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Ovarian activity in Fleckvieh, Brown Swiss and two strains of Holstein-Friesian cows in pasture-based, seasonal calving dairy systems

Piccand, Valérie ; Meier, Susanne ; Cutullic, Erwan ; Weilenmann, Sara ; Thomet, Peter ; Schori, Fredy ; Burke, Chris R. ; Weiss, Daniel ; Roche, John R. ; Kunz, Peter L.

In: Journal of Dairy Research, 2011, vol. 78, no. 4, p. 464-470

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    Title
    • Ovarian activity in Fleckvieh, Brown Swiss and two strains of Holstein-Friesian cows in pasture-based, seasonal calving dairy systems
    Author
    • Piccand, Valérie. Swiss College of Agriculture, 3052 Zollikofen, Switzerland
    • Meier, Susanne. DairyNZ Limited, Private Bag 3221, Hamilton 3240, New Zealand
    • Cutullic, Erwan. Swiss College of Agriculture, 3052 Zollikofen, Switzerland
    • Weilenmann, Sara. Vetsuisse Faculty, University of Zürich, 8052 Zürich, Switzerland
    • Thomet, Peter. Swiss College of Agriculture, 3052 Zollikofen, Switzerland
    • Schori, Fredy. Agroscope Liebefeld-Posieux Research Station ALP, 1725 Posieux, Switzerland
    • Burke, Chris R.. DairyNZ Limited, Private Bag 3221, Hamilton 3240, New Zealand
    • Weiss, Daniel. TU ARGE Landnutzung, Mühlenweg 12a, 85354 Freising, Germany
    • Roche, John R.. DairyNZ Limited, Private Bag 3221, Hamilton 3240, New Zealand
    • Kunz, Peter L.. Swiss College of Agriculture, 3052 Zollikofen, Switzerland
    Document Type
    • Postprint
    OAI-PMH Identifier
    • oai:doc.rero.ch:303831
    Summary
    The objectives of the study were to compare the ovarian activity of Holstein-Friesian (CH HF), Fleckvieh (CH FV) and Brown Swiss (CH BS) dairy cows of Swiss origin with that of Holstein-Friesian (NZ HF) dairy cows of New Zealand origin, the latter being used as a reference for reproductive performance in pasture-based seasonal calving systems. Fifty, second-lactation NZ HF cows were each paired with a second-lactation Swiss cow (17, 15 and 18 CH HF, CH FV and CH BS respectively) in 13 pasture-based, seasonal-calving commercial dairy farms in Switzerland. Ovarian activity was monitored by progesterone profiling from calving to first breeding service. CH BS cows produced less energy-corrected milk (mean 22·8 kg/d) than the other breeds (26·0-26·5 kg/d) during the first 100 d of lactation. CH HF cows had the lowest body condition score (BCS) at calving and the greatest BCS loss from calving to 30 d post partum. Commencement of luteal activity (CLA) was later for NZ HF than for CH FV (51·5 v. 29·2 d; P <0·01), with CH HF and CH BS intermediate (43 d). On average, NZ HF and CH HF cows had one oestrous cycle before the onset of the seasonal breeding period; this was less (P<0·01) than either CH FV (1·7) or CH BS (1·6). There was a low prevalence of luteal persistency (3%) among the studied cows. First and second oestrous cycle inter-ovulatory intervals did not differ between breeds (20·5-22·6 d). The luteal phase length of CH BS during the second cycle was shorter (10·6 d) than that of the other breeds (13·8-16·0 d), but the inter-luteal interval was longer (9·8 d v. 7·0-8·0 d). The results suggest that the Swiss breeds investigated have a shorter interval from calving to CLA than NZ HF cows