Lameness in Early Lactation Is Associated with Lower Productive and Reproductive Performance in a Herd of Supplemented Grazing Dairy Cows

Abstract

The main aim of this study was to assess the associations between the timing of lameness clinical case occurrence in lactation with productive and reproductive performances in grazing Holstein cows. A cohort study was carried out on a dataset with records from a commercial dairy herd (Buenos Aires, Argentina) for cows that calved and were dried off from January 2010 through June 2017. The first recorded event of lameness per lactation was considered for the study. Criteria for lactation inclusion included not having uterine diseases, mastitis, or anovulatory cysts during the studied risk period (i.e., up to 200 DIM). Therefore, a total of 7156 out of 20,086 lactations were included in the statistical analysis. The association between lameness case occurrence in lactation (cows not lame (LG0) vs. lame cows between parturition and first service (LG1) vs. lame cows between first service and first pregnancy (LG2)) with productive (i.e., accumulated milk yield to 150 DIM (MILK150) and 300 DIM (MILK305)) and reproductive performances (hazard of insemination and pregnancy) was analyzed with linear regression models and proportional hazard regression models, respectively. Lame cows produced 161 and 183 kg less MILK150 and MILK305 than non-lame herd mates, respectively. Moreover, LG1 cows produced 216 kg less MILK150 and 200 kg less MILK305 than LG0 cows, and LG2 cows also produced 58 kg less MILK150 and 158 kg less MILK305 than LG0 cows. The LG1 cows had a lower hazard of service than LG0 cows (HR = 0.43, 95%CI = 0.39–0.47). Furthermore, LG1 cows had a lower hazard of pregnancy than LG0 cows (HR = 0.52, 95%CI = 0.46–0.59) and took longer to get pregnant than LG0 cows (median [95%CI], 139 [132–144] vs. 101 [99–103]). Moreover, LG2 cows had a much lower hazard of pregnancy than LG0 cows (HR = 0.08, 95%CI = 0.05–0.12) and much longer calving to first pregnancy interval than LG0 cows (188 [183–196] vs. 101 [99–103]). In conclusion, cows that become lame in early lactation produce less milk and have lower hazards of insemination and pregnancy than herd mates that are healthy or become lame later in lactation. In addition, cows that become lame immediately after the voluntarily waiting period have the poorest reproductive performance (i.e., they have the lowest hazard of pregnancy and the longest calving to pregnancy interval).

Monitoring of Reproduction Activity on Algerian Dairy Cattle Farms

“…The study by L o g r o ñ o et al [34] showed a poor correlation between lameness and milk production, a reduced probability of service and pregnancy, and prolonged calving to conception delay. This is mostly caused by intense discomfort and pain, which reduces the severity of agitation symptoms and releases pro-inflammatory mediators that alter behaviour, resulting in an energy deficit [4,8,9,23].…”

“…Milk production cannot be optimal without reproducing, due to physiological interactions, between lactation, and reproduction [2]. Performances in reproduction, and productivity, significantly impact dairy farmers' economic success [34]. These tasks require proper management and monitoring [22].…”

Locomotion Score and Postpartum Conception in Jersey Cows Raised under Hot–Humid Tropical Conditions: A Prospective Study

“…Production diseases such as lameness influence the welfare and sustainability of dairy herds, resulting in long-term negative effects on milk yield, fertility, and the need to cull dairy cows [ 8 , 36 , 74 ]. This is a challenging aspect when considering dairy production in the tropics, where major factors such as economic restrictions, a lack of agricultural politics, and a lack of availability of robust scientific information already limit the ability to sustainably manage a dairy herd’s health.…”