Aksakal, Vecihi; Yanar, Mete; Bayram, Bahri

The data on breeding and performance records of Swedish Red and White (SRW) cows kept in a private organic dairy farm in Kelkit, Turkey, during the period from 2006 through 2009 were used to study the effect of some non-genetic factors such as calving year, calving season, parity, age of dam and sex of calf on the various milk and reproductive traits. The actual lactation milk yield, daily milk yield, peak daily milk, days to attain milk yield and lactation length averaged as 5887.2±94.9 kg, 19.9±0.3 kg, 31.5±0.3 kg, 79.4±2.7 days and 302.5±3.2 days, respectively. The actual lactation milk yield, days to attain peak milk yield and lactation length were significantly affected by calving year and calving season. The effect of the parity on the daily milk yield, peak daily milk yield and days to attain peak milk yield were significant (P<0.01). The least squares means for calving interval and gestation length were 380.2±4.3 days and 275.4±0.6 days, respectively. Age of dam and calving season significantly (P<0.01) affected the days open. Mean age at first calving of SRW cows raised organically was 26.4±0.2 months and was significantly affected by the calving years. Significant (P<0.01) and positive phenotypic correlations of the actual lactation milk yield with daily milk yield (r = 0.71), peak milk yield (r = 0.53), lactation length (r = 0.53), days open (r = 0.43), calving interval (r = 0.36) and days attain to peak milk yield (r = 0.14) (P<0.05) were determined. In conclusion, the significant effects of environmental variables must be taken into consideration when developing and comparing models to be used in adjusting data to provide the best estimates of genetic values and parameters in evaluation of SRW cattle reared organically in Turkey.

Bilgin, Ömer C.; Yanar, Mete; Tüzemen, Naci; Güler, Olcay; Aydin, Recep; Akbulut, Omer; Bayram, Bahri

Bu çalışmada, Atatürk Üniversitesi Ziraat Fakültesi Çiftliğinde 1989-2002 yılları arasında yetiştirilen Siyah Alaca sığırlarda akrabalı yetiştirme katsayıları hesaplanmış ve yıllar itibarıyla akrabalı yetiştirme düzeyindeki değişimler incelenmiştir. Ayrıca akrabalı yetiştirme düzeyinin doğum ağırlığı ve ilkine buzağılama yaşı gibi üreme özellikleri ve süt verim özellikleri üzerine etkileri de araştırılmıştır. İncelenen dönemde, doğan Siyah Alaca sığırların ortalama akrabalı yetiştirme katsayısı % 1.35 ± 0.45 olarak saptanmıştır. Yıllara göre akrabalı yetiştirme düzeyi dalgalanmalar göstermiştir. 1995 hariç, 1989–1996 yılları arasında akrabalı yetiştirme söz konusu değildir. Son yıllarda ise, akrabalı yetiştirme katsayısında bir artış saptanmıştır. Akrabalı yetiştirme düzeyinin doğum ağırlığını önemli (P<0.01) seviyede etkilediği saptanmıştır. Akrabalı yetiştirme katsayısındaki her % 1’lik artışa karşılık, doğum ağırlığında 0.264 ± 0.006 kg’lık azalma olmuştur. Akrabalı yetiştirilen Siyah Alaca sığırların ilk laktasyon 305 gün süt (P<0.01), günlük süt (P<0.01) ve laktasyon yağ verimi (P<0.05), akrabalı yetiştirilmeyenlere göre önemli derecede düşük belirlenmiştir. Bununla birlikte, ilkine buzağılama yaşı, % süt yağı oranı ve laktasyon süresi gibi diğer özellikler akrabalı yetiştirmeden etkilenmemiştir.

Bayram, Bahri; Yanar, Mete; Akbulut, Ömer

The study was aimed to describe changes caused by conversion to organic dairy farming in Turkey, focusing on reproductive and milk production traits. The data used in this research were obtained from reproductive and milk records of Holstein Friesian cows reared in a private organic dairy farm. The results revealed that cows under organic management had shorter days open and calving interval values compared with cows reared under pre-organic system. Actual and 305 days milk yields of cattle in organic system were greater than these of cows in pre-organic system. Lactation duration was also significantly influenced by farming system and calving season, but days dry was not affected by none the non-genetic factors.

Yanar, Mete; Güler, Olcay; Bayram, Bahri; Metin, Jale

The objective of this study was to compare the performances of calves fed acidified milk replacer (AMR) or sweet (regular) milk replacer (SMR) at 8% of birth weight. Twenty- one calves (10 males, 11 females) were offered replacers reconstituted to 12% of dry matter over 5 weeks. In the group fed AMR, daily body weight gains of calves at the different stages of growth were comparable to those for calves fed SMR. In the preweaning period, calves offered AMR had similar dry matter intakes from starter, milk replacer and dry hay as well as total intake as those fed SMR. In the postweaning phase, total dry matter intakes of calves offered AMR and SMR were not statistically different. The overall feed efficiency ratios of AMR- fed calves were better (P < 0.05) than those of SMR- fed calves. Calf faecal consistency score (P < 0.05) and percent days with scours (P < 0.01) of calves offered AMR were significantly lower than those fed SMR for days 4 to 17. AMR-fed calves needed a longer time (P < 0.01) to consume the daily amount of replacer than SMR- fed calves. The calves fed AMR also took a significantly (P < 0.05) greater number of days to learn to drink milk replacer from an open pail without help than calves consuming SMR. In conclusion, it is suggested that the growth performance and feed efficiency characteristics of calves reared under the new feeding system with AMR were not adversely affected, but the incidence of scours of the young calves was dramatically reduced.