Responses of dams versus non-nursing cows to machine milking in terms of milk performance, behaviour and heart rate with and without additional acoustic, olfactory or manual stimulation

Zipp, Katharina A.; Barth, Kerstin; Rommelfanger, Eike; Knierim, Ute

doi:10.1016/j.applanim.2018.05.002

Cited by 20 publications

(12 citation statements)

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“…Ad libitum milk consumption by calves is known to reduce machine-gained milk yield ( 66 , 87 , 88 ). Besides, we found a reduced milk fat content in harvested milk of FC cows, which is likely to be caused by impaired alveolar milk ejection during the milking process due to suckling ( 19 , 87 , 89 ). Reduced amounts of saleable milk with decreased fat content during the suckling period could negatively impact farm income in full CCC systems ( 19 , 90 ).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 75%

Effect of Type of Cow-Calf Contact on Health, Blood Parameters, and Performance of Dairy Cows and Calves

et al. 2022

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Prolonged cow-calf contact (CCC) could potentially improve dairy calf welfare. However, it is currently unknown how different types of CCC affect animals' biological functions. We evaluated health and performance parameters of dairy calves and their dams, where calves: (i) had no contact with their dam (NC), in which the calf was removed from the dam directly after birth (n = 10); (ii) were allowed to have partial contact (PC) with their dam, in which the calf was housed in a calf pen adjacent to the cow area allowing physical contact on the initiative of the dam but no suckling (n = 18); (iii) were allowed to have full contact (FC) with their dam, including suckling, in which calves were housed together with their dams in a free-stall barn (n = 20). Throughout the first 7 weeks postpartum, data were collected on the health status, fecal microbiota, hematological profile, immune and hormonal parameters, and growth rates of calves, and on the health status, metabolic responses, and performance of dams. Overall, FC calves had more health issues (P = 0.02) and a tendency for higher antibiotic usage (P = 0.07) than NC calves. Additionally, FC calves showed elevated levels of erythrocytes, hematocrit, hemoglobin, and leukocytes on day 49 compared to NC calves (P < 0.001). Calf fecal microbiota changed over time, and we found preliminary evidence that fecal microbiota is affected by the type of CCC, as reflected by differences in relative abundances of taxa including Lactobacillus in FC calves compared to NC and PC calves except on days 7 and 66. The FC calves had a greater average daily gain in body weight than NC and PC calves (P = 0.002). Cow health was not affected by the type of CCC, although in the first 7 weeks of lactation FC cows had a lower machine-gained milk yield accompanied by a lower fat percentage than NC and PC cows (P < 0.001). These results indicate that full contact posed a challenge for calf health, presumably because the housing conditions of FC calves in this experimental context were suboptimal. Secondly, ad libitum suckling leads to higher weight gains and negatively affected milk fat content besides machine-gained yields. More research into strategies to improve cow-calf housing and management in CCC systems is warranted.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 75%

Effect of Type of Cow-Calf Contact on Health, Blood Parameters, and Performance of Dairy Cows and Calves

et al. 2022

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“…In the case of HR, Zipp et al . (2018) used Polar S810i and RS800CX sensors attached to the withers and close to the heart to measure HR and HR variability (HRV) while locked after milking to assess the impact of different stimulation methods (acoustic, manual and olfactory). However, the authors reported technical problems to acquire HR and HRV, which led to missing values and altered the analysis.…”

Section: Cattlementioning

confidence: 99%

The livestock farming digital transformation: implementation of new and emerging technologies using artificial intelligence

Fuentes

Viejo

Tongson

et al. 2022

Anim. Health. Res. Rev.

