Teagasc, Animal and Grassland Research and Innovation Centre, Moorepark, Fermoy, Co. Cork, Ireland; Animal Production Systems Group, Department of Animal Sciences, Wageningen University & Research, the Netherlands.
Animal Production Systems Group, Department of Animal Sciences, Wageningen University & Research, the Netherlands.
Prev Vet Med. 2020 Aug;181:105077. doi: 10.1016/j.prevetmed.2020.105077. Epub 2020 Jun 24.
Lameness in dairy cows is an area of concern from an economic, environmental and animal welfare point of view. While the potential risk factors associated with suboptimal mobility in non-pasture-based systems are evident throughout the literature, the same information is less abundant for pasture-based systems specifically those coupled with seasonal calving, like those in Ireland. Therefore, the objective of this study was to determine the potential risk factors associated with specific mobility scores (0 = good, 1 = imperfect, 2 = impaired, and 3 = severely impaired mobility) for pasture-based dairy cows. Various cow and herd-level potential risk factors from Irish pasture-based systems were collected and analyzed for their association with suboptimal mobility, whereby a mobility score of 0 refers to cows with optimal mobility and a mobility score ≥ 1 refers to a cow with some form of suboptimal mobility. Combined cow and herd-level statistical models were used to determine the increased or decreased risk for mobility score 1, 2, and 3 (any form of suboptimal mobility) compared to the risk for mobility score 0 (optimal mobility), as the outcome variable and the various potential risk factors at both the cow and herd-level were included as predictor type variables. Cow-level variables included body condition score, milk yield, genetic predicted transmitting ability for 'lameness', somatic cell score, calving month and cow breed. Herd-level variables included various environmental and management practices on farm. These analyses have identified several cow-level potential risk factors (including low body condition score, high milk yield, elevated somatic cell count, stage of lactation, calving month, and certain breed types), as well as various herd-level potential risk factors (including the amount of time taken to complete the milking process, claw trimmer training, farm layout factors and foot bathing practices) which are associated with suboptimal mobility. The results of this study should be considered by farm advisors when advising and implementing a cow/herd health program for dairy cows in pasture-based systems.
奶牛跛行是一个从经济、环境和动物福利角度来看都值得关注的问题。虽然在非放牧系统中与运动机能欠佳相关的潜在风险因素在文献中随处可见，但关于放牧系统（尤其是与季节性产犊相结合的系统，如爱尔兰的系统）的具体信息却相对较少。因此，本研究的目的是确定与牧场奶牛特定运动机能评分（0=良好，1=不完美，2=受损，3=严重受损）相关的潜在风险因素。从爱尔兰牧场系统中收集了各种奶牛和牛群水平的潜在风险因素，并对其与运动机能欠佳的关系进行了分析，其中评分 0 表示奶牛具有最佳运动机能，评分≥1 表示奶牛存在某种形式的运动机能欠佳。采用联合奶牛和牛群水平的统计模型来确定运动机能评分 1、2 和 3（任何形式的运动机能欠佳）的风险增加或减少，与运动机能评分 0（最佳运动机能）相比，将运动机能评分作为因变量，同时将奶牛和牛群水平的各种潜在风险因素作为预测变量类型。奶牛水平的变量包括体况评分、产奶量、“跛行”的遗传预测传递能力、体细胞评分、产犊月份和奶牛品种。牛群水平的变量包括农场的各种环境和管理实践。这些分析确定了几个奶牛水平的潜在风险因素（包括体况评分低、产奶量高、体细胞计数升高、泌乳阶段、产犊月份和某些品种类型），以及几个牛群水平的潜在风险因素（包括挤奶过程所需的时间、蹄修剪器培训、农场布局因素和洗脚实践），这些因素都与运动机能欠佳有关。当为牧场奶牛制定和实施奶牛/牛群健康计划时，农场顾问应该考虑本研究的结果。
