High genetic merit dairy heifers grazing low quality forage had similar weight gain and urinary nitrogen excretion to those of low genetic merit heifers
Cheng, L., Goulven, C.L., Cullen, B.R., Clark, C., Gregorini, P., Sun, X.Z., and Talukder, S. (2023) High genetic merit dairy heifers grazing low quality forage had similar weight gain and urinary nitrogen excretion to those of low genetic merit heifers. Frontiers in Veterinary Science, 10. 1234872.
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Abstract
Climate variability and increasing drought events have become significant concerns in recent years. However, there is limited published research on body weight (BW) change of dairy heifers with different genetic merit when grazing on drought impacted pastures in southern Australia. Achieving target body weight (BW) is vital for dairy heifers, especially during critical stages like mating and calving. This study aimed to assess dry matter (DM) intake, BW change, urinary nitrogen excretion, and grazing behaviours of high vs. low genetic dairy heifers grazing pasture during a 43-day experimental period in a drought season. Forty-eight Holstein Friesian heifers grazed on ryegrass-dominant pasture and were divided into two groups based on their high and low Balanced Performance Index (HBPI and LBPI, respectively). Each group was further stratified into six plots, with similar BW, resulting in four heifers per replication group. Data from the five measurement days were averaged for individual cows to analyse the dry matter intake, nitrogen intake and nitrogen excretion. The statistical model included the treatment effect of BPI (H and L) and means were analysed using ANOVA. The pasture quality was poor, with metabolizable energy 9.3 MJ/Kg DM and crude protein 5.9% on a DM basis. Nitrogen intake and urinary nitrogen excretion were significantly higher (p < 0.05) in HBPI compared to the LBPI. However, despite these differences, the study did not find any advantages of having HBPI heifer grazing on low quality forage in terms of BW performance.
| Item ID: | 82312 |
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| Item Type: | Article (Research - C1) |
| ISSN: | 2297-1769 |
| Keywords: | environment, environmental pollution dairy heifer, excretion, forage, genetic merit, heifer, low quality forage, production |
| Copyright Information: | © 2023 Cheng, Goulven, Cullen, Clark, Gregorini, Sun and Talukder. This is an openaccess article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) and the copyright owner(s) are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms. |
| Date Deposited: | 12 Mar 2024 22:41 |
| FoR Codes: | 30 AGRICULTURAL, VETERINARY AND FOOD SCIENCES > 3003 Animal production > 300303 Animal nutrition @ 100% |
| SEO Codes: | 10 ANIMAL PRODUCTION AND ANIMAL PRIMARY PRODUCTS > 1004 Livestock raising > 100402 Dairy cattle @ 100% |
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