Impact of Lameness on Attributes of Feeding Registered with Noseband Sensor in Fresh Dairy Cows

Abstract

We hypothesized that lameness in fresh dairy cows (1–30 days after calving) has an impact on attributes of feeding registered with a noseband sensor. The aim of this study was to investigate the impact of lameness in fresh dairy cows on attributes of feeding (registered with the RumiWatch noseband sensor): rumination time (RT), drinking time (DT), eating time (ET), rumination chews (RC), eating chews (EC), chews per minute (CM), drinking gulps (DG), bolus count (B), and chews per bolus (CB). The measurement registration was started at the first day after calving and continued until 30 days after calving. There were 20 Lithuanian black and white breed cows selected. Lameness diagnosis was performed by trained staff based on a locomotion score system and it was diagnosed on average on the 15th day after calving. The causes of lameness were categorized as sole ulcer, abscess and foot rot. Special attention was paid to attributes of feeding registered 14 days before and 13 days after diagnosis. The 10 lame cows (LG) used in this experiment had a lameness score of 3–4 presented with severe lameness: they were reluctant to move and unwilling to complete weight transfer off the affected limb. The 10 healthy cows (HG) were given a lameness score of 1. We found that lameness of fresh dairy cows has an impact on inline registered ingestive behaviors biomarkers—the mean RT of HG cows was as much as 2.19 times higher than that of LG cows on the day of diagnosis of lameness, later this difference between the groups decreased to the sixth day of treatment, then increased again and decreased at the end of the experiment. The lowest eating time was found on diagnosis day and the highest on the ninth day before determination of lameness. Drinking time was higher in the HG group, with the exception of 10 and 9 days prior to clinical signs of disease in LG cows. A downward trend in rumination chews was observed in LG cows from day 7 until the onset of clinical symptoms. The bolus count decreased from day 3 before diagnosis to day 1 after diagnosis in LG cows. The largest difference in this indicator between groups was found on day of diagnosis. Analysing the pattern of CM values in the LG group, we found a decrease from 10 days before to 2 days after diagnosis. The CB value was almost the same in both groups of cows at the end of the experiment, but largest difference between the groups was found on day 7 after clinical sings of lameness.

Identification of Changes In Rumination Behavior Registered With An Online Sensor System In Cows With Subclinical Mastitis

“…However, Abeni and Galli [49] discovered that the greatest reduction in daylight RT (from 0800 h to 2000 h) varied from 49 % for cows in the early stages of lactation to 45 % for cows in the plateau periods, although the range of decline in daily RT varied from 49 % to 45 %. In our past study we found, that on the day of lameness identification, reductions in rumination time, eating time, rumination chews, drinking time, and bolus count in the lame group may act as lameness markers [50].…”

Identification of Changes in Rumination Behavior Registered with an Online Sensor System in Cows with Subclinical Mastitis

“…However, Abeni and Galli [51] reported that the greatest reduction in daylight RT (from 0800 to 2000 h) varied from 49% for cows in the early stages of lactation. In our past study, we found that on the day of lameness identification, reductions in rumination time, eating time, rumination chews, drinking time, and bolus count in the lame group could act as lameness markers [52].…”

Dairy farmworkers’ knowledge of causes, risk factors, and clinical signs of bovine lameness in South Africa

“…Lame cows consume less feed because they spend so much time lying down, which lowers their milk production (Mohammed B. Sadiq Antanaitis et al, 2021). Feed intake may decrease even more as a result of the increased pain brought on by being unable to stand or move to eat, which could lead to a further decline in milk production.…”

“…Lameness is de ned as any infectious or non-infectious foot or leg condition that impairs cow mobility, posture, and gait (Heinonen et al, 2013;Weber et al, 2013;Elliott et al, 2015;Sadiq et al, 2021). The most common cause of lameness in dairy cows is claw lesions, which can be non-infectious (white line disease, sole ulcer) or infectious (digital dermatitis, interdigital dermatitis, heel erosion, and interdigital phlegmon (foot rot) (L. D. ; van der Linde et al, 2010; Antanaitis et al, 2021;Sheferaw et al, 2021). Lameness in cows starts a negative chain reaction that has many consequences for both the farmer and the cow, including reduced milk yield (about 20% reduction), loss of reproduction, lack of weight gain, and, in some cases, animal culling (Randall et Lameness has been identi ed as the most serious welfare issue in dairy cows, and its observation is the most representative animal-based indicator of dairy cattle well-being (Weber et al, 2013;Nalon and Stevenson, 2019).…”