Hostname: page-component-586b7cd67f-2plfb Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-11-24T14:30:20.387Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Effects of feeding treatment on growth rates, metabolic profiles and age at puberty, and their relationships in dairy heifers

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  10 October 2018

F. Abeni Open the ORCID record for F. Abeni [Opens in a new window] ,
F. Petrera Open the ORCID record for F. Petrera [Opens in a new window]  and
Y. Le Cozler Open the ORCID record for Y. Le Cozler [Opens in a new window]
F. Abeni
Affiliation:
CREA – Research Centre for Animal production and Aquaculture, Via A. Lombardo, 11, 26900 Lodi, Italy
F. Petrera
Affiliation:
CREA – Research Centre for Animal production and Aquaculture, Via A. Lombardo, 11, 26900 Lodi, Italy
Y. Le Cozler*
Affiliation:
PEGASE, AGROCAMPUS OUEST, INRA, 35000 Rennes, France
*
†E-mail: [email protected]
Get access

Abstract

Puberty attainment in dairy heifers has been widely studied from a hormonal point of view, but few studies have focussed on puberty–blood profile relationships during growth. We led experiments to determine the effects of feeding treatments on growth parameters, age at puberty and plasma biochemical profiles, and the relationships between age at puberty and metabolic profiles at 6, 9, 12 and 15 months (mo) of age. Blood samples were collected from 67 Holstein heifers, born between September 2011 and February 2012, every 10 days from 5.5 mo of age until heifers were considered pubertal (plasma progesterone concentration greater than 1.0 ng/ml) or oestrus synchronisation (November 2012; 11 to 15 mo of age). Heifers born before 30 November were fed either a standard diet (SD, n=27) or an intensive-plane diet (ID1, n=27) from 0 to 6 mo of age. This strategy aimed to reach 190 to 200 kg (SD) or 220 to 230 kg (ID1) BW at 6 mo of age. All heifers born after 1 December received an intensive-plane diet (ID2, n=13) from birth until oestrus synchronisation, in order to reach a similar BW at first insemination as heifers born before 1 December. Only 56 heifers reached puberty before oestrus synchronisation, at an average age of 10.3±2.2 mo (6.2 to 14.4 mo) and a BW of 296±40 kg (224 to 369 kg). There was no difference among the three feeding treatments until 6 mo, but at 9, 12 and 15 mo of age, ID2 (n=11) heifers weighed 37, 52 and 30 kg more than SD (n=22) and ID1 (n=23) heifers (P<0.001), respectively. Glucose, non-esterified fatty acids, albumin, aspartate aminotransferase, alkaline phosphatase and tartrate-resistant acid phosphatase, calcium, phosphorus, potassium and iron decreased with age, whereas β-hydroxybutyric acid, total cholesterol, creatinine, the creatinine : albumin ratio, alanine aminotransferase and chloride increased. The feeding treatment significantly affected creatinine, the creatinine : albumin ratio, and phosphorus and sodium levels, which were higher for ID2 heifers compared with SD and ID1. A logistic regression based on plasma metabolites at 6 mo of age to explain puberty attainment before or at 12 mo of age showed a positive relationship with plasma cholesterol (odds ratio=9.05). In conclusion, the feeding treatment had minor consequences on plasma metabolites, but it did affect growth performance.

Keywords

rearingmetabolitesHolsteinfemaleoestrus
Type
Research Article
Information
animal , Volume 13 , Issue 5 , May 2019 , pp. 1020 - 1029
Copyright
© The Animal Consortium 2018 

