Hostname: page-component-cd9895bd7-dk4vv Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-12-25T05:55:11.977Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Changes in body components of autumn-calving Holstein-Friesian cows over the first 29 weeks of lactation

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  02 September 2010

M. J. Gibb ,
W. E. Ivings ,
M. S. Dhanoa  and
J. D. Sutton
M. J. Gibb
Affiliation:
AFRC Institute of Grassland and Environmental Research, Hurley, Maidenhead SL6 5LR
W. E. Ivings
Affiliation:
AFRC Institute of Grassland and Environmental Research, Hurley, Maidenhead SL6 5LR
M. S. Dhanoa
Affiliation:
AFRC Institute of Grassland and Environmental Research, Hurley, Maidenhead SL6 5LR
J. D. Sutton
Affiliation:
AFRC Institute of Grassland and Environmental Research, Hurley, Maidenhead SL6 5LR
Get access

Abstract

Changes in body composition of 54, second to fourth parity, autumn-calving Holstein-Friesian dairy cows offered grass silage ad libitum and 3(L), 6(M) or 9(H) kg concentrate dry matter per day were measured by serial slaughter at 0, 2, 5, 8, 11, 14, 19, 24 and 29 weeks post partum.

Concentrate level had a significant effect on the fresh weights of many of the body fractions with the differences generally being greater between L and M than between M and H. Increasing concentrate level generally reduced the extent of weight loss of body fractions in early lactation and enhanced subsequent repletion. Empty body weight decreased to week 8 and then increased steadily over the remaining 21 weeks, but within this pattern different organs were concomitantly increasing and decreasing. Carcass weight and the weights of the internal fat depots showed a decline over the first 8 weeks and a subsequent increase, udder weight declined throughout, weights of various sections of the digestive tract showed an initial increase then remained steady, whilst liver weight increased throughout.

In week 0 the carcass accounted for proportionately 0-61 of the total energy in the body (6278 MJ), of which fat and crude protein (CP) comprised proportionately 0·67 and 0·33, respectively. In early lactation mobilization of fat and CP in the carcass was reduced with increasing level of concentrate. In the non-carcass fraction increasing concentrate level led to a higher weight of CP in the metabolically active organs such as the digestive tract and udder but had little effect on the weight of fat. Nevertheless, there was generally a positive effect of concentrate level on energy content. Total weights of fat, CP and water in the body declined to week 8 then increased over the following 21 weeks. Although weight of CP in the liver increased throughout lactation and weight of fat was elevated in weeks 0 and 2, the energy content of the liver remained fairly constant.

Estimates of the change in net energy (NE) associated with live-weight loss and with live-weight gain showed a slight though non-significant difference between the two, despite evidence of a higher concentration of fat associated with gain than with loss, and CP concentration being the same in both cases. The mean value was 19·3 MJ/kg live-weight change.

Keywords

body compositioncarcass compositionHolstein-Friesianlactation
Type
Research Article
Information
Animal Production , Volume 55 , Issue 3 , December 1992 , pp. 339 - 360
Copyright
Copyright © British Society of Animal Science 1992

