Hostname: page-component-586b7cd67f-t7czq Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-11-30T21:19:00.055Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

The association between age at first calving and survival of first lactation heifers within dairy herds

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  02 May 2016

V. E. Sherwin ,
C. D. Hudson ,
A. Henderson  and
M. J. Green
V. E. Sherwin*
Affiliation:
School of Veterinary Medicine and Science, University of Nottingham, Sutton Bonington, LE12 5RD, UK
C. D. Hudson
Affiliation:
School of Veterinary Medicine and Science, University of Nottingham, Sutton Bonington, LE12 5RD, UK
A. Henderson
Affiliation:
School of Veterinary Medicine and Science, University of Nottingham, Sutton Bonington, LE12 5RD, UK
M. J. Green
Affiliation:
School of Veterinary Medicine and Science, University of Nottingham, Sutton Bonington, LE12 5RD, UK
*
†E-mail: [email protected]
Get access

Abstract

The objective of this research was to evaluate the survival rate of primiparous heifers within a large sample of herds across the United Kingdom and specifically to assess the association between age at first calving (AFC) on their survival. Data from 437 herds were re-structured for analysis. Descriptive statistics were calculated, and a multilevel logistic regression model was used to explore factors associated with the risk of first lactation culling. Potential explanatory variables included AFC, herd size, culling rate within the whole herd, calving season, herd mean 305-day yield and herd mean calving interval. The mean within-herd culling rate for the primiparous heifers was 15.9%. The mean within-herd AFC was 29.6 months, with 35.9% of heifers having an AFC >30 months of age. Multivariable analysis revealed a negative association between survival rate of primiparous heifers and increasing AFC, and also associations with herd culling rate in older cows and calving season. This study highlights the importance of AFC for survival of primiparous heifers, as well as the need to address heifer wastage in herds with high culling rates.

Keywords

age at first calvingheiferslongevityculling
Type
Research Article
Information
animal , Volume 10 , Issue 11 , November 2016 , pp. 1877 - 1882
Copyright
© The Animal Consortium 2016 

