Abstract
The aim of this study was to evaluate the effects of beef calves’ supplementation in creep feeding systems on milk yield, body weight (BW), and body condition score (BCS) of their dams on tropical pastures using a meta-analytical approach. The database was obtained from 11 experiments conducted between 2009 and 2014 in Brazil, totaling 485 observations (cows). The database consisted of 273 Nellore and 212 crossbred (7/8 Nellore × 1/8 Holstein) cows. All experiments were carried out in the suckling phase (from 3 to 8 months of age of calves) during the transition phase between rainy and dry seasons from February to June of different years. The data were analyzed by a meta-analytical approach using mixed models and taking into account random variation among experiments. Calves’ supplementation (P ≥ 0.59) and the calves’ sex (P ≥ 0.48) did not affect milk yield of cows. The average fat-corrected milk (FCM) yield was 6.71 and 6.83 kg/day for cows that had their calves supplemented and not supplemented, respectively. Differences were observed (P < 0.0001) for milk yield due to the genetic group where crossbred cows presented greater FCM yield (7.37 kg/day) compared with Nellore cows (6.17 kg/day). There was no effect of the calves’ supplementation on BW change (P ≥ 0.11) and BCS change (P ≥ 0.23) of the cows. Therefore, it is concluded that supplementation of beef calves using creep feeding systems in tropical pastures does not affect milk yield, body weight, or body condition of their dams.
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Acknowledgments
The authors thank the Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq), Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de Minas Gerais (FAPEMIG), and Instituto Nacional de Ciência e Tecnologia de Ciência Animal for the financial support. The authors also gratefully acknowledge all researchers who kindly provided the data for the meta-analysis.
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Lopes, S.A., Paulino, M.F., Detmann, E. et al. Does supplementation of beef calves by creep feeding systems influence milk production and body condition of the dams?. Trop Anim Health Prod 48, 1241–1246 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11250-016-1083-9
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11250-016-1083-9