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

Agricultural Research Council. 1980. The nutrient requirements of ruminant livestock. Commonwealth Agricultural Bureaux, Slough.Google Scholar
Alderman, G., Broster, W. H., Strickland, M. J. and Johnson, C. L. 1982. The estimation of the energy value of liveweight change in the lactating dairy cow. Livestock Production Science 9: 665–673.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Bath, D. L., Ronning, M., Meyer, J. H. and Lofgreen, G. P. 1965. Caloric equivalent of live weight loss of dairy cattle. Journal of Dairy Science 48: 374–380.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Bauman, D. E. and Elliot, J. M. 1983. Control of nutrient partitioning in lactating ruminants. In Biochemistry of lactation (ed. Mepham, T. B.), pp. 437–468. Elsevier Science Publishers BV, Amsterdam.Google Scholar
Belyea, R. L., Frost, G. R., Martz, F. A., Clark, J. L. and Forkner, L. G. 1977. Body composition of dairy cattle by potassium-40 liquid scintillation detection. Journal of Dairy Science 61: 206–211.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Botts, R. L., Hemken, R. W. and Bull, L. S. 1979. Protein reserves in the lactating dairy cow. Journal of Dairy Science 62: 433–440.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Bradstreet, R. B. 1969. The Kjeldahl method for organic nitrogen. Academic Press, New York.Google Scholar
Broster, W. H., Sutton, J. D., Broster, V. J., Smith, T., Siviter, J. W., Johnson, V. W., Napper, D. J. and Schuller, E. 1985. The influence of plane of nutrition and diet composition on the performance of dairy cows. Journal of Agricultural Science, Cambridge 104: 535–557.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Butler-Hogg, B. W., Wood, J. D. and Bines, J. A. 1985. Fat partitioning in British Friesian cows: the influence of physiological state on dissected body composition. Journal of Agricultural Science, Cambridge 104: 519–528.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Chigaru, P. R. N. and Topps, J. H. 1981. The composition of body-weight changes in underfed lactating beef cows. Animal Production 32: 95–104.Google Scholar
Chilliard, Y., Remond, B., Agabriel, J., Robelin, J. and Verite, R. 1987. Variations du contenu digestif et des reserves corporells au cours du cycle gestation-lactation. Bulletin Technique de Centre de Recherches Zootechnie et Veterinaire Theix, Institut National de Recherche Agronomie 53: 117–131.Google Scholar
Cowan, R. T., Robinson, J. J., McDonald, I. and Smart, R. 1980. Effects of body fatness at lambing and diet in lactation on body tissue loss, feed intake and milk yield of ewes in early lactation. Journal of Agricultural Science, Cambridge 95: 1–5.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Dunnett, C. W. 1955. A multiple comparison procedure for comparing several treatments with a control. Journal of the American Statistical Association 50: 1096–1121.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Ellenberger, H. B., Newlander, J. A. and Jones, C. H. 1950. Composition of the bodies of dairy cattle. Bulletin of the Vermont Agricultural Experimental Station, no. 558.Google Scholar
Federer, W. T. 1955. In Experimental design, pp. 21–26. Macmillan, New York.Google Scholar
Ferrell, C. L., Garrett, W. N. and Hinman, N. 1976. Estimation of body composition in pregnant and non-pregnant heifers. Journal of Animal Science 42: 1158–1166.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Garnsworthy, P. C. 1988. The effect of energy reserve at calving on performance of dairy cows. In Lactation and nutrition in the dairy cow (ed. Garnsworthy, P. C.), pp. 157–170. Butterworth, London.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Gill, M., France, J., Summers, M., McBride, B. W. and Milligan, L. P. 1989. Simulation of energy costs associated with protein turnover and Na+, K−-transport in growing lambs. Journal of Nutrition 119: 1287–1299.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Gresham, J. D., Holloway, L. W., Butts, W. T. and McCurley, J. R. 1986. Prediction of mature cow carcass composition from live animal measurements. Journal of Animal Science 63: 1041–1048.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Huntington, G. B., Varga, G. A., Reynolds, P. J. and Tyrrell, H. F. 1987. Net absorption of nutrients and oxygen consumption by portal-drained viscera in relation to energy metabolism by Holstein cattle. In Energy metabolism of farm animals (ed. Moe, P. W., Tyrrell, M. F., Reynolds, P. J.), European Association for Animal Production publication no. 32, pp. 22–25. Rowman and Littlefield, Totowa, NJ.Google Scholar
Ivings, W. E., Gibb, M. J., Dhanoa, M. S. and Fisher, A. V. 1993. Relationships between velocity of ultrasound in live lactating dairy cows and some post-slaughter measurements of body composition. Animal Production In press.Google Scholar
Little, D. A. and McLean, R. W. 1981. Estimation of the body chemical composition of live cattle varying widely in fat content. Journal of Agricultural Science, Cambridge 96: 213–220.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Miles, C. A., Fursey, G. A. J. and York, R. W. R. 1984. New equipment for measuring the speed of ultrasound and its application in the estimation of body composition of farm livestock. In In vivo measurements of body composition in meat animals (ed. Lister, D.), pp. 93–105. Elsevier Applied Science Publishers, London.Google Scholar
Moe, P. W., Tyrrell, H. F. and Flatt, W. P. 1971. Energetics of body tissue mobilization. Journal of Dairy Science 54: 548–553.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Mulvany, P. M. 1981. Dairy co w condition scoring. National Institute for Research hi Dairying, Shinfield, Reading, paper no. 4468.Google Scholar
Ødwongo, W. O., Conrad, H. R. and Staubus, A. E. 1984. The use of deuterium oxide for the prediction of body composition in live dairy cattle. Journal of Nutrition 114: 2127–2137.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Ørskov, E. R., Macleod, N. A., Fahmy, S. T. M., Istasse, L. and Hovell, F. D. DeB. 1983. Investigation of nitrogen balance in dairy cows and steers nourished by intragastric infusion. Effects of sub-maintenance energy input with or without protein. British Journal of Nutrition 50: 99–107.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Pettinati, J. D. and Swift, C. E. 1975. Rapid determination of fat in meat and meat products by Foss-Let solvent extraction and density measurement. Journal of the Association of Official Analytical Chemists 58: 1182–1187.Google Scholar
Pettinati, J. D. and Swift, C. E. 1977. Collaborative study of accuracy and precision of rapid determination of fat in meat and meat products by Foss-Let method. Journal of the Association of Official Analytical Chemists 60: 853–858.Google Scholar
Reid, I. M., Harrison, R. B. and Collins, R. A. 1977. Fasting and refeeding in the lactating dairy cow. 2. The recovery of liver cell structure and function following a six-day fast. Journal of Agricultural Science, Cambridge 89: 319–325.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Reid, I. M., Roberts, C. J. and Baird, G. D. 1980. The effects of underfeeding during pregnancy and lactation on structure and chemistry of bovine liver and muscle. Journal of Agricultural Science, Cambridge 94: 239–245.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Reynolds, C. K. and Tyrrell, H. F. 1989. Effects of forage to concentrate ratio and intake on visceral tissue and whole body energy metabolism of growing beef heifers. In Energy metabolism in farm animals (ed. Honig, Y. van der, Close, W. H.), European Association for Animal Production publication no. 43, pp. 151–154, Pudoc, Wageningen, the Netherlands.Google Scholar
Sutton, J. D., Aston, K., Beever, D. E. and Fisher, W. J. 1992. Body composition and performance of autumn-calving Holstein-Friesian dairy cows during lactation: food intake, milk constituent output and live weight. Animal Production 54: 473 (abstr.).Google Scholar
Swick, R. W. and Benevenga, N. J. 1977. Labile protein reserves and protein turnover. Journal of Dairy Science 60: 505–515.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Williams, D. R. and Bergstrom, P. L. 1980. Anatomical jointing, tissue separation and weight recording. EEC standard method for beef. EUR 6878 EN. Commission of the European Communities, Brussels (Mimeograph).Google Scholar
Williams, C. B., Oltenacu, P. A. and Sniffen, C. J. 1989. Refinements in determining the energy value of body tissue reserves and tissue gains from growth. Journal of Dairy Science 72: 264–269.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Wright, I. A. and Russel, A. J. F. 1984. Partition of fat, body composition and body condition score in mature cows. Animal Production 38: 23–32.Google Scholar