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Transition diseases in grazing dairy cows are related to serum cholesterol and other analytes.

ABSTRACT: The objectives of this study were to describe the incidence of postpartum disease and to evaluate the association with serum cholesterol concentrations during the first 3 weeks after calving in grazing dairy cows. The association between non-esterified fatty acids (NEFA), β-hydroxybutyrate (BHBA), calcium and postpartum diseases was also evaluated. A total of 307 Holstein dairy cows from 6 commercial grazing herds in Osorno, Chile, were monitored from calving until 21 days in milk. Cases of retained placenta, clinical hypocalcemia and clinical mastitis were recorded by the farmer using established definitions. Twice weekly, cows were evaluated for metritis by the same veterinarian based on vaginal discharge and body temperature. Postpartum blood samples were collected weekly and analyzed for serum concentrations of cholesterol, NEFA, BHBA and calcium. Cows were considered as having subclinical ketosis if BHBA >1.2 mmol/L, and subclinical hypocalcemia if calcium <2.0 mmol/L in any of the 3 weekly samples. Overall, 56% of the cows studied developed at least one clinical or subclinical disease after calving. Incidence of individual diseases was 8.8% for retained placenta, 4.2% for clinical hypocalcemia, 11.7% for clinical mastitis, 41.1% for metritis, 19.9% for subclinical hypocalcemia and 16.6% for subclinical ketosis. Lower postpartum cholesterol in cows was associated with developing severe metritis or having more than one clinical disease after calving. For every 0.4 mmol/L decrease in serum cholesterol cows were nearly twice as likely to be diagnosed with multiple clinical diseases after calving. Higher BHBA concentrations and lower calcium concentrations during week 1 were associated with severe cases of metritis. Low serum calcium concentration during week 1 was also associated with developing more than one clinical disorder after calving. In conclusion, the incidence of postpartum diseases can be high even in grazing herds and lower serum cholesterol concentrations were associated with occurrence of clinical postpatum disorders.

SUBMITTER: Sepulveda-Varas P

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4373813 | biostudies-other | 2015

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-other

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Project description:A transcriptomic approach was used to evaluate potential interactions between prepartum body condition score (BCS) and feeding management in the weeks before calving on hepatic metabolism during the transition period. Thirty-two mid-lactation grazing dairy cows of mixed age and breed were randomly allocated to one of four treatment groups in a 2 × 2 factorial arrangement: two prepartum BCS categories [4.0 (thin, BCS4) and 5.0 (optimal, BCS5); based on a 10-point scale], and two levels of energy intake during the 3 wk preceding calving (75 and 125% of estimated requirements). Liver samples were obtained at -7, 7, and 28 d relative to parturition and subsequent RNA was hybridized to the Agilent 44K Bovine (V2) Microarray chip. The Dynamic Impact Approach was used for pathway analysis, and Ingenuity Pathway Analysis was used for gene network analysis. The greater number of differentially expressed genes in BCS4 cows in response to prepartum feed allowance indicated that these animals were more responsive to prepartum nutrition management than optimally-conditioned cows. However, independent of prepartum BCS, pathway analysis revealed that prepartal feeding level had a marked effect on carbohydrate, amino acid, lipid, and glycan metabolism. Altered carbohydrate and amino acid metabolism indicated a greater and more prolonged negative energy balance post-calving in BCS5 cows overfed prepartum. This was indicated by opposite effects of pre-calving feeding in in BCS4 compared with BCS5 cows in amino acid, vitamin, and co-factor metabolism. The prepartum feed restriction ameliorated the metabolic adaptation to the new lactation in BCS5 cows, while detrimentally affecting BCS4 cows, which seemed to adapt better when overfed. Moreover, alterations in the glycosaminoglycans synthesis pathway support this idea, indicating better hepatic health status in feed-restricted BCS5 cows and overfed BCS4 animals. IPA network analysis indicated liver damage in feed-restricted thin cows, likely due to metabolic overload. Overall, the data indicate that overfeeding in late-pregnancy should be limited to underconditioned animals, while cow with optimal degree of body condition should be maintained on an energy restricted diet.

Project description:The commercially available collar device MooMonitor+ was evaluated with regards to accuracy and application potential for measuring grazing behavior. These automated measurements are crucial as cows feed intake behavior at pasture is an important parameter of animal performance, health and welfare as well as being an indicator of feed availability. Compared to laborious and time-consuming visual observation, the continuous and automated measurement of grazing behavior may support and improve the grazing management of dairy cows on pasture. Therefore, there were two experiments as well as a literature analysis conducted to evaluate the MooMonitor+ under grazing conditions. The first experiment compared the automated measurement of the sensor against visual observation. In a second experiment, the MooMonitor+ was compared to a noseband sensor (RumiWatch), which also allows continuous measurement of grazing behavior. The first experiment on n = 12 cows revealed that the automated sensor MooMonitor+ and visual observation were highly correlated as indicated by the Spearman's rank correlation coefficient (rs) = 0.94 and concordance correlation coefficient (CCC) = 0.97 for grazing time. An rs-value of 0.97 and CCC = 0.98 was observed for rumination time. In a second experiment with n = 12 cows over 24-h periods, a high correlation between the MooMonitor+ and the RumiWatch was observed for grazing time as indicated by an rs-value of 0.91 and a CCC-value of 0.97. Similarly, a high correlation was observed for rumination time with an rs-value of 0.96 and a CCC-value of 0.99. While a higher level of agreement between the MooMonitor+ and both visual observation and RumiWatch was observed for rumination time compared to grazing time, the overall results showed a high level of accuracy of the collar device in measuring grazing and rumination times. Therefore, the collar device can be applied to monitor cow behavior at pasture on farms. With regards to the application potential of the collar device, it may not only be used on commercial farms but can also be applied to research questions when a data resolution of 15 min is sufficient. Thus, at farm level, the farmer can get an accurate and continuous measurement of grazing behavior of each individual cow and may then use those data for decision-making to optimize the animal management.

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Transition diseases in grazing dairy cows are related to serum cholesterol and other analytes.

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