Almeida Rodrigo de, Paula Sidneia de, Marquetti Marianna Marinho, Poczynek Milaine, Silva Delma Fabíola Ferreira da, Navarro Rodrigo Barros, Valloto Altair Antonio, Horst José Augusto, Pedrosa Victor Breno
Programa de Pós-Graduação em Zootecnia-PPGZ, Universidade Federal do Paraná-UFPR, Rua dos Funcionários, 1540, Curitiba 80035-050, PR, Brazil.
Capal Cooperativa Agroindustrial, Rua Saladino de Castro, 1375, Arapoti 84990-000, PR, Brazil.
Animals (Basel). 2025 Jul 29;15(15):2232. doi: 10.3390/ani15152232.
This study aimed to evaluate cow longevity and identify the main culling reasons in dairy herds in Southern Brazil. Two data sets from 26 predominantly confined Holstein herds were analyzed over a 10-year period (2007-2016). The first included 11,150 cows that were culled, died, or sold, and the second comprised 636,739 cows for demographic analysis. The average annual culling rate was 24.2%, mainly due to reproductive disorders (34.0%), mastitis/high somatic cell count (20.4%), and feet and leg problems (17.9%). Involuntary causes represented 89.5% of all culling. The death rate averaged 3.8%, with the most frequent causes being unknown (27.3%), other reasons (25.6%), tick fever (10.2%), and accidents/injuries (10.0%). Larger herds had higher culling rates than smaller ones (26.2% vs. 22.8%; = 0.04), as did higher-producing herds compared to lower-producing ones (25.7% vs. 22.0%; = 0.02). Cows with ≥5 calvings were culled more often ( < 0.01) than those in earlier lactations. Culling was lowest ( < 0.02) in spring and highest ( < 0.01) during early (0-60 d) and late (>420 d) lactation. Herds with a higher proportion of older cows had slightly lower milk yields ( < 0.01), indicating longevity does not always enhance productivity.
本研究旨在评估巴西南部奶牛场奶牛的长寿情况，并确定奶牛淘汰的主要原因。对26个主要为圈养的荷斯坦奶牛场在10年期间（2007 - 2016年）的两组数据进行了分析。第一组数据包括11150头被淘汰、死亡或出售的奶牛，第二组数据包括636739头用于人口统计学分析的奶牛。年平均淘汰率为24.2%，主要原因是生殖系统疾病（34.0%）、乳腺炎/体细胞数高（20.4%）以及蹄腿问题（17.9%）。非自愿淘汰原因占所有淘汰情况的89.5%。死亡率平均为3.8%，最常见的原因是不明原因（27.3%）、其他原因（25.6%）、蜱传热（10.2%）以及事故/伤害（10.0%）。规模较大的牛群淘汰率高于规模较小的牛群（26.2%对22.8%；P = 0.04），高产牛群的淘汰率也高于低产牛群（25.7%对22.0%；P = 0.02）。产犊≥5次的奶牛比处于早期泌乳期的奶牛淘汰率更高（P < 0.01）。春季淘汰率最低（P < 0.02），而在泌乳早期（0 - 60天）和晚期（>420天）淘汰率最高（P < 0.01）。老年奶牛比例较高的牛群产奶量略低（P < 0.01），这表明长寿并不总是能提高生产力。
