Olmos Antillon, Gabriela
- Teagasc
Abstract
Forty six spring-calving Holstein-Friesians (12 primiparous, 34 pluriparous) were block-paired (expected calving date, parity, body condition score and genetic merit) and allocated to either a PASTURE or HOUSED system for a full production cycle (-40 to 305 days relative to calving). Both hind claws were inspected on six occasions (-40,10, 35. 85, 120 and 210 days relative to calving) to determine the severity of 5 disorders (sole and white line area haemorrhages, white line disease, heel horn erosion, digital dermatitis and other lesions). Six aspects of locomotion ability (tracking, spine curvature, speed. head bobbing, general symmetry and abduction/adduction) were assessed from I (normal) to 5 (abnormal) every 2 weeks. Throughout the study records of clinical lameness were kept for all animals. Lying times of 26 block-paired cows (PASTURE n = 13. HOUSED n = 13) were recorded automatically every 5 min for 48 h at 33, 83 and 193 days post-calving. Data were analysed using mixed models for repeated measures, logistic regression and survival analysis, as appropriate. The severity of hoof disorders was lower for PASTURE compared to HOUSED cows from 85 days post-calving onwards (P
Keywords
Hoof disorders; Locomotion ability; Lying behaviour; Dairy cow; Pasture-based systems
Published in
Livestock Science
2009, volume: 125, number: 2-3, pages: 199-207
Publisher: ELSEVIER SCIENCE BV
SLU Authors
UKÄ Subject classification
Animal and Dairy Science
Publication identifier
- DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.livsci.2009.04.009
Permanent link to this page (URI)
https://res.slu.se/id/publ/87864