Causes for culling first calving cows on farms with different levels of production

Abstract

It is general knowledge that management influences results in cattle production to the highest extent, and that the culling of cows is a very good indicator of the success of farm management. A comparison of results of culling for first calving cows on farms with various levels of production in 2011 established differences both for the number of culled animals and the reasons for culling. On farms with higher levels of production, the share of first calving cows in overall culling was 25.9% or 4.5% less than on farms with a lower level of production, i.e. 4.8% less died, and 0.7% first calving cows had to be slaughtered, while 5.6% more first calving cows were culled for economic reasons. At both levels of production, dominant reasons for culling were diseases of the legs and hoofs, which can be linked to the tie stall system (more pronounced on farms with higher production) and metabolic disorders (more dominant on farms with lower production). Reproduction was a more considerable problem on farms with higher milk production, while culling due to selection was more pronounced on farms with lower production. In early lactation of first calving cows, regardless of the level of production, dominant reasons for culling on farms are leg and hoof problems and metabolic disorders (total: 55% i.e. 55.9%). When reasons for culling of first calving cows after 100 days of lactation are investigated, on farms with high production the significance of diseases of legs and hoofs remains almost unchanged, but culling due to reproduction grows to 28%. On farms with lower production, culling due to leg and hoof diseases is considerably reduced after 100 days of lactation, however culling due to selection is tripled (62%).