Investigating the impact of 1 hour of daily outdoor access on the gait and hoof health of nonclinically lame cows housed in a movement-restricted environment.

Tiestalls, known for restrictive housing, can reduce cows' locomotor skills over time. While outdoor access benefits clinically lame cows, its effect on nonclinically lame cows is less known. This study evaluated 1 h daily outdoor access on gait and hoof health of nonclinically lame Holstein cows in tiestalls.

The associations of early-life health and performance with subsequent dairy cow longevity, productivity, and profitability.

Selecting and raising dairy animals that are more likely to reach their potential is a strategy to increase milk production efficiency and overall profitability. However, indicators are necessary for the early identification of animals that are less likely to perform well, allowing for their early culling and ensuring that resources are allocated to those with the highest potential. The objective of this study was to analyze the association between early-life animal health and performance with longevity, production, and profitability.

Correlation between hypoxaemia and lung ultrasound score in patients presenting to an emergency department with interstitial syndrome: a prospective physiological study.

To assess for the presence of a correlation between lung ultrasound score (LUSS) and ratio between arterial partial pressure of oxygen (PaO) and the fraction of inspired oxygen (FiO) in patients presenting to an emergency department (ED) with interstitial syndrome (IS). Prospective, multicentre, physiological study. Four Belgian hospitals: one tertiary academic centre and three secondary centres.

How outing conditions relate to the motivation of movement-restricted cattle to access an outdoor exercise yard.

Assessing animal motivation to access a given resource is one method available to evaluate what to provide in the living environments of captive animals. Providing increased opportunities for movement can be seen as an important source of enrichment, but we need to know the point of view of the animal. The objective of our study was to test a novel combination of behaviours in order to assess the motivation of cows to access an outdoor exercise paddock.

Applications of Technology to Record Locomotion Measurements in Dairy Cows: A Systematic Review.

Lameness within the dairy industry is a concern because of its associated costs and welfare implications. Visual locomotion scoring has been commonly used for assessing cows' locomotion quality, but it can have low reliability and is relatively subjective compared to automated methods of assessing locomotion. Kinematic, kinetic, and accelerometric technologies can provide a greater number of more detailed outcome measurements than visual scoring.

Technology applications in bovine gait analysis: A scoping review.

Quantitative bovine gait analysis using technology has evolved significantly over the last two decades. However, subjective methods of gait assessment using visual locomotion scoring remain the primary on-farm and experimental approach. The objective of this review is to map research trends in quantitative bovine gait analysis and to explore the technologies that have been utilized to measure biomechanical parameters of gait.

Using the Herd Status Index to remotely assess the welfare status of dairy herds based on prerecorded data.

The use of prerecorded data to remotely assess the herd welfare status is a promising approach to reduce the need for costly and time-consuming on-farm welfare assessments. Therefore, the objective of this study was to validate the Herd Status Index, an index developed based on Dairy Herd Improvement data from Canada, to remotely evaluate the welfare status of dairy herds. Herd-level prevalence of five animal-based welfare outcomes, measured once on 2 986 Quebec - Canada dairy herds between 2016 and 2019, were used to generate clusters with different welfare status using the algorithm partitioning around medoids.

Keeping profitable cows in the herd: A lifetime cost-benefit assessment to support culling decisions.

Increasing the productive lifespan of dairy cows is important to achieve a sustainable dairy industry, but making strategic culling decisions based on cow profitability is challenging for farmers. The objective of this study was to carry out a lifetime cost-benefit analysis based on production and health records and to explore different culling decisions among farmers. The cost-benefit analysis was conducted for 22 747 dairy cows across 114 herds in Quebec, Canada for which feed costs and the occurrence of diseases were reported.

Graduate Student Literature Review: What is known about the eliminative behaviors of dairy cattle?

