestation (Linear, p = 0.03), the BUN was decreased linearly as dietary lysine level increase at day 21 of lactation (Linear, p < 0.01). In the composition of colostrum, sows fed high-energy diets had greater casein, protein, total solid, solid not fat, and free fatty acid concentrations than those of sows fed low-energy diets (p < 0.05). Supplementation of total lysine 0.75% for gestation and 1.00% for lactation with 3,365 kcal of ME/kg energy level could be applied to the primiparous sows' diet to improve performance of sows and growth of their progeny.

• Korean Journal of Agricultural Science
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• v.49 no.2
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• pp.297-306
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• 2022

This experiment was conducted to evaluate the effects of δ-aminolevulinic acid (ALA) when added to sows' diet on their reproductive performance and growth performance and on the hematology parameters of the sows and their piglets. Sixteen multiparous sows (Yorkshire × Landrace) were allotted into two treatment groups and fed basal diets (CON, piglets were injected with iron dextran) or the basal diet containing 0.1% ALA (ALA, piglets were not injected with iron dextran) from day 100 of gestation to day 28 of lactation. Supplementation of ALA had no effect on the body weight (BW), backfat thickness (BFT), or litter sizes of sows in the present experiment. However, the average daily feed intake (ADFI) of the sows was significantly improved (p < 0.05) in the ALA group. Supplementation of ALA had no effect on the growth performance or survival of suckling piglets but had a significant effect on the birth weight (p < 0.05). With regard to the blood profiles, serum concentrations of iron were unaffected in sows and piglets as compared to the control group. Red blood cell (RBC) counts were significantly improved (p < 0.05) in sows during late gestation to the time before farrowing period and in piglets at weaning. In summary, these results suggest that dietary supplementation of ALA can have positive effects by improving growth performance and blood RBC in sows and suckling piglets.