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A note on the variability of hormone concentrations in twice-weekly blood samples taken from heifer calves during the first 110 days of life

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  02 September 2010

I. C. Hart ,
S. V. Morant  and
J. H. B. Roy
I. C. Hart
Affiliation:
National Institute for Research in Dairying, Shinfield, Reading RG2 9AT
S. V. Morant
Affiliation:
National Institute for Research in Dairying, Shinfield, Reading RG2 9AT
J. H. B. Roy
Affiliation:
National Institute for Research in Dairying, Shinfield, Reading RG2 9AT
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Abstract

To assess the variability of hormone values obtained from calves at an early age, plasma concentrations of prolactin, growth hormone, insulin and thyroxine were measured in blood samples taken twice-weekly from seven heifers maintained under commercial conditions during their first 110 days of life. With the possible exception of thyroxine, there was considerable variation in the concentration of each hormone in each animal throughout the period of sampling, thus indicating that twice-weekly sampling was inadequate for investigating differences in hormonal concentrations between cattle of different production potential. Although there were trends in the pattern of plasma hormone concentrations as the calves progressed from the pre-ruminant to ruminant states, few of the changes during the pre-weaning, weaning and post-weaning periods were consistent between animals.

Type
Research Article
Information
Animal Production , Volume 32 , Issue 2 , April 1981 , pp. 215 - 217
Copyright
Copyright © British Society of Animal Science 1981

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References

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