The objective was to quantify the incidence of tarsal lesions and level of hygiene by stall bed type. Cows were scored on 100 dairies from Wisconsin, Minnesota, Indiana, Iowa, and New York in the fall and winter. Thirty-eight dairies used rubber-filled mattresses (RFM), 27 had sand beds, 29 had waterbeds, and 6 used compost packs (CPk). Stocking density, stall dimensions, bedding amount, bedding frequency, and type of bedding were recorded. One pen of early-lactation multiparous cows on each dairy was scored based on injury of the tarsal joints at the lateral and medial surfaces and tuber calcis at the dorsal, lateral, and medial surfaces. A tarsal score of 1 represented hair loss, 2 was moderate, and 3 indicated severe swelling. Differences between bed types in the percentages of cows with lesions were tested with one-way ANOVA by lesion severity and incidence, with farm as the experimental unit. Cows on sand beds or waterbeds had fewer lesion scores of 1, 2, and 3 than those on RFM. The percentages of score 1 were 54.6 ± 4.4 (RFM), 22.5 ± 4.7 (sand), and 29.8 ± 4.3 (waterbed), whereas the percentages of score 2 were 14.0 ± 1.4, 2.3 ± 1.5, and 5.0 ± 1.4, and of score 3 were 3.0 ± 0.4, 0.2 ± 0.4, and 0.4 ± 0.4. Cows on CPk had no lesions. Hygiene scores ranged from 1 to 5, with 1 being clean and 5 soiled. The percentages of hygiene score 1 were 0 (compost), 0.4 (RFM), 0.4 (sand), and 0.4 (waterbeds); those with score 2 were 79.0, 84.0 ± 0.01, 73.2 ± 0.01, and 80.4 ± 0.01; with score 3 were 20.3, 15.2 ± 0.01, 23.8 ± 0.01, and 18.6 ± 0.01; with score 4 were 0.8, 0.005 ± 0.001, 0.006 ± 0.001, and 0.025 ± 0.003; and with score 5 was 0 for all bed types. Cows on RFM and waterbeds had improved hygiene compared with cows on sand beds. There was no difference in somatic cell count (SCC) by bed type. The percentage of cows in fourth lactation or Received November 28, 2006. Accepted March 5, 2007 Corresponding author: Wendy.Fulwider@ColoState.edu 3559 greater on waterbeds (19.8 ± 1.8) was greater than those on RFM (13.3 ± 1.6) or on sand (13.5 ± 1.8). The percentage culled was lower for cows on waterbeds than on RFM (22.8 ± 1.5 vs. 29.4 ± 1.4). Score 3 tarsal lesions were correlated (r = 0.60) with SCC. The length of the sand bed was correlated with a greater percentage of mature cows. The SCC was correlated with the percentage of cows reported lame on the day of the visit (r = 0.45) and with neck rail height (r = −0.26). On dairies with RFM, severe lesions (r = 0.60), death losses (r = 0.52), and percentage of the herd reported lame on the day of the visit (r = 0.52) were all correlated with the SCC. Dairies with higher percentages of lesions had higher SCC, death losses, lameness, and culling rates. Adding bedding several times per week may reduce the incidence of lesions.

Performance and Cu status were measured in growing and finishing steers supplemented with different copper (Cu) concentrations and sources. Sixty Angus (n = 36) and Angus x Hereford (n = 24) steers were stratified by weight and initial liver Cu concentration within a breed and randomly assigned to treatments. Treatments consisted of 1) control (no supplemental Cu); 2) 20 mg Cu/kg DM from Cu sulfate (CuSO4); 3) 40 mg Cu/kg DM from CuSO4; 4) 20 mg Cu/ kg DM from Cu citrate (C6H4Cu2O7); 5) 20 mg Cu/kg DM from Cu proteinate; and 6) 20 mg Cu/kg DM from tribasic Cu chloride (Cu2(OH)3Cl). A corn silage-soybean meal-based diet that was analyzed to contain 10.2 mg of Cu/kg DM was fed for 56 d. Steers were then switched to a high-concentrate diet that was analyzed to contain 4.9 mg of Cu/kg DM. Equal numbers of steers per treatment were slaughtered after receiving the finishing diets for either 101 or 121 d. Performance was not affected by Cu level or source during the growing phase. Gain, feed intake, and feed efficiency were reduced (P < .05) by Cu supplementation during the finishing phase. Plasma and liver Cu concentrations were higher in steers receiving supplemental Cu at the end of both the growing and finishing phases. Steers supplemented with 40 mg Cu/kg DM from CuSO4 had higher (P < .05) liver Cu concentrations than those supplemented with 20 mg Cu/kg DM from CuSO4. Liver Cu concentrations did not increase over the finishing phase relative to liver Cu concentrations at the end of the growing phase. These results indicate that as little as 20 mg/kg of supplemental Cu can reduce performance in finishing steers.

