Abstract
ObjectiveThis study was performed to determine the effects of stress after road transportation and oral administration of chromium and meloxicam on growth performance, plasma cortisol, serum metabolites, and behavior in dairy calves.MethodsA total of 50 Holstein heifers (average body weight [BW]: 172±4.19 kg; average age: 5.53±0.12 months) were randomly assigned to five groups including NL (not transported + D-lactose; 1 mg/kg BW), TL (transported + D-lactose; 1 mg/kg BW), TC (transported + chromium; 0.5 mg/kg dry matter [DM] feed), TM (transported + meloxicam; 1 mg/kg BW), and TMC (transported + combination of meloxicam and chromium; 1 mg/kg BW and 0.5 mg/kg DM, respectively). Doses of D-lactose monohydrate, meloxicam, and chromium were prepared for oral administration by suspension in 15 mL of water in a 20-mL dosing syringe. Blood was collected before transportation, immediately after 120 km of transportation (IAT), and at 6, 24, and 48 h after transportation.ResultsNeither transportation nor administration of meloxicam and/or chromium affected (p = 0.99) average daily gain and feed intake. Plasma cortisol concentrations in the NL group (average 0.13 and 0.18 nmol/L, respectively) were lower (p<0.001) compared to the TL group (average 0.39 and 0.61 nmol/L, respectively) at IAT and 48 h after transportation. At 48 h after transportation, cortisol concentrations were lower (p<0.05) in the TC group (average 0.22 nmol/L) than in the TL group (average 0.61 nmol/L), and TC calves had similar cortisol concentrations to NL calves. Lying duration (min/d) was shorter (p<0.05) in the TL group than in the NL group at 2 d after transportation. Lying duration was longer (p<0.05) for the TC and TMC groups than for the TL group at 2 d after transportation.ConclusionTransportation increased cortisol concentrations and affected lying behavior, while chromium administration reduced cortisol concentrations and changed lying behavior. Thus, chromium administration before transportation may be a viable strategy to alleviate stress elicited by road transportation.
Highlights
Dairy farms in South Korea usually work on milking lactating cows and rearing heifers simultaneously
Chromium administration before transportation may be a viable strategy to alleviate stress elicited by road transportation
This system is inefficient for dairy farmers due to the lack of space for rearing lactating cows and labor constraints associated with raising heifers
Summary
Dairy farms in South Korea usually work on milking lactating cows and rearing heifers simultaneously. This system is inefficient for dairy farmers due to the lack of space for rearing lactating cows and labor constraints associated with raising heifers. From 3 months of age, dairy calves are sent by dairy farmers to commercial heifer-raising farms, grown, inseminated, and returned to the original dairy farm at around 8 months of pregnancy. Transportation distance of cattle in South Korea is relatively short compared to other foreign countries because cattle are usually moved within local province. Relatively short-distance (both 100 km and 200 km) of road transportation caused a transient increase in circulating cortisol and changes in the metabolic and immunological parameters in Holstein-heifers [1]. We performed 120 km of short-distance road transportation in this study
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