Allaitement de deux veaux par des vaches de race Salers. I. — Productions comparées de vaches allaitant 1 ou 2 veaux

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Abstract
Trials (3) compared 29 lactations of Salers cows nursing 2 calves with 29 lactations of paired cows suckling only their own calf. The 2nd calves were males fostered for the 1st time by their nurse just after calving and at the age of 2 wk. All calves were allowed to suck 2 .times. daily in winter. The 2 herds were similarly managed on pasture with some variations from 1 trial to another. Milk productions (estimated by the calf-nursing-method) and live wt changes of the cows were compared with the test applied to paired values. The live wt gains and differences between the live wt gains of the calves were studied by an analysis of variance taking into account the sex and trial factors. In addition 20 cows suckled 1 then 2 calves or 2 then 1 calf during 2 successive lactations. Their productions were also compared in the 2 suckling systems. Milk production of the cows suckling 2 calves was significantly higher than the production of the cows suckling only 1 calf, especially in early lactation when the single calf was unable to suck all the milk produced by its mothers. The difference persisted until weaning. The 2 calves emptied and probably stimulated better the udder during each suckling than 1 calf, as the daily number of sucklings/cow was the same in the 2 herds. The double suckling decreased the average daily milk intake/calf by 4.0 kg. The daily live wt gain was only reduced by 198 g, due to an increase in the grazing time and in the intake of concentrates. The total production of weaned calf/cow increased by 61%. The growth rate of the fostered calves was slightly lower than the 1st calves, except when the sucklings were controlled. The growth rate difference largely varied, probably with the success of fostering. Double suckling slightly reduced the live wt of the cows, but did not change the interval between calvings. The results of this study were compared with other results, and the uncertainties and limits of the double-suckling system were discussed.

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