Caracterização do manejo reprodutivo do rebanho leiteiro de propriedades do estados de Alagoas

Abstract

Reproductive aspects, racial composition and herd structure are factors of great importance in dairy farming, since milk production is directly related to these factors. In Alagoas is located one of the most important dairy basins composed of 11 municipalities. With the objective of characterizing the reproductive management of the dairy herd of properties in the state of Alagoas, a survey was carried out in 14 milk production units (UPL). The information of each UPL was collected through a semi-structured questionnaire applied to the owner or to another person designated by him. The questionnaire addressed reproductive management, number of animals in each category (lactating cows, dry cows, calves, heifers, bulls). Regarding the racial composition of the herd, in large properties were counted the animals that have registration on the platform of ABCZ, and in relation to small producers, the animals were judged by aspects of similarity with the standards of the races, making the proper estimate of the degree of blood as the proportion of each race in mixed-breed animals. Regarding the composition of the herd, it was found that the number of cows in the herd exceeded 35% of the total number of animals. It was observed that the percentage of lactating cows in relation to the total number of cows is below the ideal. It was found that 92.9% of the producers interviewed made some kind of note about reproduction; 78.6% of the interviewees said they used artificial insemination, 21.4% natural mounting. In general, there is a predominance of animals suitable for milk production, with over 35% being Girolando crossbreeds. The structuring of the herd is far below the ideal, with low numbers of total cows in the herd, and lactating cows and a high number of animals in rearing. Most producers use natural mount as reproductive method.

Key words: Dairy cows , dairy breeds , artificial insemination, breeding method.