The eliminative behaviors of dairy cattle include frequencies and distribution over time and space for defecations and urinations, how the animal responds to cow-related and environmental factors by way of altered patterns of defecation and urination, and how an animal carries out and responds to its own acts of elimination. This review discusses the available literature to first define and describe eliminative behaviors of dairy cattle; what follows is a discussion on what can affect eliminative behaviors and methods for managing them. Information regarding these behaviors is sparse for dairy cattle and is largely centered around frequencies and distributions over the day.

Birth conditions affect the longevity of Holstein offspring.

Studies of dairy cow longevity usually focus on the animal life after first calving, with few studies considering early life conditions and their effects on longevity. The objective was to evaluate the effect of birth conditions routinely collected by Dairy Herd Improvement agencies on offspring longevity measured as length of life and length of productive life. Lactanet provided 712,890 records on offspring born in 5,425 Quebec dairy herds between January 1999 and November 2015 for length of life, and 506,066 records on offspring born in 5,089 Quebec dairy herds between January 1999 and December 2013 for length of productive life.

Erratum: Dallago et al. Keeping Dairy Cows for Longer: A Critical Literature Review on Dairy Cow Longevity in High Milk-Producing Countries. 2021, , 808.

In the original article [...

The effect of housing tiestall dairy cows in deep-bedded pens during an 8-week dry period on gait and step activity.

Increasing locomotor activity can improve leg health and decrease the prevalence of lameness in dairy cows. The dry period offers an opportunity to provide alternative housing to tiestall (TSL) cows that can increase locomotor activity. The objective was to determine whether housing TSL dairy cows in a deep-bedded loose pen (LP) during the 8-wk dry period affected gait and step activity.

Performance perception of Canadian dairy producers when transitioning to an automatic milking system.

Adoption of automated milking systems (AMS) has increased exponentially around the world in recent years. The objective of this observational study was to evaluate how producer perception of changes in cow-average milk yield and somatic cell count (SCC) compared with the actual changes in their herds after the introduction of AMS in Canadian commercial dairy herds. Data were collected (in 2014 and 2015) through a survey of 97 Canadian dairy herds that shifted to AMS from 2000 to 2014.

A survey of dairy goat kid-rearing practices on Canadian farms and their associations with self-reported farm performance.

Although future production of dairy goats is influenced by kid-rearing practices, little is known regarding which practices maximize kid growth, welfare, and future production success. The objectives of this survey study were to (1) identify common rearing practices of Canadian commercial dairy goat farms and evaluate their associations with 6 farm performance indicators and (2) determine if farms could be grouped by management style on the basis of the 6 performance indicators and compare rearing practices common across the different groups. A survey was sent by post or electronic media to reach dairy goat producers across Canada.

The hidden cost of disease: I. Impact of the first incidence of mastitis on production and economic indicators of primiparous dairy cows.

Mastitis is a highly prevalent disease, which negatively affects cow performance, profitability, welfare, and longevity. The objectives of this study were (1) to quantify the impact of the first instance of mastitis, at different stages of lactation, on production and economic performance, and (2) to further quantify the impact of the first instance of mastitis when only cows that remain in the herd for at least 100 d in milk (DIM) and those that remain for 305 DIM are included in the analysis. A retrospective longitudinal study was conducted using data from existing animal health record files and Dairy Herd Improvement records.

The hidden cost of disease: II. Impact of the first incidence of lameness on production and economic indicators of primiparous dairy cows.

Lameness is a persistent and underreported health and welfare problem in the dairy industry, resulting in reduced cow performance and profitability as well as early culling. The study objectives were (1) to quantify the impact of the first instance of lameness, at different stages of lactation, on production and economic performance, and (2) to further quantify the impacts of the first instance of lameness when only cows that remain in the herd for at least 100 d in milk (DIM) and those that remain for 305 DIM are included in the analysis. A retrospective longitudinal study was conducted using pre-existing data from animal health records and Dairy Herd Improvement Association records.

Graduate Student Literature Review: The effect of housing systems on movement opportunity of dairy cows and the implications on cow health and comfort.

