Relationship Between Production Characteristics and Proportion of Body Measurements of Holstein Cows

Abstract

The objective of this study was to determine Holstein Cattle body measurements using digital imagingDIPM methods. The ratios were calculated by dividing each measurement by another and the relationship between the ratios and the output characteristics were evaluated. For this reason, the body measurements of the 198 heads of Holstein cattle breed dairy cows were calculated by the Set Object Video System (SOVS) process. The ratios were calculated by dividing each body measurement to another then the relationship between these ratios and the characteristics including the daily average milk yield (DAMY), the number of inseminations per calving (NIPC), the age at insemination (AFI) and the age at first calving (AFC) were evaluated. The relationship between DAMY, NIPC, AFI, AFC and body measurements were; withers height (WH), back height (BH), rump height (RH), pin bone height (PBH) ), chest depth (CD), body length (BL), trunk length (TL), body area (BA) and body perimeter (BP) was low, negative and not statistical significantly (p>0.05). The highest R-2 measured for DAMY by WH (0.389 (p<0.01), for NIPC by BA (0.344 (p<0.05)), for AFI by BP (0.266 (p<0.05)) and for AFC by BP (0.249 (p<0.05)) used in multiple regression equations. It can be stated that the use of DIPM is more convenient than TM for the body measurement of milking cows. The estimated power of regression equations for estimating milk and reproductive output, such as DAMY, NIPC, AFI and AFC, were low for Holstein cattle breeding cows.