Prevalence of lameness and associated risk factors in Canadian Holstein-Friesian cows housed in freestall barns. Lameness Prevalence and Risk Factors in Large Dairy Farms in Upstate New York. Model Development for the Prediction of Claw Horn Disruption Lesions The effect of lameness on the fertility of dairy cattle in a seasonally breeding pasture-based system. Temporal associations between low body condition, lameness and milk yield in a UK dairy herd. Use of Extended Characteristics of Locomotion and Feeding Behavior for Automated Identification of Lame Dairy Cows The development, implementation and testing of a lameness control programme based on HACCP principles and designed for heifers on dairy farms. Visual locomotion scoring in the first seventy days in milk: impact on pregnancy and survival. A prospective cohort study of digital cushion and corium thickness. Part 1: Associations with body condition, lesion incidence, and proximity to calving. Pathogen group-specific risk factors for intramammary infection in treated and untreated dairy heifers participating in a prepartum antimicrobial treatment trial. Associations between passive immunity and morbidity and mortality in dairy heifers in Florida, USA The effect of claw trimming on the hoof health of Swedish dairy cattle. Evaluation of udder health parameters and risk factors for clinical mastitis in Dutch dairy herds in the context of a restricted antimicrobial usage policy. The impact of parity and duration of biotin supplementation on white line disease lameness in dairy cattle. Effects of excess degradable protein on postpartum reproduction and energy balance in dairy cattle. An evaluation of the effect of altering nutrition and nutritional strategies in early lactation on reproductive performance and estrous behavior of high-yielding Holstein-Friesian dairy cows. Management of dairy heifers and its relationships with the incidence of clinical mastitis The prevalence and natural course of food protein-induced enterocolitis syndrome to cow's milk: a large-scale, prospective population-based study.
Lameness is a severe welfare problem and a production-limiting disease in dairy farming . The objectives of this study were to determine prevalence of lameness and investigate cow- and herd-level factors associated with lameness in dairy cows housed in freestall barns in 3 Canadian provinces . A purposive sample of 40 Holstein-Friesian cows was selected from each of 141 dairy farms in Québec , Ontario , and Alberta . In total , 5,637 cows were scored once for lameness ( presence of limping when walking ) . Data collected included information on individual cows ( hock lesions , claw length , body condition score , parity , days in milk , and milk production ) , management practice s ( floor and stall cleaning routine , bedding routine , and footbath practice s ) , and facility design ( stall dimensions , stall base and bedding type , width of feed alley , flooring type , and slipperiness ) hypothesized to be risk factors for lameness . Multilevel mixed logistic regression models were constructed ( including farm as a r and om effect and province as a fixed effect ) . Herd-level lameness prevalence ranged from 0 to 69 % ( mean = 21 % ) . Lameness prevalence increased with increasing parity ; compared with first parity , cows in parity 2 , 3 , and ≥ 4 had 1.6 , 3.3 , and 4 times , respectively , higher odds of being lame . Furthermore , the odds of lameness were 1.6 times greater in cows with low body condition score ( ≤ 2.5 ) than in cows with a higher body condition score . In addition , injured hocks and overgrown claws were associated with 1.4- and 1.7-fold increased odds of being lame , respectively , whereas every 1 kg increase in daily milk production was associated with a 3 % decrease in the odds of being lame . Lameness prevalence was higher in herds with ≤ 100 cows , but lower in barns with a s and or dirt stall base , or with bedding ≥ 2 cm deep . Cows exposed to very slippery floors had 2 times the odds of being lame compared with cows exposed to nonslippery floors . We attributed the wide range of lameness prevalence to the great variability in facilities and management practice s among farms . Finally , we inferred that the prevalence of lameness could be decreased by improving management of multiparous , thin , or injured cows and by adopting management practice s intended to improve cow comfort , namely the floor 's slip resistance and the stall 's lying surface The main objectives of this prospect i ve cohort study were a ) to describe