The effect of dam’s parity on the first lactation performance of dairy heifers

Extract

Whether they are planning to calve for the first time at two or three years old Many farmers choose to serve their maiden dairy heifers (animals not previously served, (M. A. F. F. 1985)) with a beef breed recognised for giving easier calvings .Often the heifer breeding programme is not well supervised and it is a matter of convienience to use a resident beef bull.

There are however,considerable advantages to serving heifers with dairy bulls including an increased number of heifer calves for selection or the ability to serve older, nature cows (animals that have commenced at least their first lactation (M. A. F. F. 1985))with a continental beef breed giving large calves of higher market value. Because heifers tend to be calved as a group they provide a batch of calves which can be concentrated upon, easing management and improving control over performance.

If heifers are served by bulls of as higher genetic merit as would normally be used on cows then increased genetic turnover will raise the genetic index in the younger dam which should be reflected in her daughter’s performance.