Association of Lameness Prevalence and Severity in Early-Lactation Cows with Milk Traits, Metabolic Profile, and Dry Period
This study investigated the prevalence and severity of lameness in dairy cow herds, focusing on its relationship with milk traits, metabolic profile, and dry period management. Lameness was evaluated in 4221 multiparous Holstein dairy cows during early lactation (up to 60 days postpartum) using a 1-...
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MDPI AG
2024-11-01
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| author | Vigilijus Jukna Edita Meškinytė Gediminas Urbonavičius Ronaldas Bilskis Ramūnas Antanaitis Lina Kajokienė Vida Juozaitienė |
| author_facet | Vigilijus Jukna Edita Meškinytė Gediminas Urbonavičius Ronaldas Bilskis Ramūnas Antanaitis Lina Kajokienė Vida Juozaitienė |
| author_sort | Vigilijus Jukna |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | This study investigated the prevalence and severity of lameness in dairy cow herds, focusing on its relationship with milk traits, metabolic profile, and dry period management. Lameness was evaluated in 4221 multiparous Holstein dairy cows during early lactation (up to 60 days postpartum) using a 1-to-5 scale. The average lameness score was 1.67, with a prevalence of 10.66% (scores 3 to 5) and 4.55% classified as severe (scores 4 to 5). Severe lameness was associated with energy-corrected milk losses of −11.00 kg/day (<i>p</i> < 0.001) and a decrease in milk lactose concentration by −0.16 percentage points (<i>p</i> < 0.001), alongside a rise in somatic cell scores by +0.11. The incidence of cows with a milk fat-to-protein ratio below 1.2 increased by 21.7 percentage points, while those with a ratio above 1.4 rose by 19.1 percentage points as lameness worsened. Additionally, non-esterified fatty acid concentrations increased by 1.46 times as lameness severity intensified (<i>p</i> < 0.001). Cows without lameness had blood cortisol levels 1.86 times lower than affected cows, with cortisol tripling in those with the highest scores. A dry period of 30 to 60 days was correlated with more healthy cows, whereas periods over 90 days resulted in 1.586 times higher odds of lameness (<i>p</i> < 0.05). This research underscores the need for improved management strategies to enhance dairy cow welfare and productivity. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-e27ab47608b54ef4b9de0a04dff6250b |
| institution | Kabale University |
| issn | 2077-0472 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2024-11-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Agriculture |
| spelling | doaj-art-e27ab47608b54ef4b9de0a04dff6250b2024-11-26T17:43:46ZengMDPI AGAgriculture2077-04722024-11-011411203010.3390/agriculture14112030Association of Lameness Prevalence and Severity in Early-Lactation Cows with Milk Traits, Metabolic Profile, and Dry PeriodVigilijus Jukna0Edita Meškinytė1Gediminas Urbonavičius2Ronaldas Bilskis3Ramūnas Antanaitis4Lina Kajokienė5Vida Juozaitienė6Agriculture Academy, Vytautas Magnus University, Universiteto St. 10A, Akademija, LT-53361 Kaunas, LithuaniaAgriculture Academy, Vytautas Magnus University, Universiteto St. 10A, Akademija, LT-53361 Kaunas, LithuaniaAgriculture Academy, Vytautas Magnus University, Universiteto St. 10A, Akademija, LT-53361 Kaunas, LithuaniaAgriculture Academy, Vytautas Magnus University, Universiteto St. 10A, Akademija, LT-53361 Kaunas, LithuaniaLarge Animal Clinic, Veterinary Academy, Lithuanian University of Health Sciences, Tilžės Str. 18, LT-47181 Kaunas, LithuaniaInstitute of Biology Systems and Genetic Research, Veterinary Academy, Lithuanian University of Health Sciences, Tilžės Str. 18, LT-47181 Kaunas, LithuaniaAgriculture Academy, Vytautas Magnus University, Universiteto St. 10A, Akademija, LT-53361 Kaunas, LithuaniaThis study investigated the prevalence and severity of lameness in dairy cow herds, focusing on its relationship with milk traits, metabolic profile, and dry period management. Lameness was evaluated in 4221 multiparous Holstein dairy cows during early lactation (up to 60 days postpartum) using a 1-to-5 scale. The average lameness score was 1.67, with a prevalence of 10.66% (scores 3 to 5) and 4.55% classified as severe (scores 4 to 5). Severe lameness was associated with energy-corrected milk losses of −11.00 kg/day (<i>p</i> < 0.001) and a decrease in milk lactose concentration by −0.16 percentage points (<i>p</i> < 0.001), alongside a rise in somatic cell scores by +0.11. The incidence of cows with a milk fat-to-protein ratio below 1.2 increased by 21.7 percentage points, while those with a ratio above 1.4 rose by 19.1 percentage points as lameness worsened. Additionally, non-esterified fatty acid concentrations increased by 1.46 times as lameness severity intensified (<i>p</i> < 0.001). Cows without lameness had blood cortisol levels 1.86 times lower than affected cows, with cortisol tripling in those with the highest scores. A dry period of 30 to 60 days was correlated with more healthy cows, whereas periods over 90 days resulted in 1.586 times higher odds of lameness (<i>p</i> < 0.05). This research underscores the need for improved management strategies to enhance dairy cow welfare and productivity.https://www.mdpi.com/2077-0472/14/11/2030dairy cowslamenessdry periodsmilksomatic cell countmetabolic profile |
| spellingShingle | Vigilijus Jukna Edita Meškinytė Gediminas Urbonavičius Ronaldas Bilskis Ramūnas Antanaitis Lina Kajokienė Vida Juozaitienė Association of Lameness Prevalence and Severity in Early-Lactation Cows with Milk Traits, Metabolic Profile, and Dry Period Agriculture dairy cows lameness dry periods milk somatic cell count metabolic profile |
| title | Association of Lameness Prevalence and Severity in Early-Lactation Cows with Milk Traits, Metabolic Profile, and Dry Period |
| title_full | Association of Lameness Prevalence and Severity in Early-Lactation Cows with Milk Traits, Metabolic Profile, and Dry Period |
| title_fullStr | Association of Lameness Prevalence and Severity in Early-Lactation Cows with Milk Traits, Metabolic Profile, and Dry Period |
| title_full_unstemmed | Association of Lameness Prevalence and Severity in Early-Lactation Cows with Milk Traits, Metabolic Profile, and Dry Period |
| title_short | Association of Lameness Prevalence and Severity in Early-Lactation Cows with Milk Traits, Metabolic Profile, and Dry Period |
| title_sort | association of lameness prevalence and severity in early lactation cows with milk traits metabolic profile and dry period |
| topic | dairy cows lameness dry periods milk somatic cell count metabolic profile |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2077-0472/14/11/2030 |
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