Association of rumination time with subclinical ketosis in transition dairy cows

Abstract

The objective of this study was to characterize the relationship between rumination and subclinical ketosis (SCK) in transition dairy cows. A study was conducted on 4 commercial dairy farms in eastern Ontario, Canada. A total of 339 Holstein dairy cows (107 primiparous and 232 multiparous) were monitored for rumination activity and SCK from 14 d before calving until 28 d after calving. Rumination was recorded daily using an automated monitoring system. A blood sample was taken from the coccygeal vein of each cow for measurement of β-hydroxybutyrate (BHB) once weekly throughout the 6-wk observation period. Cows with BHB ≥1.2mmol/L in any of the 4 postpartum samples were considered to have SCK. Cases of retained placenta, metritis, milk fever, or mastitis during the study period were also recorded. Cows were categorized into 1 of 4 groups: healthy cows (HLT) that had no SCK or any other recorded health problem (n=139); cows treated for at least one health issue other than SCK (HLT+; n=50); cows with SCK (hyperketonemia; HYK) with no other health problems during transition (n=97); or cows (HYK+) that had SCK and one or more other health problems (n=53). Daily rumination time was summarized by week and comparisons were made between HLT and HYK and HYK+. From 2 wk before calving (wk -2) to 4 wk after calving (wk +4), there was no difference in rumination time (409±9.8min/d) among HLT, HYK, and HYK+ cows in their first lactation. Multiparous cows in HLT spent an average of 459±11.3min/d ruminating from wk -2 to wk +4. Multiparous HYK cows ruminated 25±12.8min/d less than HLT cows, whereas HYK+ cows ruminated 44±15.6min/d less than HLT cows. The largest differences in rumination time between HLT and HYK+ cows were seen during wk -1, +1, and +2, when HYK+ cows ruminated 48±17.2, 73±16.0, and 65±19.4min/d less than HLT cows, respectively. In multiparous cows, increased odds of HYK were associated with greater milk yield in the previous lactation, greater loss of body condition over the transition period, greater stall stocking density in wk -1, and reduced rumination time in wk -1. Increased odds of HYK+ were associated with higher parity, longer dry period, greater stall stocking density in wk -1, and reduced rumination time in wk +1. These results suggest that rumination monitoring across the transition period might contribute to identification of SCK and other health problems in multiparous cows.

The Rumen as a Health Thermometer: Importance of Ruminal Function to the Metabolic Balance in Ruminants – Mini Review

“…Therefore, the introduction of a novel method to indirectly measure RT, evaluates vocal signs and allows automatic measurement of RT to analyze rumination behavior in different environments [13,22]. Results of these studies found that cows with different health problems ruminate less then healthy cows, and therefore, there is a relationship between RT and metabolic conditions such as ketosis, hypocalcemia, and inflammatory blood markers around calving [13,14,22,30].…”

“…Therefore, despite the fact that dietary changes and nutritional shifts can increase the chance of ruminal/metabolic diseases, and may cause more drastic modifications to the future evolutionary adaptations of ruminant digestive system [9,12], new approaches of evaluating ruminal behavior may be a strong marker to predict the risk of diseases and suitable herd welfare [13][14][15][16]. Hence, this review aims to provide recent information of the associations between ruminal behavior and metabolic disorders.…”

“…The consequence of these changes is a depression of rumination time (RT), which subsequently leads to a reduction of dry matter intake (DMI), followed by a decline in weight gain or milk yield [18,25]. These conditions when occurring in transition dairy cows, can result in a prolonged decrease in DMI around calving and may result in nonadaptive negative energy balance (NEB), which may lead to diseases related to the transitional period as subclinical ketosis, hypocalcemia, displaced abomasum, retained fetal membranes, and metritis [14,26].…”

“…Reproduction status plays a pivotal role in diminishing the DMI as the transition period begins, dictating how intense and adaptable will be the NEB [13,14,26]. In small ruminants, the high prolific rate increases the risk of energy imbalance during the pre and post-partum, and the sum of a limited physical space in the pregnant abdomen, reduced DMI during this period, and changes to a HC diets are factors that limit and lessen rumen cycles [19,27,28].…”

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“…13,22 Results of these studies found that cows with different health problems ruminate less then healthy cows, and therefore, there is a relationship between RT and metabolic conditions such as ketosis, hypocalcemia, and inflammatory blood markers around calving. 13,14,22,30 …”