Risk factors associated with on-farm mortality in Swedish dairy cows

Alvåsen, Karin; Mörk, Marie Jansson; Dohoo, Ian R.; Sandgren, Charlotte Hallén; Thomsen, Peter T.; Emanuelson, Ulf

doi:10.1016/j.prevetmed.2014.08.011

Cited by 41 publications

(50 citation statements)

References 22 publications

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“…Although it is known that farmers´ perception of cause of death compared to necropsy examinations are incorrect in slightly more than half of the mortality cases (McConnel et al, 2009;Thomsen et al, 2012) our results are in concordance with a recent study in Sweden (Alvåsen et al, 2014). This implies that a herd health improvement plan should put more effort on prevention of these diseases in order to decrease mortality events in production herds.…”

Section: Farmers´ Stated Reasons For On-farm Mortalitysupporting

confidence: 87%

“…As mentioned before, there are only few studies reflecting the mortality levels on country level or larger regions. Most of the studies done in other countries are mainly focused on mortality in certain age-groups (Alvåsen et al, 2014). In addition, mortality can be calculated differently -some studies report mortality risk (Thomsen et al, 2004;Svensson et al, 2006;Raboisson et al, 2013), whereas others calculate mortality rate for different denominator (Raboisson et al, 2011;Perrin et al, 2012;Pannwitz, 2015).…”

Section: On-farm Mortality Of Cattle In Estonian Dairy Herdsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Mortality of dairy cows has been reported in the range of 3.5 to 6.1% in previous studies conducted in different countries (Thomsen et al, 2004;McConnel et al, 2008;Raboisson et al, 2011;Alvåsen et al, 2014), mortality of youngstock has been reported from 2.4 to 9.4% (Losinger and Heinrichs, 1997;Gulliksen et al, 2009;Bleul, 2011;Azizzadeh et al, 2012, Santman-Berends et al, 2014. Previous studies have identified several animal level risk factors associated with dairy cow mortality hazard, e.g.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Alvåsen et al (2014) identified reasons for dairy cow on-farm mortality being fertility disorders, udder disorders, metabolic disorders, feet/claw disorders, trauma and other/unknown reasons. Reasons for youngstock mortality included enteritis, pneumonia, trauma and calving related diseases (Svensson et al, 2006).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Still, in the last decade, some countries are developing surveillance systems using national registry mortality data for the detection of early disease outbreaks (Struchen et al, 2015;Torres et al, 2015;Santman-Berends et al, 2016). There is no normal level for on-farm mortality in cattle herds, but increasing trend of mortality in dairy herds has been reported in several studies (Thomsen et al, 2004;McConnel et al, 2008;Raboisson et al, 2011;Alvåsen et al, 2012;Alvåsen et al, 2014). Increasing on-farm mortality causes concerns about dairy cattle welfare.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Reasons and risk factors for on-farm mortality in Estonian dairy herds

et al. 2017

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Mortality of dairy cattle causes financial loss for the farmer and reflects animal welfare status. The aim of this study was to determine the on-farm mortality (unassisted death and euthanasia), reasons, as well as risk factors for on-farm mortality in Estonian dairy cattle. Data of years 2013 and 2014 about all cattle from dairy herds in Estonia was collected from the Estonian Agricultural Registers and Information Board. The dataset included records of 363,380 animals from 2,616 herds. Multivariable Weibull proportional hazard models with herd as random effect were composed for detecting significant associations between potential risk factors and on-farm mortality (composed outcome including unassisted death and euthanasia). Data from Estonian Livestock Performance Recording Ltd was used to determine the reasons for on-farm mortality.The overall mortality rate (MR) including unassisted death and euthanasia was 6.95 per 100 animal-years. Mortality was highest in male (MR = 55.96 per 100 animal-years, 95% CI 54.53; 57.42) and female (MR = 27.70 per 100 animal-years, 95% CI 26.99; 28.43) calves up to three months old and lowest in female cattle aged 12-18 months (MR = 0.99 per 100 animal-years, 95% CI 0.89; 1.10). The main farmers´ stated reasons for dairy cow mortality were 'Metabolic and digestive disorders' and 'Feet/claw disorders'. The main reasons for on-farm mortality among youngstock were 'Metabolic and digestive disorders', 'Respiratory and infectious diseases' and 'Other reasons'. The risk factor analysis was carried out in three age categories: <3 months, 3-23 months and ≥24 months. Estonian Holstein breed was associated with significantly higher risk of mortality compared to Estonian Red breed cattle in every age group. The hazard of on-farm mortality was significantly higher for herds with over 400 animal-years compared to smaller herds in all age groups. Regional differences in mortality hazard were present in the model of youngstock over 3 months and adult cattle. Seasonal differences in mortality rate were present and differed by age groups. This is the first study revealing the on-farm mortality and related risk factors in Estonian dairy cattle population.

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Section: Farmers´ Stated Reasons For On-farm Mortalitysupporting

confidence: 87%

Section: On-farm Mortality Of Cattle In Estonian Dairy Herdsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Reasons and risk factors for on-farm mortality in Estonian dairy herds

et al. 2017

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High risk of dairy cow mortality in early lactation

Thomsen

2023

Veterinary Record

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BackgroundOn‐farm mortality among dairy cows constitutes a major problem in modern dairy production. Detailed knowledge about when cows die may help guide the prevention of future deaths.MethodsData from 46,927 on‐farm dairy cow deaths reported to the Danish Cattle Database were analysed to evaluate the distribution of deaths in relation to time after calving and the effect of parity and breed.ResultsOf all on‐farm deaths, 15.2% occurred within 7 days after calving, 32.2% within 30 days and 49.4% within 90 days. Older cows generally died sooner after calving compared to younger cows, and Jersey cows died later than other breeds.LimitationsThe results are based on a large and reliable dataset but include only data from Danish dairy cows.ConclusionThe distribution of on‐farm deaths was very uneven, with a large proportion of deaths occurring during the first few weeks after calving, especially in older cows.

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