Assessing circumstances and causes of dairy cow death in Italian dairy farms through a veterinary practice survey (2013–2014)

Fusi, Francesca; Angelucci, Alessandra; Lorenzi, Valentina; Bolzoni, Luca; Bertocchi, L.

doi:10.1016/j.prevetmed.2017.01.004

Cited by 18 publications

(18 citation statements)

References 13 publications

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“…Only seven dairy cows were lost over the 13 year study period as a result of dystocia, infections and from unknown causes. These findings are in agreement with other studies which have reported calving problems ( Thomsen and Houe, 2006;Fusi et al, 2017) and unknown causes (Thomsen and Houe, 2006;Ahlman et al, 2011) as common causes of dairy cow losses. Higher mortality in dairy cows than heifers has also been reported (Thomsen and Houe, 2006), and this has been explained by the higher susceptibility of older cows to calving and metabolic complications (Shahid et al, 2015).…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 93%

“…Other studies have reported that predation occurs in seasons of low rainfall when normal wild prey for wild predators is scarce (Allen, 2014). A high proportion of losses designated as 'unknown' may be an indication of inadequate inspection of the herd for earlier detection of disease symptoms (Fusi et al, 2017) and the absence of further investigation of causes of death due to discovery of animals in advanced stages of decomposition in the camps. This might explain the high number of losses attributed to unknown causes.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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A 13-Year Retrospective Study of the Beef and Dairy Cattle Losses at Neudamm Farm in the Khomas Region of Namibia

Kandiwa¹,

Madzingira²,

Mushonga³

et al. 2017

AJVS

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Key words: beef cattle, mortalities, Neudamm farm, NamibiaThis study was carried out to get an appraisal of the losses occasioned by apparently high levels of stock mortality at Neudamm farm, University of Namibia. Losses of beef cattle (Afrikaner, Simmental and Sanga/Nguni) and dairy cattle (Friesian) were studied from July 2003 to December 2015. A total of 106 animals worth US$55 263.12 and representing 3.5% (SD=0.8%) of the animals at risk were lost during this period. In the years

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Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 93%

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

A 13-Year Retrospective Study of the Beef and Dairy Cattle Losses at Neudamm Farm in the Khomas Region of Namibia

Kandiwa¹,

Madzingira²,

Mushonga³

et al. 2017

AJVS

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“…The types of injuries and conditions that led to OFES were similar to those reported for general dairy cow mortality on farms; these commonly include accidents (Thomsen and Houe, 2006;McConnel et al, 2009) and calving-related injuries (McConnel et al, 2009;Alvåsen et al, 2014;Fusi et al, 2017). Relationships between age and injury type or condition also conformed to patterns seen in the literature.…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 66%

“…A few studies have monitored cattle (presumably beef and dairy) that underwent emergency slaughter at slaughterhouses and found that locomotor injuries are especially common (Večerek et al, 2003;Pistěková et al, 2004;Cullinane et al, 2010). More recently, Fusi et al (2017) found that OFES on Italian dairy farms was used because of accidents, metabolic or digestive disorders, and calving problems.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Use of on-farm emergency slaughter for dairy cows in British Columbia

Koralesky

Fraser

2018

Journal of Dairy Science

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On-farm emergency slaughter (OFES), whereby inspection, stunning, and bleeding occur on the farm before the carcass is transported to a slaughterhouse, is permitted in some jurisdictions as a means to avoid inhumane transportation while salvaging meat from injured animals. However, OFES is controversial and its use for dairy cows has been little studied. Inspection documents for 812 dairy cows were examined to identify how OFES was used for dairy cows in British Columbia, Canada, over 16.5 mo. Producers used OFES for dairy cows aged 1 to 13 yr (median of 4 yr). Leg, hip, nerve, spinal, foot, and hind-end injuries or conditions (in that order) were the most common reasons for OFES, and some cases may have been a consequence of calving. Foot conditions were disproportionately common among cows 5 yr and older, and hind-end conditions were disproportionately common among cows 6 yr and older. Producers used OFES promptly after traumatic injury (within 1 d) for some cows, but OFES was delayed for others, sometimes until cows had been nonambulatory for 2 to 6 d. In some cases, OFES was used for nontraumatic chronic conditions, such as lameness and hind-end weakness, rather than traumatic injuries such as fractures and dislocated hips. Use of OFES appears to conform to the purpose of the program when used promptly after traumatic injuries, but clear guidelines are needed to avoid inappropriate use and delays that may prolong animal suffering.

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“…This cause of elimination defined as “unknown” is also observed in other studies at similar proportions (4–5%) [ 10 , 36 ]. Some studies and data centres show a higher proportion (17–20%) of unknown causes of elimination [ 27 , 37 ]. When a comparison of causes of elimination was carried out between herds, differences were observed suggesting that the analysis of the cause of elimination can also be a proper indicator for benchmarking and improving production systems of farms [ 29 , 38 ].…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Descriptive study for culling and mortality in five high-producing Spanish dairy cattle farms (2006–2016)

Armengol

Fraile

2018

Acta Vet Scand

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BackgroundHigh turnover rate in dairy farms due to culling and mortality is associated with poor animal welfare, an increase in production costs and lower economic benefits for the dairy farm. Understanding cow elimination better would help to formulate specific prevention measures and improve the efficiency of milk production in dairy farms. Culling and mortality data from five standard high-producing dairy farms in Spain were analysed over a period of 11 years (2006–2016). Data were collected by the same veterinary team and using the same software system.ResultsSignificant between-herd differences in eliminated cows were observed for type of elimination (slaughter or death on the farm), age at elimination, cause of elimination, number of lactations and production parameters, such as total days in milk, life milk yield, litres per day of productive life and litres per day of life. Culling and mortality were higher during the hot season and for cows of second and third parities. Between-herd differences were observed. Reproductive disorders (30.2%) were the most frequent reason for elimination, with low production (23.4%) being the second most frequent reason. Accidents on the farm (7.7%) were a more frequent cause of elimination than metabolic diseases (7.2%), locomotor disorders (2.4%) and obstetrics (2.4%).ConclusionsVeterinary teams or farmers’ associations can use culling and mortality information for benchmarking cow farms if data collection and analysis is standardised for comparability. The analysis of culling and mortality information should help farmers to improve efficiency.Electronic supplementary materialThe online version of this article (10.1186/s13028-018-0399-z) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

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Assessing circumstances and causes of dairy cow death in Italian dairy farms through a veterinary practice survey (2013–2014)

Cited by 18 publications

References 13 publications

A 13-Year Retrospective Study of the Beef and Dairy Cattle Losses at Neudamm Farm in the Khomas Region of Namibia

A 13-Year Retrospective Study of the Beef and Dairy Cattle Losses at Neudamm Farm in the Khomas Region of Namibia

Use of on-farm emergency slaughter for dairy cows in British Columbia

Descriptive study for culling and mortality in five high-producing Spanish dairy cattle farms (2006–2016)

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