Effects of prepartum stocking density on innate and adaptive leukocyte responses and serum and hair cortisol concentrations

Silva, P.R.B.; Lobeck-Luchterhand, Karen; Cerri, R.L.A.; Haines, Deborah M.; Ballou, Michael; Endres, Márcia I.; Chebel, R.C.

doi:10.1016/j.vetimm.2015.11.007

Cited by 16 publications

(15 citation statements)

References 29 publications

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“…Moreover, it is possible that the cows' HPA axis responded to increased walking during the first day of the OS treatment and then animals adapted. Indeed, Coulon et al (1998) observed that cortisol concentrations were higher on d 1 and 8 in cows that walked compared with cows that remained at the barn, but the difference was not evident after 20 d. A recent study conducted by Silva et al (2016) evaluated the effects of prepartum stocking density on serum cortisol and hair cortisol concentra- tion of Jersey cows. Treatments consisted of 80 or 100% headlock stocking density.…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Overstocking dairy cows during the dry period affects dehydroepiandrosterone and cortisol secretion

Fustini

Galeati

Gabai

et al. 2017

Journal of Dairy Science

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Stressful situations trigger several changes such as the secretion of cortisol and dehydroepiandrosterone (DHEA) from the adrenal cortex, in response to ACTH. The aim of this study was to verify whether overstocking during the dry period (from 21±3 d to the expected calving until calving) affects DHEA and cortisol secretion and behavior in Holstein Friesian cows. Twenty-eight cows were randomly divided into 2 groups (14 animals each), balanced for the number of lactations, body condition score, and expected date of calving. Cows in the far-off phase of the dry period (from 60 to 21 d before the expected calving date) were housed together in a bedded pack. Then, animals from 21±3 d before the expected calving until calving were housed in pens with the same size but under different crowding conditions due to the introduction of heifers (interference animals) into the pen. The control condition (CTR) had 2 animals per pen with 12.0m each, whereas the overstocked condition (OS) had 3 interference animals in the same pen with 4.8m for each animal. On d -30±3, -21±3, -15±3, -10±3, and -5±3 before and 10, 20, and 30 after calving, blood samples were collected from each cow for the determination of plasma DHEA and cortisol concentrations by RIA. Rumination time (min/d), activity (steps/h), lying time (min/d), and lying bouts (bouts/d) were individually recorded daily. In both groups, DHEA increased before calving and the concentration declined rapidly after parturition. Overstocking significantly increased DHEA concentration compared with the CTR group at d -10 (1.79±0.09 vs. 1.24±0.14 pmol/mL), whereas an increase of cortisol was observed at d -15 (3.64±0.52 vs. 1.64±0.46ng/mL). The OS group showed significantly higher activity (steps/h) compared with the CTR group. Daily lying bouts tended to be higher for the OS group compared with CTR group in the first week of treatment. The overall results of this study documented that overstocking during the dry period was associated with a short-term changes in DHEA and cortisol but these hormonal modifications did not influence cow behavior.

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Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Overstocking dairy cows during the dry period affects dehydroepiandrosterone and cortisol secretion

Fustini

Galeati

Gabai

et al. 2017

Journal of Dairy Science

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“…There were no differences between treatments in the incidence of retained placenta, metritis, purulent vaginal discharge or culling, nor in plasma concentrations of NEFA or BHB, energy-corrected milk yield to 155 days of lactation, or probability of pregnancy at the first two inseminations (Silva et al, 2014). In a subset of 48 cows per treatment per parity, measures of innate and adaptive immune function and chronic stress were assessed from 2 to 3 weeks before, to 2 to 3 weeks after calving (Silva et al, 2016). There were no differences between treatments in neutrophil phagocytosis or oxidative burst function, expression of L-selection or cluster of differentiation (CD)18, production of immunoglobulin (Ig) G against ovalbumin, serum haptoglobin concentrations or concentrations of cortisol in blood or hair.…”

Section: Management and Social Stress Effectsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Review: Relationships between metabolism and neutrophil function in dairy cows in the peripartum period

