Effect of suckler cow breed type and parity on the development of the cow-calf bond post-partum and calf passive immunity

Table 2 Least square means for dam genotype (beef × beef, (B×B) and beef × dairy, (B×D)) and parity (primiparous and multiparous) on cow-calf maternal behaviours, colostrum IgG concentration, calf serum IgG concentration, ZST units and total protein (TP) concentration for experiment 1 (suckled calves) (n = 126)

	Genotype (G)		Parity (P)			P value^a
	B×B	B×D	Primiparous	Multiparous	Pooled SEM	G	P
Time to first-licking the calf (sec)	70	84	98	56	14.1	NS	0.05
Total duration of first-licking (sec)	77	75	42	110	16.2	NS	0.01
Total number of attempts to stand by the calf	9	10	12	7	0.6	NS	0.001
Total duration of the attempts to stand (sec)	84	93	76	100	15.4	NS	NS
Time to calf standing on all fours (min)^a	56	64	66	53	5.5	NS	NS
Duration of the first standing on all fours (sec)	94	62	52	104	15.1	NS	0.05
Total number of attempts to suckle before suckling occurred	10	11	13	8	0.8	NS	0.001
Total duration of the attempts to suckle before suckling occurred (min)	4.6	5.7	4.6	5.7	0.61	NS	NS
Time to first-suckle (min)	103	119	108	114	20.8	NS	NS
Duration of the first-suckling bout (sec)	55	72	63	64	8.7	NS	NS
Colostrum IgG (mg/ml)	132	119	117	134	5.8	NS	0.05
Calf serum
IgG (mg/ml)	47	47	44	50	2.8	NS	0.05
ZST (units)	20	22	20	23	1.3	NS	0.05
TP (g/dl)	6.0	6.0	5.8	6.2	0.15	NS	0.05

^aThere was a genotype × parity interaction (P < 0.01) for time to standing (mean (SEM)) on all four legs (min). The respective values for B×B calves from multiparous were 52, (9.1) min and from primiparous cows were 60 (5.0) min, and for B×D calves from multiparous were 81 (10.8) min and from primiparous cows were 47 (4.8) min. There were no other genotype × parity interactions (P > 0.05) for maternal behaviours or for colostrum IgG concentration or calf passive immunity measures

ISSN: 2046-0481