A Randomized Clinical Trial Evaluating the Effect of an Oral Calcium Bolus Supplementation Strategy in Postpartum Jersey Cows on Mastitis, Culling, Milk Production, and Reproductive Performance.

Paulo R Menta,Vinicius S Machado,Rafael C Neves,Leticia Fernandes,Maria Luiza Celestino,Diego Poit

doi:10.3390/ani11123361

Paulo R Menta, Vinicius S Machado + Show 4 more

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https://doi.org/10.3390/ani11123361

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Abstract

Simple SummaryThe time around parturition is a challenging period in the lactation cycle of high-yielding dairy cows as it is characterized by several endocrine, metabolic, and physiological changes. Among those challenges, calcium demands are rapidly increased to support colostrogenesis and lactogenesis during a time of reduced dry matter intake; invariably, some cows may suffer from clinical and subclinical hypocalcemia. Oral calcium supplementation is a common preventative strategy adopted in the postpartum of high-yielding dairy cows to minimize the negative impact of suboptimal blood calcium concentration during this period. Despite a great number of studies evaluating the effects of oral calcium supplementation in postpartum Holstein cows, very limited information is available for the Jersey breed. This study aimed to evaluate the effect of an oral Ca supplementation strategy in the first 24 h after parturition on health and production outcomes in multiparous Jersey cows. Overall, treatment did not improve milk production or reproductive performance compared to control cows. Additionally, treatment had no effect on early lactation culling. A tendency for a minor impact on the odds of mastitis was evident though it depended on the parity of the cows.The objectives of this study were to evaluate the effects of a postpartum oral calcium supplementation strategy in multiparous Jersey cows on (1) the odds of clinical mastitis in the first 60 days in milk (DIM); (2) the odds of culling up to 60 DIM; (3) the risk of pregnancy in the first 150 DIM; (4) milk production in the first 15 weeks of lactation. A randomized clinical trial was performed in a dairy herd located in west Texas, United States. A total of 809 cows were used in the final analyses. Overall, postpartum oral calcium supplementation did not influence milk production, reproductive performance, or culling. Among second parity cows, oral calcium supplementation tended to decrease the odds of clinical mastitis in the first 60 DIM compared to controls; however, no differences were observed for cows in parities three and greater. To date, data evaluating the effect of postpartum oral calcium supplementation in multiparous Jersey cows are limited. In our study, oral calcium supplementation tended to reduce clinical mastitis in second parity cows. No positive benefits based on the reduction of culling, and improvement of milk production and reproductive performance were evident for the herd included in this study.

Highlights

The time around parturition is a challenging period in the lactation cycle of highyielding dairy cows
Exclusion of cows in the treatment group were for the following reasons: 3 cows were first parity, 9 were Jersey–Holstein crosses, 3 cows were diagnosed with mastitis at 0 days in milk (DIM), and 12 did not receive their second bolus
Exclusion of cows in the control group were for the following reasons: two cows were first parity, four were Jersey–Holstein crosses, 3 cows were diagnosed with mastitis at 0 DIM, one cow had uterine prolapse, and six were treated with a Ca bolus by mistake

Summary

Introduction

The time around parturition is a challenging period in the lactation cycle of highyielding dairy cows. Maladaptive responses to the increased nutrient requirements and stressors in the transition to lactation can impact lactation performance. Calcium (Ca) requirements increase approximately 1.6 times from late prepartum to early postpartum [1,2], highlighting the importance of Ca in the transition of the non-lactating to lactating state; those changes are due to the onset of colostrogenesis and lactogenesis. Suboptimum Ca concentration is common within 12 to 24 h after calving and can extend to a few days in lactation [3,4,5]. Some cows fail in this process and may experience clinical or subclinical hypocalcemia in the postpartum period

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