Reproductive responses of Holstein-Friesian cattle to the climatic conditions of central Sudan.

Abstract

Data were evaluated from a purebred Holstein herd (n = 1274) kept near Khartoum, a hot and dry area, from 1990 to 1996. The mixed model procedure in SAS was used to analyse the reproductive traits. The mean gestation length, days dry, number of services per conception, days from calving to first oestrus, days from calving to conception, calving interval and breeding efficiency were 279 days, 104 days, 4.2, 85.8 days, 208.9 days, 486.2 days and 74.9%, respectively. Factors that had significant effects (p < 0.01) on all the reproductive measures under study were the year and month of calving, and parity. The heritability estimates for all traits under investigation were zero. The repeatability estimates for the numbers of services per conception, days from calving to conception, days from calving to first oestrus and calving interval were 0.21 +/- 0.021, 0.12 +/- 0.024, 0.03 +/- 0.018 and 0.00, respectively. The phenotypic correlation for calving interval with numbers of service per conception was 0.05, that with days from calving to first oestrus was 0.06 and that with days from calving to conception was 0.07. Other correlations ranged from 0.00 to 0.28. The simple correlation coefficients between production and reproductive measures ranged from -0.06 to 0.45.