Department of Population Health Sciences, Division of Farm Animal Health, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Utrecht University, PO Box 80151, 3508 TD Utrecht, the Netherlands.
Department of Population Health Sciences, Division of Farm Animal Health, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Utrecht University, PO Box 80151, 3508 TD Utrecht, the Netherlands; Department of Reproduction, Obstetrics and Herd Health, Ghent University, Salisburylaan 133, Merelbeke 9820, Belgium.
J Dairy Sci. 2021 Apr;104(4):4746-4763. doi: 10.3168/jds.2020-19200. Epub 2021 Feb 13.
Lameness, one of the most important disorders in the dairy industry, is related to postpartum diseases and has an effect on dairy cow welfare, leading to changes in cows' daily behavioral variables. This study quantified the effect of lameness on the daily time budget of dairy cows in the transition period. In total, 784 multiparous dairy cows from 8 commercial Dutch dairy farms were visually scored on their locomotion (score of 1-5) and body condition (score of 1-5). Each cow was scored in the early and late dry period as well as in wk 4 and 8 postpartum. Cows with locomotion scores 1 and 2 were grouped together as nonlame, cows with score 3 were considered moderately lame, and cows with scores 4 and 5 were grouped together as severely lame. Cows were equipped with 2 types of sensors that measured behavioral parameters. The leg sensor provided number of steps, number of stand-ups (moving from lying to standing), lying time, number of lying bouts, and lying bout length. The neck sensor provided eating time, number of eating bouts, eating bout length, rumination time, number of rumination bouts, and rumination bout length. Sensor data for each behavioral parameter were averaged between 2 d before and 2 d after locomotion scoring. The percentage of nonlame cows decreased from 63% in the early dry period to 46% at 8 wk in lactation; this decrease was more severe for cows with higher parity. Cows that calved in autumn had the highest odds for lameness. Body condition score loss of >0.75 point in early lactation was associated with lameness in wk 4 postpartum. Moderately lame cows had a reduction of daily eating time of around 20 min, whereas severely lame cows had a reduction of almost 40 min. Similarly, moderately and severely lame dry cows showed a reduction of 200 steps/d, and severely lame cows in lactation showed a reduction of 600 steps/d. Daily lying time increased by 26 min and lying bout length increased by 8 min in severely lame cows compared with nonlame cows. These results indicate a high prevalence of lameness on Dutch dairy farms, with an increase in higher locomotion scores from the dry period into early lactation. Time budgets for multiparous dairy cows differed between the dry period and the lactating period, with a higher locomotion score (increased lameness) having an effect on cows' complete behavioral profile. Body condition score loss in early lactation was associated with poor locomotion postpartum, whereas lameness resulted in less eating time in the dry period and early lactation, creating a harmful cycle.
跛行是奶牛养殖业中最重要的疾病之一，与产后疾病有关，会影响奶牛的福利，导致奶牛日常行为变量发生变化。本研究量化了跛行对奶牛过渡期日常时间预算的影响。共有 8 家荷兰商业奶牛场的 784 头经产奶牛进行了运动（1-5 分）和身体状况（1-5 分）的视觉评分。每头奶牛在干奶早期和晚期以及产后第 4 周和第 8 周进行评分。运动评分 1 分和 2 分的奶牛被归为非跛行组，评分 3 分的奶牛被认为是中度跛行，评分 4 分和 5 分的奶牛被归为严重跛行。奶牛配备了两种传感器，用于测量行为参数。腿部传感器提供步数、站立次数（从躺着到站立）、躺着时间、躺着次数、躺着持续时间。颈部传感器提供进食时间、进食次数、进食持续时间、反刍时间、反刍次数、反刍持续时间。在进行运动评分前 2 天和后 2 天之间，对每个行为参数的传感器数据进行平均处理。在干奶早期，非跛行奶牛的比例从 63%下降到产奶期的第 8 周的 46%；胎次较高的奶牛下降幅度更大。秋季产犊的奶牛跛行的几率最高。产奶早期体况评分损失>0.75 分与产后第 4 周的跛行有关。中度跛行奶牛的日进食时间减少约 20 分钟，而严重跛行奶牛的日进食时间减少近 40 分钟。同样，中度和严重跛行的干奶牛每天减少 200 步，严重跛行的泌乳奶牛每天减少 600 步。与非跛行奶牛相比，严重跛行奶牛的每日躺卧时间增加 26 分钟，躺卧持续时间增加 8 分钟。这些结果表明，荷兰奶牛场的跛行发生率很高，从干奶期到早期泌乳期，较高的运动评分呈上升趋势。经产奶牛在干奶期和泌乳期之间的时间预算不同，较高的运动评分（跛行加重）对奶牛的完整行为特征有影响。产奶早期体况评分损失与产后运动不良有关，而跛行导致干奶期和早期泌乳期进食时间减少，形成恶性循环。