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Livestock welfare assessment helps monitor animal health status to maintain productivity, identify injuries and stress, and avoid deterioration. It has also become an important marketing strategy since it increases consumer pressure for a more humane transformation in animal treatment. Common visual welfare practices by professionals and veterinarians may be subjective and cost-prohibitive, requiring trained personnel. Recent advances in remote sensing, computer vision, and artificial intelligence (AI) have helped developing new and emerging technologies for livestock biometrics to extract key physiological parameters associated with animal welfare. This review discusses the livestock farming digital transformation by describing (i) biometric techniques for health and welfare assessment, (ii) livestock identification for traceability and (iii) machine and deep learning application in livestock to address complex problems. This review also includes a critical assessment of these topics and research done so far, proposing future steps for the deployment of AI models in commercial farms. Most studies focused on model development without applications or deployment for the industry. Furthermore, reported biometric methods, accuracy, and machine learning approaches presented some inconsistencies that hinder validation. Therefore, it is required to develop more efficient, non-contact and reliable methods based on AI to assess livestock health, welfare, and productivity.

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Section: Extended Dam Sucklingmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Milk letdown during mechanical milking is impaired in cows that are nursing a calf (Krohn 2001;Fröberg et al 2011;Johnsen et al 2016;Zipp et al 2018) and cannot be enhanced by presenting the hair or playing the call of the dam's own calf, or by teat massage (Zipp et al 2018). Although there is no consistent evidence of reduced milk production over a longer period (Johnsen et al 2016;Meagher et al 2019), the quantity of milk available for sale is reduced during the suckling period (Zipp et al 2018;Meagher et al 2019). Indeed, the 10 L of milk a suckling calf consumes per day (Jasper and Weary 2002;De Passillé et al 2011;Rosenberger et al 2017) constitutes a considerable proportion of daily milk production for lower-yielding dairy cattle common in pasturebased systems.…”

Section: Extended Dam Sucklingmentioning

confidence: 99%

A review of factors affecting the welfare of dairy calves in pasture-based production systems

Verdon

Tilbrook²

2021

Anim. Prod. Sci.

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Current research on factors affecting the welfare of dairy calves is predominantly based on indoor, year-round calving systems. Calf rearing in these systems differs from that in more seasonal, pasture-based dairy production, meaning that risks to the welfare of dairy calves may not always be comparable between the two systems. The aim of this review was to consolidate the scientific literature relating to calf welfare in pasture-based dairy systems from birth until weaning, allowing for (1) the identification of current and emerging risks to calf welfare and (2) the formation of recommendations to mitigate these risks. Many of the risks to calf welfare discussed in this review are not exclusive to pasture-based dairies. This includes a global trend for increasing perinatal mortalities, a significant number of calves failing to achieve effective passive transfer of immunity, the low uptake of best practice pain relief when calves are disbudded, and the feeding of restricted milk volumes. In addition to these persisting welfare risks, two factors discussed in this review pose an immediate threat to the social license of dairy farming; the separation of cow and calf soon after birth and the management of surplus calves (i.e. calves not needed by the dairy industry). Several recommendations are made to improve the uptake of best-practice calf rearing and progress the development of alternative pasture-based rearing systems that accommodate changing community expectations. These include communication strategies that strengthen farmer beliefs regarding the welfare and productivity benefits achieved by best practice calf rearing and challenge beliefs regarding the associated costs. Farmers should also be encouraged to benchmark their rearing practices through improved record keeping of key rearing inputs and outcomes. Biological research is needed to advise the development of new calf rearing recommendations and the evolution of existing recommendations. Research priorities identified by this review include the effects of dystocia on the neonate and strategies to mitigate these effects, relationships between features of pen design and calf health and welfare, feasibility of dam rearing in large pasture-based dairy systems, and strategies that increase the value of the surplus calf.

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Responses of dams versus non-nursing cows to machine milking in terms of milk performance, behaviour and heart rate with and without additional acoustic, olfactory or manual stimulation

Cited by 20 publications

References 50 publications

Effect of Type of Cow-Calf Contact on Health, Blood Parameters, and Performance of Dairy Cows and Calves

Effect of Type of Cow-Calf Contact on Health, Blood Parameters, and Performance of Dairy Cows and Calves

The livestock farming digital transformation: implementation of new and emerging technologies using artificial intelligence

A review of factors affecting the welfare of dairy calves in pasture-based production systems

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