Relationships between behavioral and physiological symptoms of preslaughter stress and LM Warner-Bratzler shear force (WBSF) were investigated using Bos taurus steers (n = 79) and heifers (n = 77). Measurements of heart rate, respiration rate, rectal temperature, and concentrations of serum cortisol and plasma epinephrine were used as indicators of stress associated with physical handling and chute restraint, whereas concentrations of cortisol, glucose, lactate, and creatine kinase in blood samples obtained at exsanguination were measured to reflect physiological reactions of animals to transportation stress. Increased plasma epinephrine concentration, indicative of acute handling stress, was associated with elevated heart rate (r = 0.42, P < 0.001) and rectal temperature (r = 0.34, P < 0.001) during restraint, increased plasma lactate (r = 0.22, P = 0.006) and serum creatine kinase (r = 0.28, P < 0.001) concentrations at slaughter, and greater LM WBSF (r = 0.22, P = 0.006). Plasma lactate concentration at slaughter, which reflected an adrenergic stress response to transportation, was associated with lesser final LM pH (r = -0.30, P < 0.001) and greater LM WBSF (r = 0.26, P = 0.002). Categorical analyses of chute and posttransportation behavior scores (calm vs. restless vs. nervous) showed that cattle exhibiting adverse behavioral reactions to handling and chute restraint had increased (P < 0.05) values for plasma epinephrine concentration, heart rate, and rectal temperature during chute restraint, elevated (P < 0.05) plasma lactate concentration at slaughter, and increased (P < 0.05) LM WBSF. In addition, cattle showing behavioral symptoms of stress after transportation had greater (P < 0.05) plasma glucose and lactate concentrations at slaughter and produced LM steaks that were 0.34 kg tougher (P < 0.05) when compared with calm cattle. No carcasses were identified as dark cutters, and LM pH did not differ (P > 0.05) among behavior categories. Grouping cattle according to differences in plasma lactate concentration categorized them according to mean differences in LM WBSF. Moreover, steaks from cattle with the greatest plasma lactate concentrations at slaughter (91st to 100th percentile) had a delayed response to aging that persisted until 14 d postmortem. Stress-induced differences in LM tenderness observed in this study were independent of differences in muscle pH.

Two hundred and sixteen weanling gilts (6.65+/-0.08 kg) were used to determine the effects of decreasing supplemental concentrations of Zn, Cu, Fe, and Mn, and trace mineral source (inorganic vs. chelated) on growth performance, mineral status, and fecal mineral concentrations from weaning through development. The study was conducted over three trials with 72 pigs in each trial. Gilts were blocked by weight and randomly assigned to either 1) control, 2) reduced inorganic, or 3) reduced chelated trace minerals. The control diet was supplemented with 25, 150, 180, and 60 mg/kg of Cu, Zn, Fe, and Mn (in sulfate forms), respectively, during the nursery phase and 15, 100, 100, and 40 mg/kg of supplemental Cu, Zn, Fe, and Mn, respectively, during the growing and gilt-developer phases. Reduced inorganic and reduced chelated treatments were supplemented during all phases with 5, 25, 25, and 10 mg/kg of Cu, Zn, Fe, and Mn, respectively. The reduced chelated treatment supplied 50% of the supplemental Cu, Zn, Fe, and Mn in the form of metal proteinates, with the remainder from sulfate forms. Performance by control pigs did not differ from pigs fed the reduced trace mineral treatments during the nursery and grower-development periods. Gain:feed was lower (P < 0.05) for pigs fed the reduced inorganic compared with those fed the reduced chelated treatment during the nursery period. Trace mineral source did not affect performance during the growing or gilt-developer phase. Plasma Zn concentration and alkaline phosphatase activity were higher (P < 0.01) in control pigs than in those receiving reduced trace minerals during the nursery and growing phases. Plasma Cu concentration and ceruloplasmin activity were generally not affected by treatment. Hemoglobin concentrations were lower (P < 0.05) for the reduced inorganic compared with the reduced chelated treatment in the nursery phase. Fecal concentrations of Cu, Zn, and Mn were lower (P < 0.05) in pigs fed reduced trace minerals than in controls during all production phases. Fecal Zn concentration during the nursery and fecal Cu concentrations during the growing and gilt-developer phases were lower (P < 0.05) in pigs fed the reduced chelated compared with the reduced inorganic treatment. Results indicate that reducing the concentrations of Zn, Cu, Mn, and Fe typically supplemented to pig diets will greatly decrease fecal mineral excretion without negatively affecting pig performance from weaning through development.

The objective was to conduct a broad survey of dairy management practices that have an effect on animal well-being. Dairies were visited during the fall and winter of 2006 in Wisconsin, Minnesota, Indiana, Iowa, and New York. Data