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

Abeni, F, Calamari, L, Stefanini, L and Pirlo, G 2000. Effects of daily gain in pre- and postpubertal replacement dairy heifers on body condition score, body size, metabolic profile, and future milk production. Journal of Dairy Science 83, 1468–1478.Google Scholar
Abeni, F, Calamari, L, Stefanini, L and Pirlo, G 2012. Effect of average daily gain on body size, metabolism, and milk production of Italian Holstein heifers raised on two different planes of nutrition and calving at two different ages. Livestock Science 149, 7–17.Google Scholar
Abeni, F, Migliorati, L, Terzano, GM, Capelletti, M, Gallo, A, Masoero, F and Pirlo, G 2014. Effects of two different blends of naturally mycotoxin-contaminated maize meal on growth and metabolic profile in replacement heifers. Animal 8, 1667–1676.Google Scholar
Agabriel J and Meschy F 2007. Alimentation des veaux et des génisses d'élevage. In Alimentation des ruminants. Besoins des animaux et valeur des aliments, pp. 75–87. Editions Quae, Versailles, France. Google Scholar
Anderson, JL, Kalscheur, KF, Clapper, JA, Perry, GA, Keisler, DH, Garcia, AD and Schingoethe, DJ 2015. Feeding fat from distillers dried grains with solubles to dairy heifers: II. Effects on metabolic profile. Journal of Dairy Science 98, 5709–5719.Google Scholar
Bergfeld, EGM, Kojima, FN, Cupp, AS, Wehrman, ME, Peters, KE, Garcia-Winder, M and Kinder, JE 1994. Ovarian follicular development in prepubertal heifers is influenced by level of dietary energy intake. Biology of Reproduction 51, 1051–1057.Google Scholar
Boudon, A, Graulet, B, Giger-Reverdin, S, Archimède, H and Meschy, F 2018. Minerals, vitamins and water requirements. In INRA feeding systems for ruminants (ed. P Nozière, D Sauvant and L Delaby), pp. 139–147. Wageningen Academic Publishers, Wageningen, The Netherlands.Google Scholar
Brickell, JS, McGowan, MM and Wathes, DC 2009. Effect of management factors and blood metabolites during the rearing period on growth of dairy heifers on UK farms. Domestic Animal Endocrinology 36, 67–81.Google Scholar
Byerley, DJ, Staigmiller, RB, Berardinelli, JG and Short, RE 1987. Pregnancy rates of beef heifers bred either on pubertal or third oestrus. Journal of Animal Science 65, 645–650.Google Scholar
Chelikani, PK, Ambrose, JD and Kennelly, JJ 2003. Effect of dietary energy and protein density on body composition, attainment of puberty, and ovarian follicular dynamics in dairy heifers. Theriogenology 60, 707–725.Google Scholar
Cue, RI, Pietersma, D, Lefebvre, D, Lacroix, R, Wade, K, Pellerin, D, de Passillé, AM and Rushen, J 2012. Growth modelling of dairy heifers in Québec based on random regression. Canadian Journal of Animal Science 92, 33–47.Google Scholar
Duplessis, M, Cue, RI, Santschi, DE, Lefebvre, DM and Lacroix, R 2015. Weight, height, and relative-reliability indicators as a management tool for reducing age at first breeding and calving of dairy heifers. Journal of Dairy Science 98, 2063–2073.Google Scholar
Evans, ACO, Adams, GP and Rawlings, NC 1994. Follicular and hormonal development in prepubertal heifers from 2 to 36 weeks of age. Journal of Reproduction and Fertility 102, 463–470.Google Scholar
Fox, DG, Van Amburgh, ME and Tylutki, TP 1999. Predicting requirements for growth, maturity, and body reserves in dairy cattle. Journal of Dairy Science 82, 1968–1977.Google Scholar
Gasser, CL, Behlke, EJ, Grum, DE and Day, ML 2006. Effect of timing of feeding a high-concentrate diet on growth and attainment of puberty in early-weaned heifers. Journal of Animal Science 84, 3118–3122.Google Scholar
Hall, JB, Staigmiller, RB, Bellows, RA, Short, RE, Moseley, WM and Bellows, SE 1995. Body composition and metabolic profiles associated with puberty in beef heifers. Journal of Animal Science 73, 3409–3420.Google Scholar
Hoffman, PC 1997. Optimum body size of Holstein replacement heifers. Journal of Animal Science 75, 836–845.Google Scholar
