Abstract
ABSTRACT: The aim of this study was to confirm the possible consequences of prepartum lameness on subsequent lactation among Holstein cows. In this research, 27 multiparous cows, were monitored from the 30th to 63rd day, relative to calving. Thirty days prior to parturition, the animals were segregated into two groups based on the locomotion score (LS), where LS 1 is attributed to animals without claudication, LS 2 to those with suspected lameness and LS 3, 4 and 5 to those with mild, moderate and severe lameness, respectively; in the lame cows group (LC) (n=15), the animals displayed LS ≥ 3, whereas in the non-lame cows group (NLC) (n=12) they showed LS 1. Milk production, body condition score (BCS) and blood concentration levels of β-hydroxybutyrate (BHB), urea, phosphorus, calcium aspartate aminotransferase (AST), gamma glutamyl transferase (GGT) and total plasma proteins (PPT) were evaluated. Milk production (17.675 ± 0.31 L of milk/day) and blood calcium concentration (7.42 ± 0.12 mg/dL) were lower in the lame cows in comparison to those without lameness (22.27 ± 0.42 L of milk/day and 9.63 ± 0.13 mg/dL). Besides, the lame cows showed higher BCS loss during the early postpartum period. The metabolites AST, GGT, PPT, urea, BHB and phosphorus revealed no difference between the groups during the period evaluated. The lameness evident in cows during prepartum exerted major negative effects on the milk production and calcemia, making the LS evaluation during these period an important tool in the early diagnosis of losses for future lactation.
Highlights
Lameness is considered the major cause of pain and discomfort, especially in dairy cattle, culminating in direct impacts on their welfare, precipitating considerable economic losses, and indicating a significant problem in terms of the damages it causes to the productive system (SOUZA et al, 2006)
From days 7 to 28, the production between the groups was similar; from days 35 to 63 it was lower in the lame cows, indicating that this period was critical for these animals
Serum calcium concentration was lower (p
Summary
Lameness is considered the major cause of pain and discomfort, especially in dairy cattle, culminating in direct impacts on their welfare, precipitating considerable economic losses, and indicating a significant problem in terms of the damages it causes to the productive system (SOUZA et al, 2006). The availability of reports on the prevalence of lameness in the herd (CHAPINAL et al, 2014) may facilitate a reduction in the occurrence of foot disorders in the properties, facilitating the execution of locomotion score (LS) and body condition score (BCS), key factors in control. Benchmarking is another tool that permits a relative performance assessment, which analyzes the results based on the comparative position, relative to the others (BICALHO et al, 2009; MORIARTY, 2011; BOGETOFT, 2012; BARBOSA et al, 2016)
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