Analysis of the breeding benefits of fostered Holstein heifer calves by postpartum Simmental crossbred cows-'one dam raising two calves'
The study aims to investigate the impact of postpartum fostered Holstein heifer calves by Simmental crossbred cows on calf growth and breeding benefits.Thirty postpartum Simmental crossbred cows were selected for the experiment and randomly divided into two groups,with 15 cows in each group and one cow per replicate.In the experimental group,a technique known as'one dam raising two calves'was employed,wherein each cow naturally raised one beef calf and fostered one Holstein heifer calf,while the control group did not foster calves and weaned their beef calves at 120 days of age.The experimental period lasted for 120 days.The results showed that under conditions of artificial feeding and early supplementation,the experimental group exhibited a trend of reduced calf weight and average daily gain compared to the control group,but the differences were not significant(P>0.05).Fostering Holstein heifer calves increased the feeding cost of milk replacer by 1 473.09 yuan/head compared to the control group,but the estimated profit from selling the calves after weaning was 1 846 yuan/head.The overall benefits were considerable.The study suggests that,with artificial feeding and milk replacer supplementation,adopting a feeding method of'calf pellet feed + high-quality alfalfa'with timely weaning results in normal growth and development of fostered Holstein heifer calves,without occurrences of diarrhea or mortality,demonstrating significant breeding benefits and a good potential for widespread application.
Simmental cowsFostered calvesHolstein calvesGrowth and developmentBreeding benefits
NETL
NSTL
万方数据
