Hostname: page-component-cd9895bd7-lnqnp Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-12-27T10:57:22.789Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Extended lactation in dairy cows: effects of milking frequency, calving season and nutrition on lactation persistency and milk quality

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  29 January 2008

Annette Sorensen ,
D Donald Muir  and
Christopher H Knight
Annette Sorensen
Affiliation:
Cancer Research UK Beatson Laboratories, University of Glasgow, Glasgow G61 1BD
D Donald Muir
Affiliation:
DD Muir Consultants, Irvine KA11 1QQ
Christopher H Knight*
Affiliation:
Faculty of Veterinary Medicine Institute of Comparative Medicine, Division of Cell Sciences, University of Glasgow, Glasgow G61 1QH
*
†For correspondence; e-mail: chkn@life.ku.dk
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

Twelve spring-calving and twelve winter-calving cows were managed for extended lactation cycles of 18-months duration, with the former group then completing a second extended lactation. Half of the cows were fed according to standard management practice for the herd; the other half received supplementary concentrate from week 9 of lactation onwards. Commencing at the same time, half of the udder of each cow was subjected to increased milking frequency (thrice daily rather than twice daily). Lactation persistency (and hence total milk yield) was significantly increased by frequent milking. Winter calving cows and supplemented cows also exhibited better persistency, but this was only evident up until the point of re-breeding, at around lactation week 33. Milk composition was measured in the spring-calving cows in both their first and second extended lactations. Composition altered during the course of the lactation, protein and fat percentages increasing and lactose percentage decreasing, irrespective of treatment. The quality of the milk for processing into cheese, fermented products, heat-treated products and cream liqueurs was assessed by calculation of casein number (casein protein as a proportion of total protein). Processing quality declined across the course of lactation in those groups that showed poor persistency but not in those that maintained a persistent lactation. Milk hygienic quality (somatic cell counts) showed parallel changes. Body condition score increased during the course of lactation but was not affected by supplementation; none of the cows became excessively fat. All cows remained healthy throughout the extended lactations and the majority (33/36) re-bred successfully. By demonstrating that lactation persistency is plastic and can be improved by simple management interventions, the results lend support to the economic arguments in favour of extended lactation cycles. The likely welfare benefits of extended lactation are also discussed.

Keywords

Dairy cattleextended lactationpersistencymilk quality
Type
Research Article
Information
Journal of Dairy Research , Volume 75 , Issue 1 , February 2008 , pp. 90 - 97
Copyright
Copyright © Proprietors of Journal of Dairy Research 2008