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Archer, SC, Mc Coy, F, Wapenaar, W and Green, MJ 2013. Association between somatic cell count early in the first lactation and the longevity of Irish dairy cows. Journal of Dairy Science 96, 2939–2950.Google Scholar
Bach, A 2011. Associations between several aspects of heifer development and dairy cow survivability to second lactation. Journal of Dairy Science 94, 1052–1057.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Bell, MJ, Wall, E, Russell, G, Roberts, DJ and Simm, G 2010. Risk factors for culling in Holstein-Friesian dairy cows. The Veterinary Record 167, 238–240.Google Scholar
Berry, DP and Cromie, AR 2009. Associations between age at first calving and subsequent performance in Irish spring calving Holstein–Friesian dairy cows. Livestock Science 123, 44–54.Google Scholar
Brickell, JS and Wathes, DC 2011. A descriptive study of the survival of Holstein-Friesian heifers through to third calving on English dairy farms. Journal of Dairy Science 94, 1831–1838.Google Scholar
Chirinos, Z, Carabaño, MJ and Hernández, D 2015. Genetic evaluation of length of productive life in the Spanish Holstein-Friesian population. Model validation and genetic parameters estimation. Livestock Science 106, 120–131.Google Scholar
Cooke, J, Cheng, Z, Bourne, N and Wathes, D 2013. Association between growth rates, age at first calving and subsequent fertility, milk production and survival in Holstein-Friesian heifers. Open Journal of Animal Sciences 3, 1–12.Google Scholar
Ducrocq, V 1994. Statistical analysis of length of productive life for dairy cows of the Normande breed. Journal of Dairy Science 77, 855–866.Google Scholar
Esslemont, RJ and Kossaibati, MA 1997. Culling in 50 dairy herds in England. The Veterinary Record 140, 36–39.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Ettema, JF and Santos, JEP 2004. Impact of age at calving on lactation, reproduction, health, and income in first-parity Holsteins on commercial farms. Journal of Dairy Science 87, 2730–2742.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Evans, RD, Wallace, M, Shalloo, L, Garrick, DJ and Dillon, P 2006. Financial implications of recent declines in reproduction and survival of Holstein-Friesian cows in spring-calving Irish dairy herds. Agricultural Systems 89, 165–183.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Fetrow, J, Nordlund, KV and Norman, HD 2006. Invited review: culling: nomenclature, definitions, and recommendations. Journal of Dairy Science 89, 1896–1905.Google Scholar
Heinrichs, AJ 1993. Raising dairy replacements to meet the needs of the 21st century. Journal of Dairy Science 76, 3179–3187.Google Scholar
Hoffman, PC, Brehm, NM, Price, SG and Prill-Adams, A 1996. Effect of accelerated postpubertal growth and early calving on lactation performance of primiparous Holstein heifers. Journal of Dairy Science 79, 2024–2031.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Hudson, CD, Bradley, AJ, Breen, JE and Green, MJ 2012. Associations between udder health and reproductive performance in United Kingdom dairy cows. Journal of Dairy Science 95, 3683–3697.Google Scholar
Kaplan, EL and Meier, P 1958. Nonparametric estimation from incomplete observations. Journal of the American Statistical Association 53, 457–481.Google Scholar
Lin, CY, McAllister, AJ, Batra, TR, Lee, AJ, Roy, GL, Vesely, JA, Wauthy, JM and Winter, KA 1988. Effects of early and late breeding of heifers on multiple lactation performance of dairy cows. Journal of Dairy Science 71, 2735–2743.Google Scholar
Nilforooshan, MA and Edriss, MA 2004. Effect of age at first calving on some productive and longevity traits in Iranian Holsteins of the Isfahan province. Journal of Dairy Science 87, 2130–2135.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Ojango, JMK, Ducrocq, V and Pollott, GE 2005. Survival analysis of factors affecting culling early in the productive life of Holstein-Friesian cattle in Kenya. Livestock Production Science 92, 317–322.Google Scholar
Orpin, PG and Esslemont, RJ 2010. Culling and wastage in dairy herds: an update on incidence and economic impact in dairy herds in the UK. Cattle Practice 18, 163–172.Google Scholar
Pirlo, G, Miglior, F and Speroni, M 2000. Effect of age at first calving on production traits and on difference between milk yield returns and rearing costs in Italian Holsteins. Journal of Dairy Science 83, 603–608.Google Scholar
Rabash, J, Charlton, C, Browne, WJ, Healy, M and Cameron, B 2012. Mlwin version 2.31. Centre for multilevel modelling. University of Bristol, Bristol, UK.Google Scholar
Vukasinovic, N, Moll, J and Casanova, L 2001. Implementation of a routine genetic evaluation for longevity based on survival analysis techniques in dairy cattle populations in Switzerland. Journal of Dairy Science 84, 2073–2080.Google Scholar
Vukasinovic, N, Moll, J and Künzi, N 1997. Analysis of productive life in Swiss Brown cattle. Journal of Dairy Science 80, 2572–2579.Google Scholar
Wathes, DC, Pollott, GE, Johnson, KF, Richardson, H and Cooke, JS 2014. Heifer fertility and carry over consequences for life time production in dairy and beef cattle. Animal 8 (suppl. 1), 91–104.Google Scholar
Whitaker, DA, Kelly, JM and Smith, S 2000. Disposal and disease rates in 340 British dairy herds. The Veterinary Record 146, 363–367.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Wu, JJ, Wathes, DC, Brickell, JS, Yang, LG, Cheng, Z, Zhao, HQ, Xu, YJ and Zhang, SJ 2012. Reproductive performance and survival of Chinese Holstein dairy cows in central China. Animal Production Science 52, 11–19.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Zavadilová, L and Zink, V 2013. Genetic relationship of functional longevity with female fertility and milk production traits in Czech Holsteins. Czech Journal of Animal Science 58, 554–565.Google Scholar