The negative impact of lameness on dairy cow reproduction

Abstract

Lameness in modern dairy farms is a prevalent disorder that negatively affects all aspects of production. Additionally, is a prevailing contributor to the decreased welfare of cows. Recent research has added valuable knowledge on the negative impacts of lameness on dairy cow reproduction. Lame cows have marked behavioural changes, as well as increased inflammatory and stress indicators compared to healthy herd mates. As a result, the functioning of the hypothalamus-pituitary-ovarian axis is significantly affected and leads to suppressed reproductive performance. Lame cows seem to be more prone to uterine infections post-partum, experience higher levels of negative energy balance, resume ovarian cyclicity to a lower proportion during puerperium and show decreased potential to conceive and higher pregnancy losses.Hormonal treatments of lame cows compensate for some of these disturbances yet fail to fully restore fertility potential. From the available scientific literature is apparent that compromised fertility due to lameness can only be achieved through prevention and prompt diagnosis and treatment of lame cows.

Do Calving-Related Injuries of the Vestibulum Vaginae and the Vagina Affect the Reproductive Performance in Primiparous Dairy Cows?

“…Independent of the occurrence of injuries of the soft birth canal or infections of the uterus, the reproductive performance of the study heifers was not satisfactory. Perhaps other common reasons for an impaired fertility at the herd level, such as insufficient heat detection management, often in combination with a high lameness prevalence [ 25 , 26 ], or long periods of negative energy balance [ 27 ], played a role in this respect. Nevertheless, our findings emphasized the importance of skilled obstetrical assistance of farmers and veterinarians, especially for heifers, to avoid severe injuries of the soft birth canal and, as a consequence, to prevent a negative impact on animal welfare and the reproductive performance of the animals.…”

Management of Digital Dermatitis in Dairy Herds: Optimization and Time Allocation

“…Lameness detection has already been identified as a time-consuming task [ 18 , 39 , 58 ] and lameness detection through lameness 5-scale scoring has low sensitivity, leading to low economic value attached by farmers to their application [ 59 ]. Acute cases of lameness induce major inflammatory processes explaining severe pain, such as increased levels of haptoglobin and proinflammatory cytokines [ 60 ]. If lameness is not detected early, acute inflammatory processes turn into chronic stages and have systemic repercussions with hormonal dysfunction leading to reproductive disorders [ 60 ].…”

“…Acute cases of lameness induce major inflammatory processes explaining severe pain, such as increased levels of haptoglobin and proinflammatory cytokines [ 60 ]. If lameness is not detected early, acute inflammatory processes turn into chronic stages and have systemic repercussions with hormonal dysfunction leading to reproductive disorders [ 60 ]. Moreover, the effectiveness of any type of treatment is significantly reduced in the case of chronic cases [ 61 ].…”

Development of alternative diagnosis of HH1, HH3, HH5 and HCD fertility haplotypes and subfertility syndrome in cattle

“…While hormonal treatments partially mitigate these issues in lame cows, they do not fully restore fertility potential. The scientific consensus underscores that addressing compromised fertility due to lameness requires a focus on prevention, early diagnosis and prompt treatment of lame cows (Chekan, Nechyporenko, et al., 2023; Tsousis et al., 2022).…”