lameness prevalence at drying off in large high producing New York State herds based on visual locomotion score ( VLS ) and identify potential cow and herd level risk factors , and b ) to develop a model that will predict the probability of a cow developing claw horn disruption lesions ( CHDL ) in the subsequent lactation using cow level variables collected at drying off and /or available from farm management software . Data were collected from 23 large commercial dairy farms located in upstate New York . A total of 7,687 dry cows , that were less than 265 days in gestation , were enrolled in the study . Farms were visited between May 2012 and March 2013 , and cows were assessed for body condition score ( BCS ) and VLS . Data on the CHDL events recorded by the farm employees were extracted from the Dairy-Comp 305 data base , as well as information regarding the studied cows ’ health events , milk production , and reproductive records throughout the previous and subsequent lactation period . Univariable analyses and mixed multivariable logistic regression models were used to analyse the data at the cow level . The overall average prevalence of lameness ( VLS > 2 ) at drying off was 14 % . Lactation group , previous CHDL , mature equivalent 305-d milk yield ( ME305 ) , season , BCS at drying off and sire PTA for strength were all significantly associated with lameness at the drying off ( cow-level ) . Lameness at drying off was associated with CHDL incidence in the subsequent lactation , as well as lactation group , previous CHDL and ME305 . These risk factors for CHDL in the subsequent lactation were included in our predictive model and adjusted predicted probabilities for CHDL were calculated for all studied cows . ROC analysis identified an optimum cut-off point for these probabilities and using this cut-off point we could predict CHDL incidence in the subsequent lactation with an overall specificity of 75 % and sensitivity of 59 % . Using this approach , we would have detected 33 % of the studied population as being at risk , eventually identifying 59 % of future CHDL cases . Our predictive model could help dairy producers focusing their efforts on CHDL reduction by implementing aggressive preventive measures for high risk cows The effect of lameness on the fertility of dairy cattle is well recognized . But , the effect of lameness on the fertility of seasonally breeding cattle in pasture-based systems is less well characterized . This prospect i ve cohort study of 463 cows on 1 farm in the lower North Isl and of New Zeal and was design ed to assess the effect of clinical lameness , as identified by farm staff , on the hazard of conception after the planned start-of-mating date . A Cox proportional hazards model with time-varying covariates was used . After controlling for the effect of parity , breed , body weight at calving , and calving-to-planned start of mating interval , the daily hazard of conception for cows identified as lame was 0.78 ( 95 % confidence interval : 0.68 - 0.86 ) compared with non-lame cows . Lame cows took 12 d longer to get pregnant compared with their non-lame counterparts Previous work has hypothesised that cows in low body condition become lame . We tested this in a prospect i ve longitudinal study . Body condition score ( BCS ) , causes of lameness and milk yield were collected from a 600-cow herd over 44-months . Mixed effect binomial models and a continuous outcome model were used to investigate the associations between lameness , BCS and milk yield . In total , 14,320 risk periods were obtained from 1137 cows . There were 1510 lameness treatments : the most common causes of lameness were sole ulcer ( SU ) ( 39 % ) , sole haemorrhage ( SH ) ( 13 % ) , digital dermatitis ( DD ) ( 10 % ) and white line disease ( WLD ) ( 8 % ) . These varied by year and year quarter . Body condition was scored at 60-day intervals . BCS ranged from 1 to 5 with a mean of 2.5 , scores were higher in very early lactation but varied widely throughout lactation ; approximately 45 % of scores were < 2.5 . The key finding was that BCS<2.5 was associated with an increased risk of treatment for lameness in the following 0 - 2 months and > 2 - 4 months for all causes of lameness and also specifically for SU/WLD lameness . BCS<2.5 was associated with an increased risk of treatment for SH in the following 0 - 2 months but not > 2 - 4 months . There was no such association with DD . All lameness , SU/WLD , SH and DD were significantly more likely to occur in cows that had been lame previously , but