Kaneko, JJ 1997. Carbohydrate metabolism and its diseases. In Clinical biochemistry of domestic animals (ed. JJ Kaneko, JW Harvey and ML Bruss), pp. 45–81. Academic Press, San Diego, CA, USA.Google Scholar
Klinkon, M and Ježek, J 2012. Values of blood variables in calves. In A bird’s-eye view of veterinary medicine (ed. CC Perez-Marin), pp. 301–320. InTech, Rijeka, Croatia.Google Scholar
Le Cozler, Y, Dagorn, J, Lindberg, JE, Aumaître, A and Dourmad, JY 1998. Effect of age at first farrowing and herd management on long term productivity of sows. Livestock Production Science 53, 135–142.10.1016/S0301-6226(97)00157-7Google Scholar
Le Cozler, Y, Lollivier, V, Lacasse, P and Disenhaus, C 2008. Rearing strategy and optimizing first-calving targets in dairy heifers: a review. Animal 2, 1393–1404.Google Scholar
Lin, CY, McAllister, AJ, Batra, TR, Lee, AJ, Roy, GL, Vesely, JA, Wauthy, JM and Winter, KA 1986. Production and reproduction of early and late bred dairy heifers. Journal of Dairy Science 69, 760–768.Google Scholar
Littell, RC, Henry, PR and Ammerman, CB 1998. Statistical analysis of repeated measures data using SAS procedures. Journal of Animal Science 76, 1216–1231.Google Scholar
Melvin, EJ, Lindsey, BR, Quintal-Franco, J, Zanella, E, Fike, KE, Van Tassell, CP and Kinder, JE 1999. Circulating concentrations of estradiol, luteinizing hormone, and follicle-stimulating hormone during waves of ovarian follicular development in prepubertal cattle. Biology of Reproduction 60, 405–412.Google Scholar
Meyer, MJ, Capuco, AV, Ross, DA, Lintault, LM and Van Amburgh, ME 2006. Development and nutritional regulation of the prepubertal heifer mammary gland: II. Epithelial cell proliferation, parenchymal accretion rate and allometric growth. Journal of Dairy Science 89, 4298–4304.Google Scholar
Pryce JE, Gonzalez-Recio O, Thornhill JB, Marett LC, Wales WJ, Coffey MP, de Haas Y, Veerkamp RF and Hayes BJ 2014. Short communication: Validation of genomic breeding value predictions for feed intake and feed efficiency traits. Journal of Dairy Science 97, 537–542. Google Scholar
R Core Team 2016. R: a language and environment for statistical computing. R Foundation for Statistical Computing, Vienna, Austria. Version 3.2.4. Retrieved 1 April 2016 from https:// www .r-project.org/.Google Scholar
Robinson, JJ 1990. Nutrition in the reproduction of farm animals. Nutrition Research Reviews 3, 253–276.10.1079/NRR19900015Google Scholar
Rodríguez-Sánchez, JA, Sanz, A, Tamanini, C and Casasús, I 2015. Metabolic, endocrine, and reproductive responses of beef heifers submitted to different growth strategies during the lactation and rearing periods. Journal of Animal Science 93, 3871–3885.Google Scholar
Samadi, F, Blache, D, Martin, GB and D’Occhio, MJ 2014. Nutrition, metabolic profiles and puberty in Brahman (Bos indicus) beef heifers. Animal Reproduction Science 146, 134–142.Google Scholar
SAS Institute Inc., 2009. SAS/STAT R 9.2 User's Guide, 2nd edition. SAS Institute Inc., Cary, NC, USA. Google Scholar
Taylor, VJ, Beever, DE, Bryant, MJ and Wathes, DC 2004. First lactation ovarian function in dairy heifers in relation to prepubertal metabolic profiles. Journal of Endocrinology 180, 63–75.Google Scholar
Tucker, HA, Petitclerc, D and Zinn, SA 1984. The influence of photoperiod on body weight gain, body composition, nutrient intake and hormone secretion. Journal of Animal Science 59, 1610–1620.Google Scholar
Yart, L, Lollivier, V, Marnet, PG and Dessauge, F 2014. Role of ovarian secretions in mammary gland development and function in ruminants. Animal 8, 72–85.Google Scholar
Wattiaux M 1997. Dairy Essentials: Heifer raising – weaning to calving. 34 Growth rate. Babcock Institute for International, Dairy Research and Development, University of Wisconsin-Madison. Retrieved on 3 July 2007 from http://babcock.cals.wisc.edu/downloads/de/34.fr.pdf Google Scholar
Supplementary material: File

Abeni et al. supplementary material

Figures S1-S2 and Table S1

Download Abeni et al. supplementary material(File)
File 411.3 KB