Crossbreds of Jersey × Holstein Compared with Pure Holsteins for Body Weight, Body Condition Score, Dry Matter Intake, and Feed Efficiency During the First One Hundred Fifty Days of First Lactation

Abstract

Jersey x Holstein crossbred (JxH) cows (n = 24) were compared with pure Holstein cows (n = 17) for body weight, body condition score, dry matter intake (DMI), and feed efficiency during the first 150 d of first lactation. Cows were housed in the University of Minnesota dairy facility at the St. Paul campus and calved from September 2004 to January 2005. The JxH cows were mated by artificial insemination with Montbeliarde bulls, and Holstein cows were mated by artificial insemination with Holstein bulls. Cows were weighed and body condition was scored every other week. Cows were individually fed a TMR twice daily, and feed refusals were measured once daily. The DMI of cows was measured daily and averaged across 7-d periods. Milk production and milk composition were from monthly Dairy Herd Improvement records. Best Prediction was used to calculate actual production (milk, fat, protein) for each cow from the 4th to 150th day of first lactation. The JxH cows had significantly less body weight (467 vs. 500 kg) and significantly higher body condition scores (2.90 vs. 2.76) than pure Holstein cows. The JxH cows had significantly less milk production (4,388 vs. 4,644 kg) during the 4th to 150th day of lactation than did pure Holstein cows. However, fat plus protein production during the first 150 d of lactation was not significantly different for JxH (302 kg) and Holstein (309 kg) cows. The JxH and pure Holstein cows did not differ significantly for daily DMI (22.0 vs. 22.7 kg, respectively), and the JxH (4.7%) and pure Holstein (4.5%) cows consumed similar DMI based on percentage of body weight. Consequently, feed efficiency for the 4th to 150th day of lactation did not differ for JxH and pure Holstein cows.

Comparison of the performance of Holstein-Friesian and Jersey×Holstein-Friesian crossbred dairy cows within three contrasting grassland-based systems of milk production

“…In addition, conception rate to first service, conception rate to first and second service and pregnancy rate at the end of the breeding season were 23, 29 and 16 percentage points higher with the J  HF cows, compared to the HF cows. These findings are in general agreement with those within the literature, with Auldist et al (2007), Prendiville et al (2008) and Thackaberry et al (2009) observing higher conception rates to first service (mean: 22 percentage points higher) and Heins et al (2008b) and Auldist et al (2007) observing higher overall conception rates (mean: 10.5 percentage points higher) with Jersey crossbred cows. Improved fertility performance has also been observed in studies involving other crossbred genotypes with Walsh et al (2008) reporting higher overall pregnancy rates with Montbeliarde  Holstein-Friesian and Normande  Holstein-Friesian cows, compared with pure bred Holstein-Friesian cows.…”

“…While relatively few studies have compared food intakes of Holstein-Friesian and crossbred dairy cows within a confinement environment, intakes within the current experiment, in common with the findings of Heins et al (2008b) and Vance et al (2012), did not differ between genotypes. Nevertheless, intakes within the current study were considerably lower than those recorded by these latter authors, with this likely to reflect the young age structure of the cows involved (mean lactation number Table 7 Effect of dairy cow genotype and management system on cyclicity, reproductive performance and health parameters (mean of Years 1, 2 and 3).…”

“…In addition, Heins et al (2008a) reported higher conception rates to first service in Jersey  Holstein-Friesian cows compared with pure bred Holstein-Friesian cows. While a small number of experiments have examined the performance of Jersey  Holstein crossbred cows within high concentrate input confinement systems (Heins et al, 2008b;Vance et al, 2012), most research has examined the performance of Jersey crossbred cows within low concentrate input grassland-based systems of milk production. No studies have been identified in which the performance of Holstein-Friesian and Jersey  Holstein-Friesian cows have been compared within grassland-based milk production systems involving 'moderate' concentrate inputs.…”

Three-breed rotational crossbreds of Montbéliarde, Viking Red, and Holstein compared with Holstein cows for feed efficiency, income over feed cost, and residual feed intake

“…Prendiville et al (2009) found Jersey × HO crossbreds had a higher ratio of milk solids to DMI over a total lactation in a pasture system. In contrast, Heins et al (2008) reported Jersey × HO crossbreds were not different than HO cows for the ratio of ECM to DMI through 150 DIM. Olson et al (2010) found neither Jersey × HO nor HO × Jersey crossbreds were different from HO for FE defined as the ratio of energy required for milk production to total energy consumed.…”

Breed and season influence on milk quality parameters and in mastitis occurrence

“…Successful selection for milk production has contributed to the prevalence of the Holstein breed around the world (Heins et al 2008). Recent studies have compared the innate immune responses of Holstein and Jersey cows, indicating that differences may exist between these two breeds (Bannerman et al 2008a).…”