the effect of BCS was present even when all repeat cases of lameness were excluded from the analysis . Milk yield was significantly higher and fell in the month before treatment in cows lame with SU/WLD but it was not significantly higher for cows that were treated for DD compared with non-lame cows . These findings support the hypothesis that low BCS contributes to the development of horn related claw lameness but not infectious claw diseases in dairy cows . One link between low BCS and lameness is a thin digital cushion which has been proposed as a trigger for claw horn disease . Cows with BCS 2 produced more milk than cows with BCS 2.5 , however , this was only approximately 100 kg difference in yield over a 305-day lactation . Given the increased risk of lameness in cows with BCS 2 , the direct costs of lameness and the small variability in milk yield by BCS , preventing cows from falling to BCS<2.5 would improve cow welfare and be economically beneficial This study was carried out to detect differences in locomotion and feeding behavior in lame ( group L ; n = 41 ; gait score ≥ 2.5 ) and non-lame ( group C ; n = 12 ; gait score ≤ 2 ) multiparous Holstein cows in a cross-sectional study design . A model for automatic lameness detection was created , using data from accelerometers attached to the hind limbs and noseb and sensors attached to the head . Each cow ’s gait was videotaped and scored on a 5-point scale before and after a period of 3 consecutive days of behavioral data recording . The mean value of 3 independent experienced observers was taken as a definite gait score and considered to be the gold st and ard . For statistical analysis , data from the noseb and sensor and one of two accelerometers per cow ( r and omly selected ) of 2 out of 3 r and omly selected days was used . For comparison between group L and group C , the T-test , the Aspin-Welch Test and the Wilcoxon Test were used . The sensitivity and specificity for lameness detection was determined with logistic regression and ROC- analysis . Group L compared to group C had significantly lower eating and ruminating time , fewer eating chews , ruminating chews and ruminating boluses , longer lying time and lying bout duration , lower st and ing time , fewer st and ing and walking bouts , fewer , slower and shorter strides and a lower walking speed . The model considering the number of st and ing bouts and walking speed was the best predictor of cows being lame with a sensitivity of 90.2 % and specificity of 91.7 % . Sensitivity and specificity of the lameness detection model were considered to be very high , even without the use of halter data . It was concluded that under the conditions of the study farm , accelerometer data were suitable for accurately distinguishing between lame and non-lame dairy cows , even in cases of slight lameness with a gait score of 2.5 This paper describes the development and testing of a lameness control programme ( LCP ) for heifers on dairy farms . The LCP , which is based on the analysis of hazards and critical control points ( HACCP ) , was tested via a r and omised intervention study on 60 farms . Tangible hazards for each farm were identified , allotted to 11 categories of proximate hazard and scored on each farm to quantify the risks presented by each hazard . Feet were inspected for signs of claw horn disease and infection , such as digital dermatitis . Intervention was generally ineffective , primarily through failure to implement the LCP . However , retrospective analysis was able to demonstrate highly significant associations between risks attached to proximate hazards and probabilities of lameness and foot lesions , allowing the severity of these hazards to be ranked . The most significant proximate hazards of environmental origin were prolonged st and ing on concrete , st and ing in wet slurry and factors that cause claw trauma . The most severe proximate hazards however were those associated with failures of management , especially poor claw condition and inadequate foot care . Overall farm risks ( OFR ) were estimated by summing the products of the generic severity for proximate hazards with on-farm risks . Changes in OFR were significantly related to changes in outcome ( lameness and lesions ) Our hypotheses were that cows classified as lame during the first 70 d in milk have more days from calving to conception and a greater hazard of dying or being culled compared with cows that were not classified as lame . Our objective was to estimate the detrimental effects of lameness on