Invited review: Cessation of lactation: Effects on animal welfare

Abstract

The forced cessation of milk production, or dry-off, is a routine management practice in dairy cattle, sheep, and goats. This practice initiates a dry period, during which the animal is not milked. Milking begins again after parturition. Most of the literature on the dry period has focused on how various drying-off strategies affect milk production and disease; little work to date has addressed how dry-off affects the overall welfare of the dairy animal. The first aim of this review was to present an overview of the importance of dry-off and how it is commonly achieved. Our review shows that much scientific progress has been made in improving health status between lactations. The second aim was to identify important gaps in the literature, of which 2 key research disparities have been identified. We find that much of the work to date has focused on cattle and very little research has examined dry-off in dairy sheep and goats. We also find a lack of research addressing how common dry-off methodologies affect animal welfare on more than just a biological level, regardless of species.

Review: Dry period length in dairy cows and consequences for metabolism and welfare and customised management strategies

“…The onset of the dry period is a challenge for the cow, especially when milk yield is still considerable at the moment of dry-off (Zobel et al, 2015). Moreover, a high milk production before dry-off increases the risk of intramammary infections at calving (Rajala-Schultz et al, 2005).…”

“…However, prepartum milk yield level and lactation persistency determine whether a cow is able to sustain milk production (or would spontaneously dry off), and how much additional milk would be realised in the months before calving when the dry period is shortened. Moreover, omitting the dry period can be expected to be more beneficial for cows with a high milk yield for two reasons: (1) drying-off cows with a higher milk yield increases the risk of new intramammary infections at dry-off (Rajala-Schultz et al, 2005) and may compromise animal welfare (Zobel et al, 2015) and (2) cows with a higher yield potential are likely to have a more severe NEB (Veerkamp, 1998) and to yield more additional milk when the dry period is shortened. Therefore, one might shorten or omit the dry period for higher yielding cows only.…”

Droogstand op maat : verkorten van de droogstand van melkvee: effecten op vervetting en persistentie, uiergezondheid, dierenwelzijn, melkproductie, economie en milieu

“…Toch bevordert droogstand niet per definitie het welzijn van koeien. Het droogzetten bij een hoge melkproductie kan pijnlijk zijn, en de droogstand gaat vaak gepaard met omhokken en wisselingen in rantsoen (Zobel et al, 2015). De koe moet zich hieraan aanpassen.…”

“…Een reden hiervoor kan zijn dat in de uier van koeien zonder droogstand minder vervanging van uiercellen plaatsvindt voor afkalven (Capuco et al, 1997), terwijl dat bij koeien met een droogstand in hoge mate gebeurt, en dat oudere uiercellen later in lactatie minder in staat zijn om de barrière tegen binnenkomende pathogenen in stand te houden. (Zobel et al, 2015). Koeien met een droogstand van 0 dagen bleven in de lacterende groep zonder veranderingen.…”

Involução da glândula mamária durante o final da lactação e período seco de cabras Saanen: respostas de sobrevivência celular ao estresse agudo e relações com a temperatura por infravermelho

“…Consequentemente, o período de secagem é apontado como um fator estressante dentro da produção leiteira (ZOBEL et al, 2015). (CAROPRESE et al, 2010;PONCHON et al, 2017).…”