Calf mortality in Norwegian dairy herds

Sayers

et al. 2013

150

141

Transfer of sufficient immunoglobulin G (IgG) to the neonatal calf via colostrum is vital to provide the calf with immunological protection and resistance against disease. The objective of the present study was to determine the factors associated with both colostral IgG concentration and colostral weight in Irish dairy cows. Fresh colostrum samples were collected from 704 dairy cows of varying breed and parity from four Irish research farms between January and December 2011; colostral weight was recorded and the IgG concentration was determined using an ELISA method. The mean IgG concentration in the colostrum was 112 g/l (s.d. 5 51 g/l) and ranged from 13 to 256 g/l. In total, 96% of the samples in this study contained .50 g/l IgG, which is considered to be indicative of high-quality colostrum. Mean colostral weight was 6.7 kg (s.d. 5 3.6 kg) with a range of 0.1 to 24 kg. Factors associated with both colostral IgG concentration and colostral weight were determined using a fixed effects multiple regression model. Parity, time interval from calving to next milking, month of calving, colostral weight and herd were all independently associated with IgG concentration. IgG concentration decreased ( P , 0.01) by 1.7 (s.e. 5 0.6) g/l per kg increase in the colostral weight. Older parity cows, cows that had a shorter time interval from calving to milking, and cows that calved earlier in spring or in the autumn produced colostrum with higher IgG concentration. Parity ( P , 0.001), time interval from calving to milking ( P , 0.01), weight of the calf at birth ( P , 0.05), colostral IgG concentration ( P , 0.01) and herd were all independently associated with colostral weight at the first milking. Younger parity cows, cows milked earlier post-calving, and cows with lighter calves produced less colostrum. In general, colostrum quality of cows in this study was higher than in many previous studies; possible reasons include use of a relatively low-yielding cow type that produces low weight of colostrum, short calving to colostrum collection interval and grass-based nutritional management. The results of this study indicate that colostral IgG concentration can be maximised by reducing the time interval between calving and collection of colostrum.

Section: Introductionsupporting

confidence: 80%

Factors associated with the concentration of immunoglobulin G in the colostrum of dairy cows

Conneely

Sayers

et al. 2013

150

141

“…As herd size expands, the task of the manager changes; human resource, financial, operational, herd management and strategic management skills are most important for successful expansion (Hadley et al, 2002). Although benefits of scale have been reported for milk production (Oleggini et al, 2001) and milk quality as a result of lower somatic cell count (Norman et al, 1999;Oleggini et al, 2001), a number of studies have shown increased herd size to be associated with poorer reproductive performance (Oleggini et al, 2001;Washburn et al, 2001), higher calf mortality (Gulliksen et al, 2008), poorer hoof health (Wells et al, 1999;Smith et al, 2000) and a higher rate of involuntary culling (Oleggini et al, 2001).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Associations between herd size, rate of expansion and production, breeding policy and reproduction in spring-calving dairy herds

Jago

2011

Dairy herd size is expected to increase in many European countries, given the recent policy changes within the European Union. Managing more cows may have implications for herd performance in the post-quota era. The objective of this study was to characterise spring-calving herds according to size and rate of expansion, and to determine trends in breeding policy, reproduction and production performance, which will inform industry of the likely implications of herd expansion. Performance data from milk recording herds comprising 775 795 lactations from 2555 herds for the years 2004 to 2008 inclusive were available from the Irish Cattle Breeding Federation. Herds were classified into Small (average of 37 cows), Medium (average of 54 cows) and Large (average of 87 cows) and separately into herds that were not expanding (Nil expansion), herds expanding on average by three cows per year (Slow expansion) and herds expanding on average by eight cows per year (Rapid expansion). There was no association between rate of expansion and 305-day fat and protein yield. However, 305-day milk yield decreased and milk protein and fat percentage increased with increasing rate of expansion. There were no associations between herd size and milk production except for protein and fat percentage, which increased with increasing herd size. Average parity number of the cows decreased as rate of expansion increased and tended to decrease as herd size increased. In rapidly expanding herds, cow numbers were increased by purchasing more cattle. The proportion of dairy sires relative to beef sires used in the breeding programme of expanding herds increased and there was more dairy crossbreeding, albeit at a low rate. Similarly, large herds were using more dairy sires and fewer beef sires. Expanding herds and large herds had superior reproductive performance relative to non-expanding and small herds. Animals in expanding herds calved for the first time at a younger age, had a shorter calving interval and were submitted for breeding by artificial insemination at a higher rate. The results give confidence to dairy producers likely to undergo significant expansion post-quota such that, despite managing more cows, production and reproductive performance need not decline. The management skills required to achieve these performance levels need investigation.

