Behavioral Changes Around Calving and their Relationship to Transition Cow Health Marina von Keyserlingk Vita Plus Meeting Green Bay, Wisconsin December 2, 29 To develop practical solutions to improve the health, longevity, productivity and welfare of dairy cattle Transition Cow Management The Plan: Dry off; change diet & regroup Move to close up group; change diet Calving Separated from calf Lactation starts - introduction to the parlor for heifers Move to fresh group & change diet Move to high group & change diet The Problem/Challenges Recent findings Understanding behavioral changes during transition (e.g. parturition, difficult calving?) How can we use changes in behavior to identify sick cows (e.g. metritis, ketosis)? How can changes in management practices help solve the problem? What is the problem? What is the problem? ~ many cows become ill during the transition period Results in: milk production reproductive efficiency longevity involuntary culling Lost $$ Disease during the transition phase is a serious welfare problem From Gröhn et al., 23
Solving the problem Step 1 Despite advances in nutrition, the incidence of post calving disease remains high Understanding how behavior changes during the transition period. Can we identify cows at risk? Can changes in management help? Feeding behavior Drinking behavior Feeding time (min/d) Decreased ~ 25 min after calving Drinking time (min/d) Time spent drinking increased 58% from day 2 to day 9 after calving Day relative to calving Day relative to calving Huzzey et al. 25; J. Dairy Sci. 88:2454-2461 Huzzey et al. 25; J. Dairy Sci. 88:2454-2461 Standing time Remained constant over the transition period Standing bouts but the number of standing bouts changed dramatically on the days around calving Standing Time (h/d) Standing Bouts (no./d) Day relative to calving Huzzey et al. 25; J. Dairy Sci. 88:2454-2461 Day relative to calving Huzzey et al. 25; J. Dairy Sci. 88:2454-2461
Cows with difficult calvings eat less before parturition than cows requiring no assistance 18 16 14 12 1 8 6 4 2 Unassisted -48-24 24 48 Hourly period relative to calving Proudfoot et al. 29 J. Dairy Sci. and this decrease in DMI begins ~ 11 h before calving Cumulative DMI (kg/hour) 12 Unassisted 1 * 8 6 4 2-24 -23-22 -21-2 -19-18 -17-16 -15-14 -13-12 -11-1 -9-8 -7-6 -5-4 -3-2 -1 Hour before calving Proudfoot et al. 29. J. Dairy Sci. Cows experiencing a difficult calving are far more restless before calving Cumulative standing bouts (no/d) 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 Unassisted -48-24 24 48 Hourly period relative to calving Proudfoot et al., 29. J. Dairy Sci. Step 2 Metritis: Can we identify cows at risk for disease? VD= Clear or no discharge VD=1 Bloody or flecks of pus VD=2 less than 5% pus + bad smell w or w/o fever Mild Metritis VD=3 more than 5% pus + bad smell VD=4 Red/brown watery VD, rotting flesh + putrid smell + fever Severe Metritis
Feeding time (min/d) Feeding time (min/d) Feeding behavior before calving identifies cows at risk for severe metritis Severe M etritis Day Relative to Calving Adapted from Urton et al. 25 J. Dairy Sci. 88:2843-2849 Day Relative to Calving Adapted from Urton et al. 25 J. Dairy Sci. 88:2843-2849 Assignment of cows to illness categories (n = 23) Mildly metritic (n = 27) Severely metritic (n = 12) No evidence of any other disease. Cows assigned to treatment and then behaviors looked at retrospectively. cattle show declines in DMI the day before calving Sick cows show declines in the week before calving Clinical signs of infection Day from Calving. Day from Calving
Very sick cows (after calving) showed the greatest drops in DMI before calving The odds of severe metritis increased by 2.87 for every 1 kg decrease in DMI during the close up period. Severely Metritic Clinical signs of infection Severely Metritic Clinical signs of infection Day from Calving Day from Calving Average DMI at each hour (kg) Sick cows eat less during peak feeding times Severely Metritic Feed delivery Hour of day Feed delivery cows spend time at the bunk eating but also standing and not eating Feeding time (min/d) y = 9.3792x + 56.387 R 2 =.3643 Prepartum dry matter intake kg/d Cows Identifying cows at risk Whereas sick cows spend most of their time at the feed bunk eating cows tended to displace other cows more often Feeding time (min/d) y = 13.973x - 8.4635 R 2 =.641 Prepartum dry matter intake kg/d Severely Metritic Cows # Times a cow displaced another 2 15 1 5 Mildly Metritic Severely Metritic
