Influence of somatic cell count and body condition score on reproductiontraits and milk composition of Czech Holstein cows

Abstract

The objective of the present study was to investigate the effects of somatic cell count (SCC) and body condition score (BCS) on reproduction and milk composition characteristics in Czech Holstein cows. A total of 275 records of chosen cows was evaluated by milk composition, SCC, BCS and fertility traits. Infrared spectroscopic method was used for SCC test and an automatic device was used for milk composition analysis. Before statistical test, SCC data were transformed to log10 for normality and homogeneity of variances. BCS was performed using a 1-5 point scale and days from calving to first insemination (ICF), number of inseminations per conceptions (NIC) and days open (DO) were assessed as fertility parameters. To evaluate days in milk (DIM) on SCC and BCS, two groups were designed (group 1: cows in 1-69th day DIM and group 2: cows in 70-119th DIM). For testing BCS on chosen traits; cows with 2.50 £ BCS and cows with BCS ³ 2.75 were tested in two groups. All statistical work was applied by SPSS 17.0 at the 0.05 significance level. It was found that SCC elevated with high parities and cows with lower BCS had lower milk protein percentage. Cows with lower BCS had lower reproduction traits than those with higher BCS. Correlation coefficient between two markers was estimated as r= -0.181. Calculated means for the parameters could be assessed in reasonable thresholds. The study revealed that SCC played a marked role on protein percentage of milk, and BCS affected important reproductive characteristics of Czech Holstein cows.