LeBlanc

2020

Animal

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Aspects of neutrophil function are diminished or dysregulated in dairy cows in the weeks just before and after calving, which appears to be an important contributor to the occurrence of retained placenta, mastitis, metritis and endometritis. The timing and mechanisms by which specific elements of neutrophil function are impaired are only partially understood. Oxidative burst capacity is the element of neutrophil function most consistently shown to be impaired in the week after calving, but that observation may partially be biased because oxidative burst has been studied more than other functions. There is sufficient evidence to conclude that the availability of calcium and glucose, and exposure to elevated concentrations of non-esterified fatty acids or β-hydroxybutyrate affect some aspects of neutrophil function. However, these factors have mostly been studied in isolation and their effects are not consistent. Social stressors such as a competitive environment for feeding or lying space should plausibly impair innate immune function, but when studied under controlled conditions such effects have generally not been produced. Similarly, treatment with recombinant bovine granulocyte colony-stimulating factor consistently produces large increases in circulating neutrophil count with modest improvements in function, but this does not consistently reduce the incidence of clinical diseases thought to be importantly attributable to impaired innate immunity. Research is now needed that considers the interactions among known and putative risk factors for impaired neutrophil function in dairy cows in the transition period.

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“…No effect of stocking density (20% difference between groups) on hair cortisol of Jersey cows in the prepartum period was detected at calving in a study by Silva et al . (2016), possibly because the high stocking density may not have been dramatic enough. In the study on beef heifers, higher cortisol concentrations were detected from the hair of animals kept in dry-lot pens with a stocking density 14 m 2 /heifer compared to animals kept on pastures with a stocking density 2.5 ha/heifer on day 98 after allocation (Schubach et al ., 2017), showing stocking density can influence hair cortisol concentration.…”

Section: Studies Of Hair Cortisol In Cattle Under Different Stressfulmentioning

confidence: 99%

Welfare assessment in dairy cows using hair cortisol as a part of monitoring protocols

Vesel

Pavič

Ježek

et al. 2020

Journal of Dairy Research

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Welfare of dairy cows can be assessed using welfare assessment protocols consisting of resource, management and animal-based measures. Welfare Quality® Assessment Protocol is one of the best-known protocols, which depends almost entirely on animal-based measures. To gain more objective and rapid welfare assessment, new techniques have been developed to measure welfare of animals, such as hair cortisol concentration. As cortisol is released in response to stress, it has long been used as a biomarker of stress in animals. While the precise mechanism of cortisol incorporation into hair is unknown, hair cortisol concentration seems to be a marker of long-term systemic cortisol concentration. Hair cortisol is, therefore, a potential marker of chronic stress and is not likely to be affected by acute stress. Studies on cattle show connections between hair cortisol concentration and factors such as pregnancy, parity, diseases, ectoparasites, body condition score, environmental changes, stocking density and milk yield. Hair cortisol concentration appears to be affected by time of sampling, cow age and breed, UV radiation, season, body region of sampled hair and hair colour. Its concentration also depends on sampling and analytical methods. Hair cortisol is a promising non-invasive tool to evaluate welfare of dairy cows, however, more research is needed to determine the extent of effects on its concentration and the appropriate method of sampling and analysis. Correlations between Welfare Quality® Assessment Protocol scores and pooled hair cortisol concentrations have not yet been found, and more research is needed with larger sample size, a standardized protocol of hair sampling, processing and analysis. With proper attention to detail, hair cortisol levels in pooled hair samples might come to be used as a reliable indicator of dairy animal welfare.

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Effects of prepartum stocking density on innate and adaptive leukocyte responses and serum and hair cortisol concentrations

Cited by 16 publications

References 29 publications

Overstocking dairy cows during the dry period affects dehydroepiandrosterone and cortisol secretion

Overstocking dairy cows during the dry period affects dehydroepiandrosterone and cortisol secretion

Review: Relationships between metabolism and neutrophil function in dairy cows in the peripartum period

Welfare assessment in dairy cows using hair cortisol as a part of monitoring protocols

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