Intensification within the dairy industry has led to an increase in use of more restrictive indoor housing systems (most commonly tiestalls and freestalls) and less use of the pasture-based housing systems used in past generations. These indoor housing systems are associated with not only a higher level of restriction to cow movement, but also with a higher prevalence of lameness and cow comfort issues on farm, which negatively affects cow welfare, public perceptions, and producer profitability. In looking for solutions to these issues, several studies have investigated different housing and management options that are less restrictive and increase cow movement opportunity.

Keeping Dairy Cows for Longer: A Critical Literature Review on Dairy Cow Longevity in High Milk-Producing Countries.

The ability of dairy farmers to keep their cows for longer could positively enhance the economic performance of the farms, reduce the environmental footprint of the milk industry, and overall help in justifying a sustainable use of animals for food production. However, there is little published on the current status of cow longevity and we hypothesized that a reason may be a lack of standardization and an over narrow focus of the longevity measure itself. The objectives of this critical literature review were: (1) to review metrics used to measure dairy cow longevity; (2) to describe the status of longevity in high milk-producing countries.

Graduate Student Literature Review: Current recommendations and scientific knowledge on dairy goat kid rearing practices in intensive production systems in Canada, the United States, and France.

Dairy goat kid rearing is the foundation of future milk production, yet little is known on this topic. References available to producers are limited, making it more difficult for dairy goat farms to reach their full production potential. This review paper aimed to identify the current recommendations on dairy goat kid rearing practices for intensive production systems and to assess whether the different recommendations were based on scientific literature.

Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy as a Tool to Study Milk Composition Changes in Dairy Cows Attributed to Housing Modifications to Improve Animal Welfare.

Animal welfare status is assessed today through visual evaluations requiring an on-farm visit. A convenient alternative would be to detect cow welfare status directly in milk samples, already routinely collected for milk recording. The objective of this study was to propose a novel approach to demonstrate that Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy can detect changes in milk composition related to cows subjected to movement restriction at the tie stall with four tie-rail configurations varying in height and position (TR1, TR2, TR3 and TR4).

Providing an Outdoor Exercise Area Affects Tie-Stall Cow Reactivity and Human-Cow Relations.

Confinement and restriction of movement are a reality for most dairy cows. Providing outdoor access is one method to increase movement opportunities. However, leading cows to an outdoor exercise area increases their exposure to manipulations different from those of an indoor housing system.

Making tiestalls more comfortable: II. Increasing chain length to improve the ease of movement of dairy cows.

Although most farms in Canada still use tiestall housing for dairy cows, little information is available pertaining to cow comfort and behavior in such systems. Tiestalls are often criticized as they offer a reduced dynamic space to cows, thereby restricting their ability to move. The object of this study was to see if increasing the length of the tie chain provides cows with improved movement opportunities and to measure its effect on cows' rising and lying movements and behaviors.

Making tiestalls more comfortable: III. Providing additional lateral space to improve the resting capacity and comfort of dairy cows.

Dairy cows housed in tiestalls are restricted to one space; therefore, this space should be designed to accommodate all the activities cows need to perform. Lying is a very important behavior for dairy cows as well as a critical measure in the assessment of stall designs, to ensure that the cows' needs for resting space are met. The objective of this study was to determine if increasing tiestall width alters the lying behavior of lactating dairy cows.

Making tiestalls more comfortable: IV. Increasing stall bed length and decreasing manger wall height to heal injuries and increase lying time in dairy cows housed in deep-bedded tiestalls.

Poor stall configuration can negatively affect cow welfare by impairing lying behavior and leading to injuries in dairy cows. The comfort of the stall bed in tiestalls is affected by the material components of the stall bed (stall base and bedding), but also by the amount of space provided. The amount of space cows are able to access lengthwise in a tiestall is determined by the stall bed length and the height of the manger wall (the front limit of the stall bed), which can limit access into the space available at the front of the stall.