Search results for "cows"

Non-parametric approaches to the impact of Holstein heifer growth from birth to insemination on their dairy performance at lactation one

2012

SUMMARYParametric approaches have been used widely to model animal growth and study the impact of growth profile on performance. Individual variation is often not considered in such approaches. However, non-parametric modelling allows this. Such an approach, based on spline functions, was used to study the importance of growth profiles from age 0 to 15 months (i.e. insemination) on milk yield and composition in primiparous cows. A dataset of 447 heifers was used for analysis of growth performance; 296 of them were also used to study impact on lactation. All of them originated from a French experimental herd and were born between 1986 and 2006. Clustering methods were also tested. Comparison…

The maturity stage of the grass affects milk fatty acids of cows grazing a mountain grassland

2010

International audience; We aimed to quantify the effect of the growth stage of a mountain grassland pasture on the fatty acid (FA) composition of grass and milk. In June (growth) and October (regrowth), a mountain pasture was continuously grazed by six dairy cows in a strip grazing system. During June, the grass C18:3n-3 content decreased while C16:0, c9-C18:1 and C18:2n-6 content increased. During October, the grass FA composition was similar to that observed in the first part of June. During June, milk saturated FA (SFA) content increased while the sum of the trans FA and polyunsaturated FA (PUFA) content decreased, mainly due to the decrease in C18:3n-3 and c9t11-CLA percentages. At the …

Both grass development and grazing management influence milk terpene content.

2005

Microbial analysis of raw cows' milk used for cheese-making: influence of storage treatments on microbial composition and other technological traits

2010

Raw milk used to produce Grana cheese was subjected to several treatment regimes, including varying temperatures and storage times. Milk from morning and evening milking were transferred to a dairy factory sepa- rately (double delivery) or together (single delivery), after storage at the farm for 12 h; in the former case, milk was stored at 12 or 8°C, whereas, in the latter, it was kept at ambient temperature or 18°C. Values of pH of the vat milk were lower for milk samples kept at room temperature, while other physico-chemical parameters and rheological characteristics tested did not show significant differ- ences linked to the different storage temperatures of milk used for ‘‘Grana Trenti…

Receiver-operating characteristic curves for somatic cell scores and California mastitis test in Valle del Belice dairy sheep.

2013

Using receiver-operating characteristic (ROC) curve methodology this study was designed to assess the diagnostic effectiveness of somatic cell count (SCC) and the California mastitis test (CMT) in Valle del Belice sheep, and to propose and evaluate threshold values for those tests that would optimally discriminate between healthy and infected udders. Milk samples (n = 1357) were collected from 684 sheep in four flocks. The prevalence of infection, as determined by positive bacterial culture was 0.36, 87.7% of which were minor and 12.3% major pathogens. Of the culture negative samples, 83.7% had an SCC < 500,000/mL and 97.4% had <1,000,000 cells/mL. When the associations between SC score (SC…

Effects of grazing on welfare and production traits of organic dairy cows

2013

In organic livestock systems, grazing is the preferred feeding source, especially for animal welfare and health implications, but it is not an obliged practice. In order to contribute on this topic, in an organic dairy farm, grazing was compared with permanent free-stall housing using two homogeneous groups of eight Bruna cows allocated to the following regimes: (G) grazing on barley grass for 5 h/d, and then kept in a free-stall structure and fed with unifeed, composed of hay and concentrate; (S) kept in a free-stall building for 24 h/d and fed with a diet based on the same unifeed. Comparison was based on milk production, behaviour, immune responses, metabolic status and oxidative stress …

Effect of β-lactoglobulin (LGB) and k-casein (CSN3) alleles on some characteristics of milk produced by Cinisara cows

2015

It is well known that β-lactoglobulin (LGB) and k-casein (CSN3) alleles affect milk cheese making properties. The purpose of this study was to analyse the A and B allele distribution at the LGB and CSN3 loci in Cinisara breed and their influence on milk and cheese making production traits. The Cinisara is a Sicilian breed which, according to DAD-IS database (FAO), consists of about 5,000 individuals and is reared mainly for milk production which is usually transformed into Caciocavallo Palermitano, a typical stretched-curd cheese. We typed 314 lactating cows at the LGB and CSN3 loci by means of RFLP-PCR analyses. The frequencies of LGB A and B alleles were 0.22 and 0.78, respectively; the f…

Wheat bran as dietary tool to improve dairy production, oxidative status of lactating cows and food sustainability indexes.

2017

Wheat bran (WB), an inexpensive by-product widely available in southern Italy, is largely used as component of feed for ruminants, contributing to decrease the use of food suitable for human consumption, thus to improve the sustainability of livestock production. However, the potential benefits of WB, due to its content in polyphenolic compounds, mainly consisted of ferulic acid, in improving rumen conditions and the antioxidant balance of animals, and also providing animal products with functional properties, are not yet well known. Accordingly, this experiment was carried out for 100 days with 36 lactating Italian Simmental cows divided into 3 groups receiving one of 3 concentrates includ…

Milk fatty acids of cows grazing a mountain diversified grassland is highly affected by the maturity stage of the grass.

2009

Effect of somatic cell count level on functional longevity in Valle del Belice dairy sheep assessed using survival analysis.

2009

The objectives of this study were to evaluate the effect of somatic cell count (SCC) on functional longevity and to estimate the heritability of functional longevity using survival analysis in Valle del Belice dairy sheep. A total of 4,880 lactations of 2,190 ewes from 11 flocks were used. In this study, SCC was considered as an indication of subclinical mastitis. In case of clinical cases, identified by the technicians at milking time, test-day weights and milk samples of those ewes were not considered. Somatic cells were analyzed as counts, without any transformation, and were grouped in 3 classes based on the observed SCC maximum (mxSCC). The mxSCC classes, expressed as 103 cells/mL, wer…