Milk Yield, Reproduction and Milk Quality Characteristics of Simmental and Red-Holstein Cattle Raised in a Dairy Farm in Aydın Province: 1. Reproduction and Milk Yield

Abstract

In this study, fertility and milk yield characteristics of Simmental (SIM) and Red-Holstein (RH) cattle raised in a private dairy farm in Aydın province were determined. For fertility traits, days open (DO), calving interval (CI), gestation length (GL) and number of inseminations per pregnancy (NIPP), for milk yield traits lactation length (LL), lactation milk yield (LMY), 305-days milk yield (305-dMY), peak time (PT) and peak milk yield (PMY) were determined. The means of DO, CI, GL and NIPP of RH and SIM breeds were 109.44±5.66 d and 96.06±3.51 d, 389.16±5.70 d and 380.37±3.54 d, 279.71±0.469 d and 284.94±0.303 d, 1.88±0.099 and 1.85±0.065; the means of LL, LMY, 305-dMY, PT and PMY were 333.00±5.405 d and 322.72±3.233 d, 8235.32±148.099 kg and 7357.03±88.122 kg, 7628.78±109.148 kg and 6938.09±64.945 kg, 46.55±2.196 d and 44.46±1.218 d, and 34.68±0.567 kg and 31.47±0.314 kg, respectively. Although, significant fertility and milk yield differences were obtained between the breeds, the favorable performances of both SIM and RH breeds in terms of all features, considered as the environmental factors such as management-feeding-housing-herd management provided to animals in the farm were also suitable.

Keywords

• cattle
• milk yield
• fertility traits
• 305-d milk yield
• days open
• peak time