Reproductive performance of crossbred dairy cows in Mekelle, Ethiopia

Abstract

The study was conducted on 252 Holstein-Friesian (HF) crossbred cows maintained under farmer’s management system in and around Mekelle (Ethiopia). A total of 72 small-scale dairy farm owners were randomly selected and interviewed with structured questionnaire to obtain information on the reproductive performance of crossbred cows. The results of the study showed that the mean age at first service (AFS) was 25.2±1.1 months, the mean age at first calving (AFC) was 36.4 ±1.7 months, number of services per conception (NSC) was 1.5±0.2, the mean of days open (DO) was 137.5236.27 days, the mean of calving interval (CI) was 469.4588.78 days for crossbred cows.The study was conducted on 252 Holstein-Friesian (HF) crossbred cows maintained under farmer’s management system in and around Mekelle (Ethiopia). A total of 72 small-scale dairy farm owners were randomly selected and interviewed with structured questionnaire to obtain information on the reproductive performance of crossbred cows. The results of the study showed that the mean age at first service (AFS) was 25.2±1.1 months, the mean age at first calving (AFC) was 36.4 ±1.7 months, number of services per conception (NSC) was 1.5±0.2, the mean of days open (DO) was 137.52±36.27 days, the mean of calving interval (CI) was 469.45±88.78 days for crossbred cows.