calving-to-conception interval and hazard of dying or being culled in lactating Holstein cows . Data were collected from 5 dairy farms located in upstate New York from November 2004 to June 2006 . The design was a prospect i ve observational cohort study . Cows were assigned a  visual locomotion score ( VLS ) using a 5-point scale : 1 = normal , 2 = presence of a slightly asymmetric gait , 3 = the cow clearly favored 1 or more limbs ( moderately lame ) , 4 = severely lame , to 5 = extremely lame ( nonweight-bearing lame ) . In total 1,799 cows were enrolled . In 2 alternative categorizations , cows were considered lame if at least 1 VLS was > or =3 during the first 70 d in milk , and if at least 1 VLS was > or = 4 for the same period they were considered lame . Lameness ( VLS > or =3 ) was detected at least once in 26.5 , 54.2 , 33.9 , 51.8 , and 39.3 % of all cows in farms 1 to 5 , respectively . The hazard ratio of being detected pregnant was 0.85 for lame cows ( VLS > or =3 ) vs. nonlame cows ; hence , lame cows were at a 15 % lower risk of pregnancy than nonlame cows . When lameness was redefined as VLS > or = 4 , the hazard ratio of been detected pregnant was 0.76 for lame cows vs. cows with VLS < 4 . Lameness increased the hazard ratio of culling/death , 1.45 and 1.74 for VLS > or =3 and VLS > or = 4 , respectively , vs. cows with VLS <3 and VLS < 4 , respectively . In summary , lameness significantly decreased the hazard of pregnancy and increased the hazard of culling/death . The detrimental effects were amplified when considering only severely lame and non-weight-bearing cows Claw horn disruption lesions ( CHDL ) are a major cause of lameness in dairy cattle and are likely a result of excessive forces being applied to the germinal epithelium that produces the claw horn . The digital cushion is a connective tissue structure , containing depots of adipose tissue , that sits beneath the distal phalanx and has been shown to be thicker in fatter cows . Body condition score ( BCS ) loss is a risk factor for CHDL , and one possible explanation is that fat is mobilized from the digital cushion during negative energy balance , causing the digital cushion to thin and lose force-dissipating capacity , leading to disruption of claw horn growth . This prospect i ve cohort study investigated the association between measures of body fat and sole soft tissue ( SST ) thickness ( a combined measure of the corium and digital cushion beneath the distal phalanx ) in a longitudinal manner . The  SST  of 179 cows in 2 high-yielding dairy herds were measured at 5 assessment points between 8 wk before and 35 wk postcalving . The BCS , back fat thickness ( BFT ) , and lesion incidence were recorded . Data were analyzed in a 4-level mixed effects regression model , with the outcome being SST thickness beneath the flexor tuberosity of the distal phalanx . Data from 827 assessment points were available for analysis . The overall mean of SST was 4.99 mm ( st and ard deviation : 0.95 ) . The SST was thickest 8 wk before calving ( 5.22 mm , st and ard deviation : 0.91 ) and thinnest 1 wk postcalving ( 4.68 mm , st and ard deviation : 0.87 ) , suggesting an effect of calving on SST . The BFT was positively correlated with SST in the model with a small effect size ( a 10 mm decrease in BFT corresponded with a 0.13 mm decrease in SST ) , yet the nadir of BFT was 11.0 mm at 9 to 17 wk postcalving ( when SST was ∼4.95 mm ) , rather than occurring with the nadir of SST immediately after calving . The SST also varied with other variables [ e.g. , cows that developed a sole ulcer or severe sole hemorrhage during the study had thinner SST ( -0.24 mm ) ] , except when a sole ulcer was present , when it was thicker ( + 0.53 mm ) . Cows that developed lesions had a thinner digital cushion before the lesion occurrence , which became thickened with sole ulcer presence , perhaps representing inflammation . Furthermore , although BFT was correlated with SST over time , SST may also have been influenced by other factors such as integrity of the suspensory apparatus , which could have a major effect on CHDL . Measures of body fat likely contributed to having thin SST , but other factors including calving , herd , and lesion presence also had an effect Heifer mastitis is a well-known problem , with several pathogens being involved . Several generic risk factors associated with the likelihood of intramammary infections ( IMI ) in fresh dairy heifers have been identified before . Yet , a need exists to identify pathogen group-specific factors , as the