Dry matter intake (kg/d) The consequences The consequences Daily Milk Production (kg) cows produce more milk! Mildly Me tritic S e ve re ly Me tritic Milk Production (kg/d)..and continue to produce more! Severely Metritic Days in Milk Weeks in Milk Identifying the cows at risk SCK Identifying the cows at risk claw horn lesions cows eat more before calving than cows diagnosed with sub clinical ketosis after calving Sub clinical ketosis -2-1 1 2 Week relative to calving Goldhawk et al J. Dairy Sci. 92:4971-4977 Identifying the cows at risk claw horn lesions Identifying the cows at risk claw horn lesions 8 to 12 wk High incidence of claw horn lesions 8 to 12 wk High incidence of claw horn lesions Transition Period calving Transition Period -3-2 -1 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 1 11 12 13 14 15 Wk Relative to Calving 55 multiparous Holstein dairy cows -3-2 -1 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 1 11 12 13 14 15 Recorded individual feeding behavior Recorded claw horn lesions
Identifying the cows at risk claw horn lesions Cows with claw horn lesions (diagnosed 12-15 weeks after calving) stand more before calving Step 3 How best do we manage the transition cow? Standing (min/d) -2-1 1 2 Weeks before/after calving Proudfoot et al. J. Dairy Sci. submitted Overstocking Overstocking Increased stocking density = shorter lying times 14 Lying in stall (h/d) 13 12 11 11 1 9 8 Outside the stall (h/d) 7 8 9 1 11 12 Number of stalls per group of 12 cows Fregenosi et al., 27 J. Dairy Sci. 9:3349-3354 Cows spend about half their time lying down - but this time is synchronized r r % Cows co l i lying 1.% 9.% 8.% 7.% 6.% 5.% 4.% 3.% 2.% 1.% : :5 1:4 2:3 3:2 4:1 5: 5:5 6:4 7:3 8:2 Stocking level 15% 1%.% 12 24 9:1 1: 1:5 11:4 12:3 13:2 14:1 15: 15:5 16:4 17:3 18:2 19:1 2: 2:5 21:4 22:3 23:2 15 % stocking 1 stocking Time (h) Fregenosi et al., 27 J. Dairy Sci. 9:3349-3354 Regrouping When regrouped, the social behavior in the group changes 3 2 Events 1 Reactor Actor Regrouping Cows also spend less time eating and lying down on the day after regrouping and produce 4 kg (8.5 lbs) less milk -1 1 2 3 Day von Keyserlingk et al. 28. J. Dairy Sci. 91:111-116 von Keyserlingk et al. 28. J. Dairy Sci. 91:111-116
Regrouping Social Profiles Regrouping Social Profile etc. Weekly entries into pen Daily entries into pen Slide courtesy of Dr. Nigel Cook, U. Wisconsin-Madison Slide courtesy of Dr. Nigel Cook, U. Wisconsin-Madison Feed bunk management and design Feeding behavior Social behavior Feed bunk management and design Feed bunk management and design displacements/cow/d Competition reduced with headlocks Headlocks Post-Rail Displacements/day 28 24 2 16 12 8 4 When overstocked at the feeder, transition cows increase aggressive behavior by 65% Primiparous Multiparous Not overstocked Overstocked % of recommended feed bunk space Huzzey et al., 26. J. Dairy Sci. 89:126-133 Proudfoot et al., J. Dairy Sci. 29. 92:3116-3123.
Feed bunk management and design Take home messages decrease their feed intake before calving Not overstocked Overstocked The transition period is a sensitive for dairy cows; many become ill during this period Changes in feeding behavior are associated with metritis, subclinical ketosis and mastitis. Changes in standing behavior during transition is associated with hoof health later on in lactation Management practices, such as overstocking and regrouping, can alter the behavior of transition cows and increase risk of disease Solutions should be win-win (e.g. increased welfare and profit) and practical. Good science helps lead to change. Proudfoot et al., J. Dairy Sci. 29. 92:3116-3123. Thanks! Natural Sciences and Engineering Council of Canada, Dairy Farmers of Canada, Pfizer, Beef Cattle Development Council, BC Dairy Foundation, BC Milk Producers, Alberta Milk, Westgen, and many others listed at www.landfood.ubc.ca/animalwelfare/