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

Allore, HG & Erb, HN 2000 Simulated effects on dairy cattle health of extending the voluntary waiting period with recombinant growth hormone. Preventive Veterinary Medicine 46 29–50CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Arbel, R, Bigun, Y, Ezra, E, Sturman, H & Hojman, D 2001 The effect of extended calving intervals in high lactating cows on milk production and profitability. Journal of Dairy Science 84 600–608CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Bertilsson, J, Berglund, B, Ratnayake, G, Svennersten-Sjaunja, K & Wiktorsson, H 1997 Optimising lactation cycles for the high-yielding dairy cow. A European perspective. Livestock Production Science 50 5–13CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Brown, JR, Law, AJR & Knight, CH 1995 Changes in casein composition of goats' milk during the course of lactation: physiological inferences and technological implications. Journal of Dairy Research 62 431–439CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Capuco, AV, Ellis, SE, Hale, SA, Long, E, Erdman, RA, Zhao, X & Paape, MJ 2003 Lactation persistency: insights from mammary cell proliferation studies. Journal of Dairy Science 81 Supplement 3 18–31Google ScholarPubMed
De Vries, A 2006 Economic value of pregnancy in dairy cattle. Journal of Dairy Science 89 3876–3885CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Erb, HN, Smith, RD, Hillman, RB, Powers, PA, Smith, MC, White, ME & Pearson, EG 1984 Rates of diagnosis of six diseases of Holstein cows during 15-day and 21-day intervals. American Journal of Veterinary Research 45 333–335Google ScholarPubMed
Flint, DJ & Knight, CH 1997 Interactions of prolactin and growth hormone (GH) in the regulation of mammary gland function and epithelial cell survival. Journal of Mammary Gland Biology and Neoplasia 2 41–48CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Grossman, M & Koops, WJ 2003 Modeling extended lactation curves of dairy cattle: a biological basis for the multiphasic approach. Journal of Dairy Science 86 988–998CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Hickson, RE, Lopez-Villalobos, N, Dalley, DE, Clark, DA & Holmes, CW 2006 Yields and persistency of lactation in Friesian and Jersey cows milked once daily. Journal of Dairy Science 89 2017–2024CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Holmann, FJ, Shumway, CR, Blake, RW, Schwart, RB & Sudweeks, EM 1984 Economic value of days open for holstein cows of alternative milk yields with varying calving intervals. Journal of Dairy Science 67 636–643CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Kellogg, DW, Johnson, ZB & Pennington, JA 2001 Survey of management practices used for the highest-producing DHI herds in the United States. Journal of Dairy Science 84 (E suppl) E120–E127CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Knight, CH 1984 Mammary growth and development: strategies of animals and investigators. Symposia of the Zoological Society of London 51 147–170Google Scholar
Knight, CH 2000 The importance of cell division in udder development and lactation. Livestock Production Science 66 169–176CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Knight, CH & Mainland, D 1995 Physiology of milk production; how can it be manipulated. Cattle Practice 3 169–173Google Scholar
Knight, CH, Sorensen, A & Muir, DD 2000 Non-nutritional (novel) techniques for manipulation of milk composition. British Society of Animal Science Occasional Publication 25 223–239CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Lin, Y, Xia, L, Turner, JD & Zhao, X 1995 Morphologic observation of neutrophil diapadesis across bovine mammary gland epithelium in vitro. American Journal of Veterinary Research 56 203–207CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Lucey, J 1996 Cheesemaking from grass based seasonal milk and problems associated with late-lactation milk. Journal of the Society of Dairy Technology 49 59–64CrossRefGoogle Scholar
McFadden, TB 1997 Prospects for improving lactation persistency. In Milk Composition, Production and Technology, pp. 319–339 (Eds Welch, RAS, Burns, DJW, Davis, SR, Popay, AI & Prosser, CG). Wallingford, UK: CAB InternationalGoogle Scholar
Morris, RS 1975 Criteria for the design and evaluation of bovine mastitis control systems. International Dairy Federation Bulletin 85 356–409Google Scholar
Nielsen, BL 1999 Perceived welfare issues in dairy cattle, with special emphasis on metabolic stress. British Society of Animal Science Occasional Publication 24 1–7CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Politis, I, Lachance, E, Block, E & Turner, JD 1988 Plasmin/plasminogen in bovine milk: a relationship with involution. Journal of Dairy Science 72 900–906CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Pryce, JE, Veerkamp, RF, Thompson, R, Hill, WG & Simm, G 1997 Genetic aspects of common health disorders and measures of fertility in Holstein Friesian dairy cattle. Animal Science 65 353–360CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Ratnayake, DRTG, Berglund, B, Bertilsson, J, Forsberg, M & Gustafsson, H 1998 Fertility in cows managed for calving intervals of 12, 15 or 18 months. Acta Veterinaria Scandinavica 39 215–228CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Royal, M, Mann, GE & Flint, AP 2000 Strategies for reversing the trend towards subfertility in dairy cattle. Veterinary Journal 160 53–60CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Schindler, H, Eger, S, Davidson, M, Ochowski, D, Schermerhorn, EC & Foote, RH 1991 Factors affecting response of groups of dairy cows managed for different calving-conception intervals. Theriogenology 36 495–503CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Sorensen, A, Muir, DD & Knight, CH 2001 Thrice-daily milking throughout lactation maintains epithelial integrity and thereby improves milk protein quality. Journal of Dairy Research 68 15–25CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Van Amburgh, M, Galton, D, Bauman, D & Everett, RW 1997 Management and economics of extended calving intervals with use of BST. Livestock Production Science 50 15–28CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Vargas, B, Koops, WJ, Herrero, S & Van Arendonk, JAM 2000 Modeling extended lactations of dairy cows. Journal of Dairy Science 83 1371–1380CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Veerkamp, RF, Simm, G & Oldham, JD 1995 Genotype by environment interactions: experience from Langhill. Occasional Publications of the British Society of Animal Science 19 59–66CrossRefGoogle Scholar