“…Care of the calf begins before birth. Appropriate feeding of the dry cow (Mulligan and Doherty, 2008), calving facilities and calving management are all essential to optimizing the health of newborn calves (Gulliksen et al, 2009a). Over or underfeeding the dry cow influences her body condition score (BCS), changes in which may lead to a greater incidence of dystocia (Berry et al, 2007) thus appropriate nutrition of the dry cow is crucial.…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

“…In addition to dry cow nutrition, monitoring of the cow around calving is important for successful healthy calf births (Lombard et al, 2007). Furthermore, management of hygiene in the calving area is attributable to the exposure of calves to pathogens and the associated impact on infection in the calf (Gulliksen et al, 2009a).…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

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Questionnaire identifying management practices surrounding calving on spring-calving dairy farms and their associations with herd size and herd expansion

Cummins

Sayers

et al. 2016

Healthy calves are fundamental to any profitable dairy enterprise. Research to-date, has focused on year-round calving systems which experience many different challenges compared to spring-calving systems. The objective of the present study was to determine the on-farm dry cow, calving, and colostrum management practices of spring-calving dairy production systems, and quantify their associations with herd size and herd expansion status (i.e. expanding or not expanding). Information on these management practices was available from a survey of 262 Irish spring-calving dairy farmers, representative of the Irish national population. Herd expansion in the 2 years before, and the year that the survey was conducted was not associated with any of the management practices investigated. Fifty-three percent of respondents had an average calving season length of 10 to14 weeks with 35% of herds having a longer calving season. Previous research in cattle has documented that both colostrum source and feeding management are associated with the transmission of infectious disease from cow to calf. In the present study 60% of respondents fed calves colostrum from their own dam; however, 66% of those respondents allowed the calf to suckle the dam, 23% of survey respondents fed calves pooled colostrum. Larger herds were more likely ( P < 0.01) to use pooled colostrum supplies, while smaller herds were more likely ( P < 0.05) to allow the calf to suckle the dam. The majority (86%) of respondents had stored supplies of colostrum; average-sized herds had the greatest likelihood of storing colostrum ( P < 0.05), compared to other herd sizes; larger sized herds had a lesser likelihood ( P < 0.05) of storing colostrum in a freezer, compared to other herd sizes. Although freezing colostrum was the most common method used to store colostrum (54% of respondents), 17% of respondents stored colostrum at room temperature, 29% of which stored it at room temperature for greater than 4 days. The results from the present study indicate that a particular focus needs to be placed on calving and colostrum management because this study has highlighted a number of areas which are below international standards, and may have repercussions for calf health. Furthermore, management practices on larger farms could be improved and, as these represent the future of dairy farming, a focus needs to be placed on them. Expanding herds are not a particular concern as herd expansion, independent of herd size, does not seem to be associated with calving and colostrum management practices on Irish spring-calving dairy herds.Keywords: dry period, calving, colostrum, calves, dairy ImplicationsThe results from the present study provide information on dry-cow, calving and colostrum management practices used in spring-calving systems. It highlights the management areas that are similar to and the areas that are different from yearround calving systems. Practices such as grouped calving pens and short term colostrum storage are more common in springcalving systems due to a l...