Association of blood calcium concentration in the first 3 days after parturition and energy balance metabolites at day 3 in milk with disease and production outcomes in multiparous Jersey cows

Abstract

Research exploring specific associations of markers of negative energy balance and Ca in postpartum Jersey cows with lactation performance is lacking. Our objectives were to evaluate the associations of total Ca concentration (tCa) measured at 1 through 3 d in milk (DIM) and free fatty acids (FFA), β-hydroxybutyrate (BHB), and glucose measured at 3 DIM with (1) the risk of multiparous Jersey cows being diagnosed with early-lactation diseases and culling, (2) milk production in the first 9 wk of lactation, and (3) the risk of pregnancy in the first 150 DIM. A cohort study was performed in 1 dairy herd in Texas. Multivariable Poisson regression models were built to evaluate the association of the analytes of interest with the risks of early-lactation diseases and culling in the first 60 DIM (i.e., binary outcomes). Linear mixed models were used to evaluate the association of the analytes of interest with milk production within the first 9 wk of lactation, and a Cox proportional hazard model was built to assess the risk of pregnancy within 150 DIM. A total of 380 cows were used in the final analyses. Total Ca measured at 1 through 3 DIM was not associated with the risk of metritis. Cows with increased FFA and BHB had an increased risk of being diagnosed with metritis and clinical mastitis, respectively. Increased concentrations of glucose and FFA and decreased tCa at 3 DIM were associated with an increased risk of culling. Reduced tCa concentrations at 1 DIM (≤1.84 mmol/L) and 2 DIM (≤2.04 mmol/L) were associated with increased milk production across the first 9 wk of lactation compared with tCa concentrations above those thresholds. Total Ca was not associated with milk production when assessed at 3 DIM, whereas increased FFA (≥0.37 mmol/L) and decreased glucose (≤2.96 mmol/L) at 3 DIM were associated with increased milk production. None of the metabolites measured were associated with the risk of pregnancy in the first 150 DIM. Our results demonstrate that tCa concentration assessed in the first 3 DIM show temporary associations with milk production and culling in multiparous Jersey cows. Although increased concentration of FFA assessed at 3 DIM was associated with greater milk yield, it was a detrimental factor for the risk of metritis. This study attempted to better elucidate the relationship of tCa, FFA, BHB, and glucose assessed in early postpartum with health and performance of Jersey cows. Based on this study, assessments performed at 3 DIM using tCa concentration ≤1.99 mmol/L for increased risk of early-lactation culling and FFA ≥0.43 mmol/L for increased risk of metritis could be used as starting points. More studies evaluating the dynamics of energy balance markers and tCa in postpartum Jersey cows using a greater number of herds are needed to better inform dairy consultants on critical levels for exacerbated postpartum negative energy balance and subclinical hypocalcemia for the Jersey breed.

Association of low serum calcium concentration after calving with productive and reproductive performance in multiparous Jersey cows

“…The same optimal threshold for serum Ca categorization and prediction of pregnancy to first service identified in our study (1.90 mmol/L within 24 h postpartum) was reported by Venjakob et al (2018). This study included 1,238 cows from 125 herds and reported a 40% decrease in the odds of pregnancy to first service for cows with (Gild et al, 2015;Gobikrushanth et al, 2020;Menta et al, 2021). Other authors have shown detrimental effects of postpartum blood Ca concentration below various thresholds on estrus cyclicity (Ribeiro et al, 2013;Rodríguez et al, 2017;Jeong et al, 2018) and number of services per pregnancy (Ribeiro et al, 2013;Braga Paiano et al, 2019).…”

“…Negative associations between postpartum blood Ca concentration below various thresholds and reproductive outcomes are commonly reported in Holstein cows (Caixeta et al, 2017;Umaña Sedó et al, 2018;Venjakob et al, 2018); however, Menta et al (2021) did not detect an association between postpartum plasma Ca concentration and pregnancy within 150 DIM in Jersey cows. Overall, we observed an impaired reproductive performance for cows with low serum Ca concentration shortly after calving, compared with previous research.…”

“…The association between blood Ca concentration and productive and reproductive outcomes in dairy cows has been evaluated in earlier studies; nevertheless, findings are inconclusive and only one recent study used Jersey cows (Menta et al, 2021). We conducted a prospective cohort study to evaluate the association of serum Ca concentration shortly after calving with productive (milk and ECM yields and SCS) and reproductive (pregnancy to first service and within 150 DIM) outcomes.…”

“…Jersey cows are the second most popular dairy breed in the United States (USDA-NAHMS, 2014). Nevertheless, to our knowledge, only one recent study has evaluated the association between postpartum blood Ca concentration and productive (milk yield) and reproductive outcomes (pregnancy by 150 DIM) specifically in Jersey cows (Menta et al, 2021).…”

A Randomized Clinical Trial Evaluating the Effect of an Oral Calcium Bolus Supplementation Strategy in Postpartum Jersey Cows on Mastitis, Culling, Milk Production, and Reproductive Performance

“…A more detailed description of herd demographics, average milk production, reproductive program used, and total mixed ration offered to the close-up and fresh cows can be found in Menta et al (2021) [5]. Of note, prepartum cows were fed a negative dietary cation-anion diet.…”