Effects of restricted suckling on milk yield, milk composition and udder health in cows and behaviour and weight gain in calves, in dual-purpose cattle in the tropics

Abstract

The study was conducted to evaluate the effects of restricted suckling (RS) in dual-purpose cows and calves compared to artificial rearing (AR). Twelve Holstein-Zebu cows with calves were assigned to each treatment. Cows were milked once daily in the morning with calves present to stimulate milk let-down. RS calves suckled 30 min after milking and 30 min in the afternoon, whereas AR calves were milk-fed from nipple bottles. The daily saleable milk yield was higher in RS than in AR cows (p < 0.01; 7.44 vs 6.50 kg/day), whereas RS cows had lower milk-fat content (p < 0.001). AR cows had higher California Mastitis Test scores (p < 0.001) and lower lactose content (p < 0.001) compared to RS cows, which indicates an improved udder health in RS cows. AR calves displayed more ‘cross-suck’ during suckling/milk feeding (p < 0.001) and during observations of general behaviour (p < 0.05), and more ‘lick and sniff interior’ during milking (p < 0.05) and suckling/milk feeding (p < 0.01), compared to RS calves. During observations of general behaviour the RS calves were more often observed to ‘walk’ (p < 0.01) and ‘lick self’ (p < 0.05) and less frequently to ‘eat concentrate’ (p < 0.05) than AR calves. Results support the hypothesis that RS increases milk yield, influences milk composition and improves udder health in cows, and decreases abnormal sucking in calves

Keywords

artificial rearing; behaviour; calf growth; milk yield; udder health; zebu crossbred cattle

Published in

Tropical Animal Health and Production
2007, volume: 39, number: 1, pages: 71-81
Publisher: Springer Netherlands

SLU Authors

• Fröberg, Sofie

  • Department of Applied Animal Science and Welfare, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences
    

• Olsson, Ingemar

  • Department of Applied Animal Science and Welfare, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences
    

• Berg, Lotta

  • Department of Applied Animal Science and Welfare, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences
    

• Hernandez, Carlos

  • Department of Applied Animal Science and Welfare, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences
    

• Lidfors, Lena

  • Department of Applied Animal Science and Welfare, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences
    

• Svennersten Sjaunja, Kerstin

  • Department of Applied Animal Science and Welfare, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences
    

UKÄ Subject classification

Animal and Dairy Science
Veterinary Science

Publication identifier

• DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11250-006-4418-0

Permanent link to this page (URI)

https://res.slu.se/id/publ/22359