Body Condition Change Ante‐ and Postpartum, Health and Reproductive Performance in German Holstein Cows

Abstract

The effects of body condition score (BCS) change and status ante- and postpartum (pp) on health and reproductive performance in 234 German Holstein cows from eight dairy farms were evaluated. BCS was determined from 6 weeks antepartum until 20 weeks pp in 2-week intervals. Three and 5 weeks pp progesterone concentrations in blood serum were determined to detect the presence of luteal tissue as an indicator of cyclicity. The incidence of various diseases, percent cycling cows, reproductive measures and culling rate were assessed. Data were subjected to logistic regression to account for possible herd and lactation number effects. Cows with a low BCS status (<3.0) at calving and during early lactation (4-10 weeks pp) were at a higher risk of suffering from lameness (OR 2.9-9.4), not being cycling at 3 and/or 5 weeks pp (OR 2.24-3.99) and being culled (OR 2.56-2.79) than cows in better body condition (> or =3.0) In addition, cows with a low BCS status at parturition were at a higher risk of developing endometritis (OR 2.95) and becoming pregnant later than 105 days pp (OR 5.92) than cows with a BCS > or = 3.0. At 10 weeks pp, the risk of dystocia (OR 4.10) or retained placenta (OR 2.78) at the preceding calving and not being pregnant at 200 days pp (OR 2.42) was higher in cows with a BCS < 3.0 than with a BCS > or = 3.0. Cows with no BCS loss antepartum were more likely to have an interval from calving to first artificial insemination of <80 days and <105 days open, to be cycling at 3 and 5 weeks pp and to be pregnant at 200 days pp than cows with a BCS loss of >0.25 (OR 2.44-6.67). Furthermore, cows with no BCS loss from calving to 4 weeks pp had a lower risk of suffering from displaced abomasum than cows with a slight or a severe BCS loss (OR 0.09-0.07 respectively). In conclusion, our results suggest that body condition loss during the antepartal period affected BCS status at parturition and to a certain extent during lactation which was linked to a higher incidence of reproductive disorders and lameness, a higher culling rate and lower reproductive performance.

Lying behavior as an indicator of lameness in dairy cows

“…Older cows are generally at higher risk (Espejo et al, 2006;Bicalho et al, 2007b;Dippel et al, 2009), and incidence of lameness peaks 3 to 4 mo into lactation (Green et al, 2002). Thinner digital cushion (Bicalho et al, 2009), higher milk production at the beginning of lactation (Green et al, 2002;Bicalho et al, 2008), and low BCS (<3.0) before and at calving (Hoedemaker et al, 2009) were identified as cow-level risk factors for lameness. found that cows that became lame spent more time standing with only 2 front feet in the stall compared with cows that did not become lame (6.2% vs. 5.6% of the day, respectively).…”

Effects of type of lesion and trimming on short-term behavior of grazing dairy cows

“…Some conditions such as high milk production in early lactation (Bicalho et al, 2008), low body condition score during the periparturient period (Hoedemaker et al, 2009), age (Dippel et al, 2009), and environment as type of flooring, presence of dirt, and humidity (Cook and Nordlund, 2009) may enhance the occurrence of lameness in the herd. Lesions in the limbs can result in lower milk production (Bicalho et al, 2008), reduced fertility, and increased risk of premature culling (Bicalho et al, 2007).…”

Dairy Cows' Body Condition Score. Effects on reproduction, health and milk production. Use in farm management

“…Η αρνητική επίδραση της μείωσης του Δ.Θ.Κ. κατά τη διάρκεια της ξηράς περιόδου στην αναπαραγωγική ικανότητα των αγε λάδων αναδεικνύεται και στην πρόσφατη μελέτη των Hoedemaker et al (2008).…”