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A note on the lactation curves of some high-yielding British Friesian cows

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  02 September 2010

P. D. P. Wood
P. D. P. Wood
Affiliation:
Milk Marketing Board, Thames Ditton, Surrey KT7 0EL
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Abstract

In the year ending September 1977, 242 British Friesian cows were recorded as having produced more than 10 000 kg in a 305-day lactation. The model y(n) = anbe−cn was fitted to the monthly test day yields of each lactation (a, b, c are constants, e the base of natural logarithms and y(n) the average daily yield in week n). The model explained 87·7% of total variation in the loge y(ri), and the mean constants were 31·8, 0·3160 and 0·0373. Seasonality of production was confined mainly to a spring peak of about 10% above an approximately constant level of production during the rest of the year. These lactations generally peaked later, were more persistent and showed less response to seasonal variation than average.

Type
Research Article
Information
Animal Production , Volume 30 , Issue 2 , April 1980 , pp. 299 - 302
Copyright
Copyright © British Society of Animal Science 1980

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References

REFERENCES

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