Optimal age at first calving for improved milk yield and lengh of productive life in Tunisian Holstein cows

The effects of age at first calving on milk production and true herd life were studied in Tunisian Holstein cows. There were 33,407 first lactation records of cows born between 1987 and 2001 from 166 herds. Firstly, age at first calving was analyzed using an animal model that included herd, calving year, herd-calving year interaction, calving month, and age of dam as fixed effects and the random additive genetic effect. Secondly, differences in first lactation and productive life milk yields and in true herd life were explained by age at first calving in addition to herd, year at first calving, herd-year at first calving interaction and month at first calving. A cow produced on the average 5669.8 kg milk (SD=1812 kg) during a 305-d first lactation period. The lifetime production of a cow was was 19,496.3 kg (SD=12,192 kg) during 3.3 lactations (SD=1.8 lactations). Coefficients of determination ranged from 14% for true herd life to 64% for first lactation milk yield. The mean of true herd life was 38.6 months (SD=24 months) and the mean age at first calving was 28.7 months (SD=3.4 months). Posterior mean of heritability of the age at first calving derived by a Markov Chain Monte Carlo Bayesien method via a Gibbs sampling algorithm was 0.08. The reduction of age at first calving to around 24 months may result in improved 305-d and lifetime yields and a longer herd life in Tunisian Holsteins.