ALBERT

Description: The aim of our study was to determine how the ease of calving of cows may influence changes in lactose concentration and other milk components and whether these two factors correlate with each other. To achieve this, we compared data of calving ease scores and average percentage of in-line registered milk lactose and other milk components. A total of 4723 dairy cows from nine dairy farms were studied. The cows were from the second to the fourth lactation. All cows were classified according to the calving ease: group 1 (score 1)—no problems; group 2 (score 2)—slight problems; group 3 (score 3)—needed assistance; group 4 (score 4)—considerable force or extreme difficulty. Based on the data from the milking robots, during complete lactation we recorded milk indicators: milk yield MY (kg/day), milk fat (MF), milk protein (MP), lactose (ML), milk fat/lactose ratio (MF/ML), milk protein/lactose ratio (MP/ML), milk urea (MU), and milk electrical conductivity (EC) of all quarters of the udder. According to the results, we found that cows that had no calving difficulties, also had higher milk lactose concentration. ML 〉 4.7% was found in 58.8% of cows without calving problems. Cows with more severe calving problems had higher risk of mastitis (SCC and EC). Our data indicates that more productive cows have more calving problems compared to less productive ones.

Description: We hypothesized that lameness has an impact on milk flow traits. The aim of the current study was therefore to investigate the relation between lameness and milk flow traits in dairy cows. For this study 73 healthy and 55 cows with lameness were selected. Lameness was diagnosed by a local specialized veterinarian, according to the standard procedure. The blood samples were collected during clinical examination. The milking properties of cows were evaluated twice in a row—during evening and morning milking. The selected cows in the current lactation did not receive veterinary treatment, and correct hoof trimming was not performed at least four weeks before the experiment. The measurements were taken by two electronic mobile milk flow meters (Lactocorder®®, WMB AG, Balgache, Switzerland). Milk flow data were processed using LactoPro 5.2.0 software (Biomelktechnik Swiss). Cortisol concentration was measured with the automated analyzer TOSOH®® AIA-360 (South San Francisco, CA, USA). We found out that milk flow traits can act as biomarkers of lameness in dairy cows. We determined that the milk yield in the first minute of healthy dairy cows was 1.77 kg higher than that of lame cows. The electrical conductivity during the initial time of milking of healthy cows was 0.24 mS/cm lower than that of the lame group. The milking duration of LA cows was 1.07 min shorter and the time of incline in milk flow from 0.5 kg/min till the reach of the plateau phase was longer. The risk of lameness was most clearly indicated by an increase in blood cortisol concentration; if its blood level in cows exceeds 1 µg/dL, the risk of identifying lameness increases 4.9 times.

Description: Rumination time, chewing time and drinking time are indicators that can be assessed in case of cow disease. In this research, two groups of cows were formed: cows with subclinical ketosis (SCK; n = 10) and healthy cows (HG; n = 10). Behaviour such as walking activity, feeding time with head position up, feeding time with head position down, change of activity and average, minimal and maximal ambient temperature of cows were recorded by the RumiWatch noseband system (RWS; RumiWatch System, Itin+Hoch GmbH, Liestal, Switzerland). The RWS comprises a noseband halter with a built-in pressure sensor and a liquid-filled pressure tube. Data from each studied cow were recorded for 420 h. According to the results of our study, it was determined that cows diagnosed with subclinical ketosis showed a tendency to change their activity more frequently. Our data indicates that minimal and maximal ambient temperatures are related with SCK.

