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- Title
Factors affecting first insemination success in Polish Holstein-Fresian cows.
- Authors
Siatka, Kamil; Sawa, Anna; Piwczyński, Dariusz; Bogucki, Mariusz; Krężel-Czopek, Sylwia
- Abstract
The effects parity, herd production level, number of cows per herd, insemination season and lactation stage on the relationships between daily milk and first insemination success of 55 685 cows were examined. The statistical analysis was performed using the χ2 test and the decision tree technique. The χ2 test showed that all the experimental factors affected the insemination success as a function of the daily milk yield of the cows; as it increased from ≤20 kg to >40 kg, first insemination success decreased by more than 7% in primiparous cows, and by as much as over 16% in second lactation cows. With the herd production level going up from ≤7000 kg to >9000 kg, the unfavourable effect of the increasing daily milk yield on fertility decreased almost 4-fold. Summer was the least favourable period for insemination. Cows yielding >40 kg milk/day were particularly sensitive to heat stress, as evidenced by their first insemination success decreasing by over 13% in relation to the cows producing ≤20 kg milk. In winter this difference was 9.5%. Considering the lactation stage, as daily milk yield increased, first insemination success decreased by around 9% when performed up to 60 days of lactation, and by as much as over 15% during 151-180 days of lactation. Cows in bigger herds exhibited lower fertility, but the increase in daily milk yield caused first insemination success to decrease by 16% in very small herds (≤20 cows) and by 4.6% in larger herds. Classification tree analysis showed that similar factors (lactation period, number of cows per herd, daily yield, parity) were moderating the first insemination success in cows. At the same time, the applied methods showed that the determinants of fertility in cows are highly complex. This complexity may be well explained using the classification tree technique.
- Subjects
ARTIFICIAL insemination; HOLSTEIN-Friesian cattle; CATTLE breeding; LACTATION in cattle; EFFECT of temperature on mammals
- Publication
Animal Science Papers & Reports, 2018, Vol 36, Issue 3, p275
- ISSN
0860-4037
- Publication type
Article