Structural characteristics and herd management practices of dairy cattle farms registered to pre-herdbook and herdbook systems

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This research is based on the findings of survey study carried out vis-à-vis with 501 randomly sampled dairy cattle breeders in 15 districts of Aydın. Results show that 11% of surveyed farms are registered to Preherdbook, 89% to Herdbook of Cattle Breeders’ Association of Aydın (CBAA) and weighted average of herd size is calculated as 23 heads of heifer ( 1 year old). In 87% of cases main source of income is declared as milk production and 95% of breeders are male, 51% is between 31-49 years old. Of all breeders 78% graduated from primary school and 92% of all farms use family labor while 11% hires labor. 97% has milking machine, 48% measure their milk with milk buckets and 85% of breeders declared keeping Herdbook records, whereas 7% of all are bookkeeping. The housing in 74% of farms is roofed-open, loose/free-stall while 16% has enclosed, tied-stall system. 4.5% has individual calf pens, 30.6% has group pens and rest keeps the calves with adults. Veterinary services are received upon request (39%), mostly for Artificial Insemination (AI), treatment and calving difficulty. Breeders change feed ration during dry-period in 80.4%, don’t change in 20%. Results show that breeders in Aydın need to receive more information and advisory services on herd management practices, in particular feeding, herd health and farm economics.

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Aydın , dairy cattle , farm structure , herd management.

Veterinary Journal of Ankara University

74

Veterinary Journal of Ankara University