Liability to diseases and their relation to dry matter intake and energy balance in German Holstein and Fleckvieh dairy cows

Abstract

Dairy cow efficiency is increasingly important for future breeding decisions. The efficiency is determined mostly by dry matter intake (DMI). Reducing DMI seems to increase efficiency if milk yield remains the same, but resulting negative energy balance (EB) may cause health problems, especially in early lactation. Objectives of this study were to examine relationships between DMI and liability to diseases. Therefore, cow effects for DMI and EB were correlated with cow effects for 4 disease categories throughout lactation. Disease categories were mastitis, claw and leg diseases, metabolic diseases, and all diseases. In addition, this study presents relative percentages of diseased cows per days in milk (DIM), repeatability, and cow effect correlations for disease categories across DIM. A total of 1,370 German Holstein (GH) and 287 Fleckvieh (FV) primiparous and multiparous dairy cows from 12 dairy research farms in Germany were observed over a period of 2 yr. Farm staff and veterinarians recorded health data. We modeled health and production data with threshold random regression models and linear random regression models. From DIM 2 to 305 average daily DMI was 22.1 kg/d in GH and 20.2 kg/d in FV. Average weekly EB was 2.8 MJ of NE L /d in GH and 0.6 MJ of NE L /d in FV. Most diseases occurred in the first 20 DIM. Multiparous cows were more susceptible to diseases than primiparous cows. Relative percentages of diseased cows were highest for claw and leg diseases, followed by metabolic diseases and mastitis. Repeatability of disease categories and production traits was moderate to high. Cow effect correlations for disease categories were higher for adjacent lactation stages than for more distant lactation stages. Pearson correlation coefficients between cow effects for DMI, as well as EB, and disease categories were estimated from DIM 2 to 305. Almost all correlations were negative in GH, especially in early lactation. In FV, the course of correlations was similar to GH, but correlations were mostly more negative in early lactation. For the first 20 DIM, correlations ranged from −0.31 to 0.00 in GH and from −0.42 to −0.01 in FV. The results illustrate that future breeding for dairy cow efficiency should focus on DMI and EB in early lactation to avoid health problems.

Dairy Cows Are Limited in Their Ability to Increase Glucose Availability for Immune Function during Disease

“…Hypophagia during inflammation is a well-known phenomenon and is observed across many species [ 50 , 51 ]. In various studies, dairy cows diagnosed with mastitis, metabolic, or other diseases showed a reduced DMI compared with healthy cows [ 17 , 52 , 53 , 54 ]. Host cytokines such as tumor necrosis factor-α and interleukin−1β, and bacterial endotoxins [ 55 , 56 ] have been found to exhibit appetite-depressing effects.…”

“…Because feed costs are assumed to decline with low RFI [ 13 ], this criterion is often used for selection in dairy breeding [ 12 , 14 ]. However, metabolic imbalance and increased lipomobilization arising from strongly negative energy balance (NEB, a negative ratio between energy intake and energy requirement) is a major concern associated with low RFI because it increases the risk for the development of diseases [ 5 , 15 , 16 , 17 ]. Excessive lipomobilization causes impaired liver [ 18 , 19 ] and immune functions [ 20 , 21 ] following the hepatic accumulation of triglycerides as well as the increase in plasma levels of non-esterified fatty acids and β-hydroxy-butyrate.…”

Association between Fatty Acid Composition in Hair and Energy Availability during Early Lactation in Simmental and German Holstein Cows

“…During early lactation, cows with a high energy intake and a low energy deficit are metabolically healthier [16]. For the improvement of the health of lactating cows, an accurate individual assessment of the feed intake, especially during early lactation, would be desirable.…”

“…All cows were part of the 'optiKuh' project (Germany), and the responsible local authority approved the animal experiments. Project-related results from farm-specific feeding trials as well as the lactation-dependent relationship between dry matter intake and diseases in different farms and breeds have already been published [13][14][15][16]. Feeding regimes were harmonized across all farms and individual feed intake was measured daily.…”

Factors associated with negative energy balance in periparturient dairy cows raised under tropical climate of Thailand—A mini-review

“…For milk production, the direct effect of NEB on the reduction of milk yield, both short and long term, was reported together with an indirect effect on udder health and immune function [ 27 – 29 ]. The relation of NEB to health problems such as lameness, abomasal displacement, metabolic disease, and reproductive disease, including metritis and retained placenta [ 7 , 30 ], are reported. In vitro chemotactic impairment of leukocytes treated with ketone body and increased culling rate related to NEB of periparturient dairy cows are also published [ 28 , 31 ].…”