A Study of the Relation Between Feed Consumption and Milk Secretion

Abstract

While many yearly milk production records are available which permit the study of the normal course of milk secretion during the lactation period, records of feed consumption during the course of the lactation period are very limited in number. Studies showing the relation between total feed consumption and total milk production are the basis of the modem feeding standards for d~ cattle, but the relation between feed consump- tion and milk secretion during the course of the lactation period has not been determined. Study (1) of the characteristics of the yearly milk secretion curves of the various breeds of dairy cattle and a number of groups of cows within certain breeds indicate that under favorable conditions of feeding and management the factors controlling the rate of increase in milk secretion during the early part of the lactation period and the rate of decline following the period of maximum production appear to be inherited characteristics governing the mechanism of milk secretion. The object of this paper is to present data showing the char- acteristics of the feed consumption curves during the course of the lactation period and their relation to milk secretion and change of live weight. SOURCE OF DATA