Abstract
Cows (n = 21), dried off for a minimum of 45 days, and nulliparous heifers (n = 26), at ages > 18 months old, were placed on a 12-day Lactation Induction (LI) protocol. One group of animals (including both cows and heifers) received 3-minute mammary gland stimulation, along with the LI protocol. Another group, again including both cows and heifers, received no stimulation only the LI protocol This consisted of two injections of prostaglandin F2α (PGF2α; 25 mg) 11 days apart, followed by subcutaneous injections of 17β-estradiol (0.1 mg/kg BW/d) and progesterone (0.25 mg/kg BW/d) beginning 1 day later and continuing for seven (7) days. After this step, all animals received another injection of PGF2α on day 8, followed by intramuscular injections of reserpine (5 mg/d) and dexamethasone (20 mg/d) on each of days 9 to 12. All animals were milked, beginning on day 13, for a period of 154 days. For all animals, the success rate for lactation induction was 78% ± 6.3% and the mean weekly milk yield was 78.2 kg. Neither value was affected by mammary stimulation. Parity did not significantly impact on the success rate but it did affect the mean weekly milk yield. Milk yield varied significantly (p α = 0.05 level) affected by stimulation or by parity. However, heifers (at 8.2 weeks ± 1.0 week) tended (p = 0.1) to reach peak milk production earlier than cows (at 10.7 weeks ± 1.3). The milk produced was sold at a net profit per animal treated of $2206.31 TT. Hence, one can conclude that a Lactation Induction protocol can be a useful management tool to increase production and profitability of dairy operations in the tropics.
Highlights
As the populations in developing countries continue to expand, the demand for milk and milk products continues to increase
Milk production is dependent on the hormonal milieu created during pregnancy, so failure to get a cow or heifer pregnant will result in a large proportion of females in the herd producing at low levels during an extended lactation or nonlactating period
The authors noted that the 20% - 60% higher Net Present Value (NPV) obtained for induced cows was a conservative estimate as their calculations did not include health-related costs associated with post-calving disorders and higher insemination costs associated with lower fertility observed in firstlactation cows
Summary
As the populations in developing countries continue to expand, the demand for milk and milk products continues to increase. Despite this growing demand, milk production and productivity of dairy animals have either remained constant or declined in many developing countries over the last two decades, resulting in a decrease in per capita milk production and rendering these countries more food insecure [1]. Milk production is dependent on the hormonal milieu created during pregnancy, so failure to get a cow or heifer pregnant will result in a large proportion of females in the herd producing at low levels during an extended lactation or nonlactating (dry) period
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