Abstract
Abstract. The aim of present study was to investigate the relationships between temperament score and milk production, as well as somatic cell count in a herd of Jersey and Holstein Friesian breeds. The temperament of 283 Jersey and 69 Holstein Friesian cows were assessed (scored) by the temperament score test (behaviour of animals was assessed in a 5-score system (1: calm, 5: nervous) while spending 30 s on the scale during weighing). The daily milk yield, fat, protein content and somatic cell count were also investigated in this study. Our investigation did not reveal any correlation between daily milk yield and temperament score. But milk somatic cell count was showed positive moderate relation with the temperament scores of Jersey (rrank=0.67; P=0.0001) and Holstein Friesian (rrank=0.66; P=0.0001) cows. Calmer cows had lower somatic cell count (Jersey: 135.40×103/cm3; Holstein Friesian: 176.07×103/cm3) compared to the more temperamental cows (Jersey: 540.44×103/cm3; P=0.0001; Holstein Friesian: 744.91×103/cm3; P=0.0001, resp.).
Highlights
Behaviour of dairy cows usually referred to as temperament is one of the factors influenced milk production
The majority of studies reports positive relationships between temperament score and milk production, it is not known whether the relationship exists between the cows’ temperament and milk somatic cell count
The temperament score of cows is not affected by number of lactation in either of breeds
Summary
Behaviour of dairy cows usually referred to as temperament is one of the factors influenced milk production. Temperament seems to influence some production traits such as growth rate (Voisinet et al 1997, Pajor et al 2008) and immune function (Ivanov et al 2005). Several studies have reported positive relationships between dairy temperament score and milk production traits in cows. Mushra et al (1975), Arave & Kilgour (1982) revealed linear relationship stands between temperament score and daily and total milk yields, but the relationship with lactation length was not clear. The majority of studies reports positive relationships between temperament score and milk production, it is not known whether the relationship exists between the cows’ temperament and milk somatic cell count
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