Description: The aim of the current study was to evaluate the relation of automatically determined body condition score (BCS) and inline biomarkers such as β-hydroxybutyrate (BHB), milk yield (MY), lactate dehydrogenase (LDH), and progesterone (mP4) with the pregnancy success of cows. The cows (n = 281) had 2.1 ± 0.1. lactations on average, were 151.6 ± 0.06 days postpartum, and were once tested with “Easy scan” ultrasound (IMV imaging, Scotland) at 30–35 d post-insemination. According to their reproductive status, cows were grouped into two groups: non-pregnant (n = 194 or 69.0% of cows) and pregnant (n = 87 or 31.0% of cows). Data concerning their BCS, mP4, MY, BHB, and LDH were collected each day from the day of insemination for 7 days. The BCS was collected with body condition score camera (DeLaval Inc., Tumba, Sweden); mP4, MY, BHB, and LDH were collected with the fully automated real-time analyzer Herd Navigator™ (Lattec I/S, Hillerød, Denmark) in combination with a DeLaval milking robot (DeLaval Inc., Tumba, Sweden). Of all the biomarkers, three differences between groups were significant. The body condition score (BCS) of the pregnant cows was higher (+0.49 score), the milk yield (MY) was lower (−4.36 kg), and milk progesterone in pregnant cows was (+6.11 ng/mL) higher compared to the group of non-pregnant cows (p 〈 0.001). The pregnancy status of the cows was associated with their BCS assessment (p 〈 0.001). We estimated that cows with BCS 〉 3.2 were 22 times more likely to have reproductive success than cows with BCS ≤ 3.2.

Description: The aim of the current study was to evaluate the relationship of different parameters from an automatic milking system (AMS) with the pregnancy status of multiparous cows at first service and to assess the accuracy of such a follow-up with regard to blood parameters. Before the insemination of cows, blood samples for measuring biochemical indices were taken from the coccygeal vessels and the concentrations of blood serum albumin (ALB), cortisol, non-esterified fatty acids (NEFA) and the activities of aspartate aminotransferase (AST) and gamma glutamyltransferase (GGT) were determined. From oestrus day to seven days after oestrus, the following parameters were registered: milk yield (MY), electric milk conductivity, lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) and β-hydroxybutyric acid (BHB). The pregnancy status was evaluated using ultrasound “Easy scan” 30–35 days after insemination. Cows were grouped by reproductive status: PG− (non-pregnant; n = 48) and PG+ (pregnant; n = 44). The BHB level in PG− cows was 1.2 times higher (p 〈 0.005). The electrical conductivity of milk was statistically significantly higher in all quarters of PG− cows (1.07 times) than of PG+ cows (p 〈 0.05). The arithmetic mean of blood GGT was 1.61 times higher in PG− cows and the NEFA value 1.23 times higher (p 〈 0.05) compared with the PG+ group. The liver function was affected, the average ALB of PG− cows was 1.19 times lower (p 〈 0.05) and the AST activity was 1.16 times lower (p 〈 0.05) compared with PG+ cows. The non-pregnant group had a negative energy balance demonstrated by high in-line milk BHB and high blood NEFA concentrations. We found a greater number of cows with cortisol 〉0.0.75 mg/dL in the non-pregnant group. A higher milk electrical conductivity in the non-pregnant cows pointed towards a greater risk of mastitis while higher GGT activities together with lower albumin concentrations indicated that the cows were more affected by oxidative stress.

Description: According to the literature, rumination time can be used as biomarker in the diagnosis of subclinical ketosis (SCK). We hypothesized that SCK in cows influences ingestive-related behaviours registered with the real-time system. The aim of the current study was to determine the influence of SCK on dairy cows’ ingestive-related behaviours registered with a real-time system. Twenty Lithuanian Black and White breed dairy cows were selected based on the following criteria: First day after calving, having two or more lactations (on average 3.0 ± 0.13 lactations), and being clinically healthy. The experiment lasted 18 days. Cows were tested 24 h a day for 17.5 days. On the day of diagnosis (day 0), data were recorded for 12 h. During the experimental period, one cow was studied for a total of 420 h. For the registration of rumination behaviour, the RumiWatch system (RWS) was used. It was found that cows with SCK showed lesser average values for the following parameters: rumination time and rumination chews (1.48 and 1.68 times respectively; p 〈 0.001), drinking time (1.50 times; p 〈 0.001), chews per minute, bolus and chews per bolus (1.12, 1.45 and 1.51 times; p 〈 0.001). From the 15th day before the diagnosis of SCK, rumination time in health cows was greater than that in SCK cows from −0.96% (−17 day) to 187.79% (0 days, 〈 0.001). We estimated the greater average value of drinking time in healthy cows compared with SCK cows from 34.22% on day −17 to −121.67% on day 0 (p 〈 0.001). Decrease in rumination time was associated with a significant increase in the probability of risk of SCK. Further studies are needed with a larger number of cows with SCK.

Description: 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.