Determining Effects of Some Factors on Birth Weight and Survival Rates of Holstein Calves

Abstract

This study aimed to determine the effects of calf sex, birth weight, parity, calving year and season on birth weight and survival rates of 761 Holstein calves born between 2006 and 2016 in Eastern Mediterrean Agricultural Research Institute in Adana. Analysis showed that the effect of sex and parity on birth weights of calves were statistically significant. However, the effects of calving year and season were not significant. Survival rates of calves during monthly interval were analyzed by survival analysis using life tables. According to sex cumulative survival rate (CSR) were ranged from 0.871 to 0.848 and 0.970 to 0.822 for males and females respectively; according to birth weight group CSR were ranged from 0.906 to 0.809 and 0.929 to 0.859 for for lower and higher birth weight groups respectively; according to season CSR were ranged from 0.909 to 0.818, 0.927 to 0.855, 0.945 to 0.868 and 0.906 to 0.821 for winter, spring, summer and autumn respectively; according to parity CSR were ranged from 0.927 to 0.849, 0.916 to 0.813 and 0.903 to 0.835 for the first, second and third parities respectively. In conclusion, survival analysis showed that the effects of calf sex, birth weight group, calving season and parity were all not statistically significant on survival rates of Holstein calves. These results could be interpreted that survival rates of calves could be commonly affected by the other factors such as care, feeding, diseases and housing system with genetic factors.