effect of ( groups of ) pathogens on udder health and milk yield is different . The aim of the present study was to identify pathogen group-specific risk factors for IMI in heifers participating in a prepartum antimicrobial treatment trial , allowing us to test the hypothesis that different factors are of importance between treated and untreated control heifers as well . Data from a clinical trial in which end-term heifers were treated systemically ( over 3 consecutive days ) 2 wk before calving with penethamate hydriodide  ( n=76 ) or remained untreated  ( n=73 ) , were available . Several potential risk factors at the herd , heifer , and quarter level were recorded in the first 3 d in milk . Quarters from untreated heifers supplemented with ≥4 mg of selenium/d prepartum were significantly less likely to be infected with coagulase-negative staphylococci ( CNS ) , whereas quarters were more likely to be infected with CNS when assistance during calving was needed . Udder edema before calving significantly decreased the odds of IMI with major pathogens . In treated heifers , no factors were detected that were associated with the likelihood of CNS IMI , whereas quarters from heifers were significantly more likely to be infected with major pathogens when they were housed in the calving pen more than 1 d and when they had been in contact with the lactating cows before calving . The risk factors for IMI that were identified in treated heifers were different than those in untreated heifers , independent of the pathogen group that was considered . It looks as if prepartum treatment not only changed the likelihood of infection , but also the factors that were associated with infection . However , except for treated heifers with an IMI with major pathogens , only a small proportion of the variation could be explained in the final models . Therefore , factors other than those that were studied could explain the likelihood of infection Abstract A prospect i ve cohort study was undertaken to determine calf-level factors that affected calf health status between birth and 6 months of age . A convenience sample of approximately 3300 female Holstein calves born in 1991 on two large Florida dairy farms was used for the study . Data collected on each calf at birth included farm of origin , weight , height at the pelvis , birth date , and serum total protein ( a measure of colostral immunoglobulin absorption ) . Birth season was dichotomized into summer and winter using meteorological data collected by University of Florida Agricultural Research Stations . Health data including date of initial treatment and number of treatments were collected for the diseases diarrhea , omphalitis , septicemia and pneumonia . All calves were followed for 6 months . Cumulative incidences of mortality and occurrence of diarrhea , omphalitis , septicemia and pneumonia were 0.12 , 0.35 , 0.11 , 0.24 and 0.21 , respectively . Serum total protein ( TP ) was a significant risk factor for mortality . The association of TP and mortality was quadratic and showed a dramatic decrease in mortality as TP increased from 4.0 to 5.0 g/dl , a small improvement from 5.0 to 6.0 g/dl and virtually no improvement in mortality rates as TP increased over 6.0 g/dl . The hazard mortality ratio was constant from birth to six months , indicating that the increased risk of mortality associated with low levels of TP was evident through six months of age . No interactions between TP , farm , season , or birth weight were found in these analyses . Serum total protein concentration was a significant risk factor for the occurrences , age of onset and severity of septicemia and pneumonia . The association between TP and septicemia was linear and an interaction with birth season was found . The association between TP and pneumonia was quadratic , and in contrast to the TP- and -septicemia relationship , the morbidity hazard ratio for pneumonia was not constant over the time measured ; that is , colostral immunity protected the calf from developing pneumonia early in life , but this effect disappeared as the calf got older . Total protein was not a significant risk factor for diarrhea or omphalitis A 2-year experiment on the effect of claw trimming on hoof health was performed in 77 Swedish dairy herds ( 3444 dairy cattle ) selected on herd size , breed composition and membership in the official milk-recording scheme . In the autumn , cows within each herd were blocked according to breed , parity and stage of lactation and allocated to two treatments : autumn trimming ( AT ) or no autumn trimming ( NAT ) . Outcome variables were claw measurements and prevalence of hoof lesions and lameness ( measured at spring trimming ) and the need for hoof treatments between scheduled trimmings . At spring trimming , NAT cows had longer and shallower claws than AT cows . The average net growth of the toe wall was greater for AT than for NAT cattle , with a marked variation between housing systems . Most hoof lesions present at AT had disappeared at the subsequent spring trimming . Controlled for clustering by herd-within-year and for the effects of individual- and herd-level covariates , AT cattle at spring trimmings had significantly lower odds of lameness ( OR=0.66 ) and of haemorrhages of the sole or white-line ( OR=0.86 ) , sole ulcer ( OR=0.59 ) and white-line fissure or double sole (OR=0.71)-but not of moderate-to-severe heel-horn erosion or dermatitis ( OR=0.96 ) . Acute hoof treatments between claw trimmings were more common in the NAT group ( OR=2.02 ) Recently , many changes have been implemented in Dutch dairy herds . Herd sizes have increased and antimicrobial use has been reduced . Certain types of antimicrobials can only be used in specific circumstances , and the preventive use of antimicrobials in dry cows is prohibited . The aim of this study was to quantify clinical mastitis ( CM ) , sub clinical mastitis ( SCM ) , and risk factors associated with CM in Dutch dairy herds in 2013 , in the context of these changes . For this study , 240 dairy herds were r and omly selected from farms that participated in test-day milk recording , used a conventional milking system , and agreed to participate in the study . Eventually , 233 Dutch dairy farmers had complete records of CM in their herds in 2013 and 224 of these farmers completed a question naire on management factors potentially associated with CM . All participating farmers gave consent to use their routinely collected herd data such as test-day records and cow identification and registration data . Clinical and sub clinical mastitis incidence rate ( CMI and SCMI , respectively ) per 100 cows per year , sub clinical mastitis prevalence , and average bulk tank milk somatic cell count were obtained for 2013 . The risk factor analysis was conducted using a generalized linear model with a log link function and a negative binomial distribution on herd level in Stata 13.1 . A median CMI of 28.6 per 100 cows at risk per year , SCMI of 70.1 per 100 cows at risk per year , SCM prevalence of 15.8 % , and bulk tank milk somatic cell count of 171 × 10(3 ) cells/mL were observed in 2013 . Factors that were significantly associated with a higher CMI were cleaning slatted floors only once per day compared with more than 4 times a day ( i.e. , mechanical ) , a higher percentage of Holstein Friesian cows present in the herd , treating less than 50 % of the cows with CM with antimicrobials , postmilking teat disinfection , and treatment of cows with elevated somatic cell count with antimicrobials . The results of this study indicated that udder health had not deteriorated compared with udder health in previous Dutch studies where herd sizes were somewhat smaller and before the restrictions in antimicrobial use . Several of the risk factors that were found can be influenced by the farmer and can prevent the occurrence of CMI . Still , when cases of CM occur , treatment with antimicrobials might be necessary to cure the CM case and is beneficial for the overall udder health in the herd A field study was conducted to examine effects of oral biotin supplementation for up to 18 mo on risks of lameness in dairy cows . The study included a total of 900 cattle from five dairy farms in Gloucestershire , southwest U.K. , in a within-herd r and omized control trial . The data from this trial were used in this paper to investigate the impact of parity and duration of supplementation with oral biotin at 20 mg/d on white line disease ( WLD ) lameness . Analysis of the data indicated that WLD increased with increasing parity independent of biotin supplementation from approximately two cases per 100 cow years in primiparous cows to 15.5 cases per 100 cow years in all multiparous cows , but up to 47.7 cases per 100 cow years for cows in parities > or = 5 . Supplementation with biotin reduced WLD lameness by 45 % in multiparous cows down to 8.5 cases per 100 cow years , whereas the effect of biotin supplementation in primiparous cows was not significant . Although numerical reductions in WLD lameness were observed for shorter periods of supplementation , a supplementation length of at least 6 mo was required to significantly reduce the risk of WLD lameness in multiparous cows . The effect of biotin supplementation in reducing lameness has potential impact for both animal welfare and farm economics The objectives of this study were to observe endocrine and reproductive responses of cows and heifers fed two diets ( 16 and 19 % CP ) , which met undegradable protein requirements but differed in rumen degradable protein . Cows ( n = 33 ) and heifers ( n = 32 ) were r and omly assigned within parity to diets at calving and remained on diets for 20 d after first breeding . Energy balance was determined twice weekly through the first luteal phase . Blood and milk sample s were taken three times per week . Diet did not affect average daily energy balance , days to negative energy balance nadir , days to first ovulation , days to first service , or plasma glucose concentrations . First service conception rate was lower ( 31 % vs. 48 % ) and plasma urea higher in animals fed the high protein diet . Days to energy balance nadir was correlated with days ( r = .75 ) to first ovulation . Luteinizing hormone pulse frequency increased and pulse amplitude decreased in frequent sample s ( 12-min intervals for 8 h ) collected at 14 d postpartum versus sampling after the energy balance nadir . These data suggest that energy balance status plays an important role in determining the postpartum return of cyclic ovarian activity . Feeding excess CP as rumen degradable protein elevated plasma urea concentrations and decreased first service conception rate Reproductive performance in the high-yielding dairy cow has severely decreased in the last 40 yr . The aim of this study was to compare the effectiveness of 4 nutritional strategies in improving the reproductive performance of high-yielding dairy cows . It was hypothesized that offering cows a high-starch ration in early lactation would enhance the onset of luteal activity , and that decreasing the severity of negative energy balance in the early postcalving period would improve reproductive parameters . Nutritional regimens aim ed at improving fertility were applied to 96 Holstein-Friesian dairy animals . Upon calving , animals were allocated in a balanced manner to one of 4 dietary treatments . Primiparous animals were balanced according to live weight , body condition score and calving date . Multiparous animals were balanced according to parity , previous lactation milk yield , liveweight , body condition score and calving date . Treatment 1 was based on an industry best practice diet ( control ) to contain 170 g of crude protein/kg of dry matter . Treatment 2 was an individual cow feeding strategy , whereby the energy balance ( EB ) of individual animals was managed so as to achieve a predetermined target daily EB profile ( ±10 MJ/d ) . Treatment 3 was a high-starch/high-fat combination treatment , whereby an insulinogenic ( high-starch ) diet was offered in early lactation to encourage cyclicity and followed by a lipogenic ( low-starch , high-fat ) diet to promote embryo development . Treatment 4 was a low-protein diet , containing 140 g of crude protein/kg of dry matter , supplemented with protected methionine at an inclusion level of 40 g per animal per day . The nutritional strategies implemented in this study had no statistically significant effects on cow fertility measures , which included the onset of luteal activity , conception rate , in-calf rate , and the incidence of atypical cycles . The individual cow feeding strategy improved EB in early lactation but had no benefit on conception rate to first insemination . However , conception rate to second insemination , 100-d pregnancy rate ( from the commencement of breeding ) , and overall pregnancy rate tended to be higher in this group . The high-starch/high-fat treatment tended to decrease the proportion of delayed ovulations and increase the proportion of animals cycling by d 50 postcalving . Animals that failed to conceive to first insemination had a significantly longer luteal phase in the first cycle postpartum and a longer inter-ovulatory interval in the second cycle postpartum . With regards to estrous behavior , results indicate that as the size of the sexually active group increased , the intensity of estrus and the expression of mounting or attempting to mount another cow also increased . Furthermore , cows that became pregnant displayed more intense estrous behavior than cows that failed to become pregnant Abstract AIM : To describe aspects of management