Extended lactation and feeding strategies in dairy cows
Résumé
Interest in extended lactation has increased this last decade to avoid rebreeding in a negative energy balance period and to exploit the full milk yield capacity of dairy cows. This PhD thesis focused on the effects of an early lactation feeding strategy on the productive and reproductive performance of Holstein cows managed for 16 months lactation. A lifetime prediction model was also used to determine the effect of lactation duration and parity on cows’ lifetime performance. The new research findings contribute to the understanding of how to manage Holstein cows during their life taking into account individual energy needs, age and lactation duration.