Comparison of the breeding performance of cows in cold and warm loose-housing systems in Finland.
Finland's cold loose-housing systems for dairy cows were compared with the more traditional warm loose-housing systems regarding the number of days from calving-to-first-service, the first-service-pregnancy risk and the repeated-service-conception hazard. 3131 calvings registered during the indoor periods in 1996 and 1997 on 208 farms were modelled using multilevel survival analysis and logistic regression in a retrospective cohort study. Compared to cows in a warm loose-housing system, cows in a cold loose-housing system had the same period from calving-to-first-service, a significant 6% lower first-service-pregnancy risk and the same repeated-service-conception hazard.
Schnier
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Department of Clinical Veterinary Sciences, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, University of Helsinki, PO Box 57, FIN 00014 University of Helsinki, Finland. christian.schnier@helsinki.fi
Hielm
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Saloniemi
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D000818:Animals; D001947:Breeding / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D002417:Cattle / Q000502:physiology*; D015331:Cohort Studies; D003080:Cold Temperature; D003612:Dairying; D005260:Female; D005387:Finland / Q000453:epidemiology; D006358:Hot Temperature; D006799:Housing, Animal; D016014:Linear Models; D011247:Pregnancy; D011270:Pregnancy, Animal / Q000502:physiology*; D012189:Retrospective Studies