The importance of sufficient vitamin A in the diet of cattle has been adequately substantiated (Rosenberger, 1970; Bauernfeind & Marusich, 1971; Thompson 1975; Lotthammer, 1978). It has been claimed that under semi-arid conditions (winter range) where no green pasture is…
A total of 37 first-calf cows and their calves, comprising 19 Drakensbergers and 18 Hereford x Simmentalers, were subjected to either normal or once-daily suckling for 15 days, commencing at either day 35 or 60 post-partum in a 2 x…
The experiment was carried out over three seasons during which a total of 889 Afrikaner and 805 Simmentaler 'cow years' were studied. Nucleus breeding herds of each of these breeds were maintained at stations in the Highland Sourveld and the…
Beef heifers were fed during late pregnancy to produce cows in poor, average, and good condition at calving late in winter. The animals were fed on dry-lot for the major part of the experiment. At 50 days of age half…
One hundred and twenty Simmentaler and 120 Afrikaner cows were randomly divided into four herds of each breed. Supplements were compared in terms of cow and calf performance and costs. Either a rumen-stimulating lick (RSL), which contained approximately 26% crude…
This study was undertaken to investigate the growth performance of calves born to dams with different calving dates and calving intervals. Early calving dams produced calves with the lowest birth weights, the highest actual weaning weights and the highest pre-breeding…
The suckling behaviour of one- to three-month-old calves, suckled by 66 Hereford, Simmentaler and Hereford X Simmentaler cows, was studied. The most common frequency of suckling in 24 h was 4, and the mean duration of each suckling event was…
