Productive Performance of Pure Friesian Cows Raised under Conditions of River Nile State, North Sudan

Abstract

Data utilized in this study were obtained from the farm records of Al-Fayet project. The dairy farm is located in Gandatow, Shendi, River Nile State, as the first farm kept pure Friesian cattle. The main objectives of this study were to evaluate the productive performance of Friesian dairy cows and investigate the factors affecting those productive traits. A total of 138 performance records of Friesian cattle were used; covering the period from 2011 to 2014. The investigated data included total milk yield, lactation length and daily milk yield. The collected data were classified according to the parity number, season and year of calving. The data were analyzed using SPSS computer program. Analysis of variance was performed and means were separated using Duncan’s multiple range test. The results showed that overall means of total milk yield, daily milk yield and lactation length were 5604.2 kg, 14.3 kg and 378.2 days, respectively. The total and daily milk yield were significantly (P≤0.05) affected by parity order, season and year of calving. On the other hand, year and season of calving had an insignificant (P>0.05) influence on lactation length, while the trait was significantly (P≤0.05) affected by parity order. The study concluded that the productive performance of the pure Friesians cows raised in River Nile State, was better and higher than those estimates obtained from previous reports in Sudan. The productive performance of pure Friesian cows could be improved by adoption of proper management, feeding and breeding programs. Keywords : Sudan, pure Friesian, milk yield, lactation length Cite this Article Rana M. Sharif, Babiker A, Safaa A. Abdalla et al . Productive Performance of Pure Friesian Cows Raised Under Conditions of River Nile State, North Sudan. Research and Reviews: Journal of Dairy Science and Technology . 2018; 7(1): 26–32p.