The body weight of the dairy cow I. Introductory study into body weight changes in dairy cows as a management aid |
| |
| Affiliation: | 1. Inland Norway University of Applied Sciences, Faculty of Applied Ecology, Agricultural Sciences and Biotechnology, Department of Agricultural Sciences, Campus Blæstad, N-2322 Hamar, Norway;2. Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, Department of Animal Environment and Health, 532 23 Skara, Sweden;3. Norwegian Institute of Bioeconomy Research, Division of Survey and Statistics, Land Resource Surveys, N-1431 Ås, Norway;4. Inland Norway University of Applied Sciences, Faculty of Applied Ecology, Agricultural Sciences and Biotechnology, Department of Forestry and Wildlife Management, Campus Evenstad, N-2480 Koppang, Norway |
| |
| Abstract: | The possibilities to use the dairy cows' body weight (BW) and its changes for diagnostic and management purposes were studied. BW data of dairy cows were obtained during the day from visiting computer-controlled feeding stations. These data were analyzed on a daily and weekly basis in relation to other performance data that were also recorded on a daily basis. The analysis showed that BW, being sensitive to dry matter intake (DMI), responds to reproductive and clinical events by detectable changes. Analyzing BW data in relation to those on milk yield (MY), allow to characterize physiological stages during lactation that can be of help in making management decisions. Possibilities to build models that use daily BW and MY data to estimate DMI, and significant physiological stages are presented and discussed in respect to their feasibility as decision-making aids. |
| |
| Keywords: | |
| 本文献已被 ScienceDirect 等数据库收录！ |
|