of dairy heifers before calving and determine risk factors for clinical mastitis postpartum in heifers , at the herd level , under pasture-based management systems in the Waikato and Taranaki regions of New Zeal and . METHODS : Dairy herdowners ( n=578 ) provided information via a prospect i ve survey about their practice s for rearing heifers and management of mastitis . A proportion of herdowners ( n=250 ) subsequently provided data on the cases of clinical mastitis in their herds , including the date , cow identification , age and quarter affected from cases occurring in the 4 months after the planned start of calving ( PSC ) in the subsequent lactation . The relationship between management factors and the proportion of heifers diagnosed with clinical mastitis within a herd was examined using bivariate and multivariate analyses . RESULTS : The herd average percentage of heifers with clinical mastitis was 13.6 ( 95 % confidence interval (CI)=12.3–14.9)% , and multiparous cows with clinical mastitis was 9.0 ( 95 % CI=8.2–9.8)% in the first 4 months of lactation . There were positive relationships between the proportion of heifers with clinical mastitis and average milk production per cow ( kg milksolids/ lactation ; p<0.001 ) , number of cows milked per labour unit ( p=0.003 ) , stocking rate ( < > 3.30 cows/ha ; p=0.002 ) , and incidence of clinical mastitis in multiparous cows ( % /120 days ; p<0.04 ) , in the final multivariate model . The proportion of heifers with clinical mastitis per herd was lower in herds that milked their lactating cows in multiple groups ( p=0.02 ) . CONCLUSIONS : The risk of clinical mastitis  in heifers was significantly associated with management practice s. It may be possible to reduce the incidence of clinical mastitis in heifers by modification of management practice s at the herd level , and further studies are required to investigate this BACKGROUND The prevalence and natural history for food protein-induced enterocolitis syndrome ( FPIES ) have not been determined . OBJECTIVE We sought to determine the prevalence , clinical manifestations , and rate of recovery for FPIES in a large-scale , population -based prospect i ve study . METHODS In a prospect i ve study the feeding history of 13,019 infants was obtained . Infants with probable adverse reactions to cow 's milk protein ( CMP )  were clinical ly examined , skin prick tested , and challenged orally . Diagnostic criteria for CMP-induced FPIES included age less than 9 months , delayed recurrent vomiting ( usually with nausea ) , and lethargy after exposure to CMP in the absence of other IgE-mediated symptoms , such as rash , urticaria , and respiratory symptoms . In addition , a positive challenge response to milk result ed in the above-mentioned gastrointestinal symptoms , removal of milk from the diet result ed in the resolution of those symptoms , or both . RESULTS Ninety-eight percent of the cohort participated in the study . The cumulative incidence for FPIES was 0.34 % ( 44/13,019 patients ) . The most common symptoms were recurrent vomiting ( 100 % ) , lethargy ( 77 % ) diarrhea ( 25 % ) , pallor ( 14 % ) , and bloody diarrhea ( 4.5 % ) . All patients had FPIES  within the first 6 months of life . By the age of 3 years , 90 % of the patients had recovered . We did not detect any concomitant reaction to soy . Eight patients with FPIES had IgE-mediated cow 's milk allergy ( IgE-CMA ) . CONCLUSIONS The prevalence of FPIES is significant , and its clinical presentation is distinct from that of IgE-CMA . Most patients with FPIES recover , although a proportion might convert to IgE-CMA . The likelihood for a cross-reactivity to soy in this population was less than previously estimated
A higher risk of being lame was found for the presence of claw overgrowth , the first 120 days in milk , larger herd sizes , and increasing parity .
Background Lameness in dairy cows has been an ongoing concern of great relevance to animal welfare and productivity in modern dairy production .
Many studies have examined associations between various factors related to housing , management , and the individual animal and the occurrence of lameness .
The objective of this systematic review was to answer the research question “ what are risk factors associated with lameness in dairy cows that are housed in free stall barns or tie stall facilities ” .
Furthermore , we performed a synthesis of current evidence on certain risk factors by means of a meta- analysis to illustrate the strength of their association with bovine lameness .