scholarly journals Dairy cows with mild-moderate mastitis change lying behavior in hospital pens

2020 ◽  
Vol 4 (2) ◽  
pp. 1247-1251
Author(s):  
Mette S Herskin ◽  
Katrine K Fogsgaard ◽  
Peter T Thomsen ◽  
Hans Houe ◽  
Björn Forkman ◽  
...  

Abstract In dairy production, mastitis is a major problem affecting animal welfare, productivity, and economy. Hospital pens are typically not used for cows with mastitis, except for severe cases involving recumbency. This field trial included 47 cows from three Danish herds followed for 8 d, of which days 1–5 involved the experimental housing. After day 5, all cows were kept with the lactating group. We examined lying behavior in dairy cows with naturally occurring, mild-moderate mastitis in hospital pens [single or group (depending on conditions on the farm), all with deep straw bedding] vs. sick cows kept in the group of healthy herd mates. Within a herd, every other cow fulfilling the inclusion criteria regarding mastitis was allocated to each of the two experimental treatments. Clinical data from involved cases were collected. No significant differences between housing treatments were found in the clinical variables or the daily lying time. During the period of experimental housing, cows kept in hospital pens showed a higher frequency of lying bouts compared with control cows. This difference did not persist after reintroduction to the lactating herd mates. These results suggest that aspects of lying behavior of dairy cows with mastitis are sensitive to the environment as the frequency of lying bouts differed between cows kept in hospital pens and cows kept in control treatment. More controlled studies are needed to examine underlying motivations and evaluate consequences in terms of animal welfare. For such studies, the inclusion of healthy cows for comparison will be valuable.

2020 ◽  
Vol 87 (S1) ◽  
pp. 13-19
Author(s):  
Angela Krueger ◽  
Jenifer Cruickshank ◽  
Erminio Trevisi ◽  
Massimo Bionaz

AbstractAnimal welfare is an essential component of dairy production and several systems exist to evaluate the welfare of dairy cows. Here, we review and compare three well-known systems that operate at farm level from around the world (FARM, Welfare Quality®, and The Code of Welfare) and discuss their advantages and limitations. Despite having some commonalities, the programs evaluate different elements. We also briefly review an emerging system (Integrated Diagnostic Welfare System) that might address some of the shortcomings of the existing systems, especially the possibility of automating the evaluation of animal well-being and identifying any cause of poor welfare. None of the aforementioned systems has been fully validated for their ability to assess animal welfare using independent measurements. The future holds increased attention around the well-being of dairy cows and increased use of sensing technologies. There is an urgent need for dairy welfare evaluation systems that are scientifically validated, holistic, and that can take advantage of the use of sensing technologies to continuously monitor animal welfare.


Author(s):  
N.A. Thomson

In a four year grazing trial with dairy cows the application of 5000 kg lime/ ha (applied in two applications of 2500 kg/ha in winter of the first two years) significantly increased annual pasture production in two of the four years and dairy production in one year. In three of the four years lime significantly increased pasture growth over summer/autumn with concurrent increases in milk production. In the last year of the trial lime had little effect on pasture growth but a relatively large increase in milkfat production resulted. A higher incidence of grass staggers was recorded on the limed farmlets in spring for each of the four years. In the second spring immediately following the second application of lime significant depressions in both pasture and plasma magnesium levels were recorded. By the third spring differences in plasma magnesium levels were negligible but small depressions in herbage magnesium resulting from lime continued to the end of the trial. Lime significantly raised soil pH, Ca and Mg levels but had no effect on either soil K or P. As pH levels of the unlimed paddocks were low (5.2-5.4) in each autumn and soil moisture levels were increased by liming, these factors may suggest possible causes for the seasonality of the pasture response to lime


2015 ◽  
Vol 98 (3) ◽  
pp. 1730-1738 ◽  
Author(s):  
K.K. Fogsgaard ◽  
T.W. Bennedsgaard ◽  
M.S. Herskin

2012 ◽  
Vol 44 (7) ◽  
pp. 1429-1435 ◽  
Author(s):  
Bettie S. Kawonga ◽  
Mizeck G. G. Chagunda ◽  
Timothy N. Gondwe ◽  
Sera R. Gondwe ◽  
James W. Banda

2015 ◽  
Vol 8 (1) ◽  
pp. 79-83
Author(s):  
MJ Uddin ◽  
MMH Khan

Experiments on hogplum beetle, Podontia 14-punctata were carried out to find out the suitable insecticide(s) with appropriate dose(s) for suppressing both larvae and adults. Results revealed that the highest mortality (100%) was found in 1st instar larvae after 24 hours at each dose of superior 505EC and the lowest mortality was in T4 treated leaves. The highest mortality was also found in 2nd, 3rd, 4th and adult stages of hog-plum beetle by T5 and T6 treatments. No mortality was observed in control treatment in laboratory trial. The mean number of larvae ranged from 1.5 to 7.6 per square meter of quadrate at one week after last spray. No significant difference was observed among treatments regarding percent leaf infestation at one day before 1st spray. The percent leaf infestation ranged from 5.01 to 9.82 at one week after last spray. The lowest percent (5.87%) leaf infestation was found in T6 treated plants while the highest percent (15.76%) leaf infestation was found in untreated control plants. The highest mortality was observed in T5 and T6 treated plants at all larval instars and no significant difference was found between two doses of each insecticide under field condition. The results of field trial also revealed that the minimum dose (0.75 ml L-1 of water) of Superior 505 EC is sufficient to suppress the field population of larvae and adults of Podontia 14-punctata effectively. Finally, it may be concluded that the highest mortality was found in all larval instars and adult stage of hog-plum beetle after 24 hours at each dose of superior 505 EC (T5 and T6 treatments) both in laboratory and field trials.J. Environ. Sci. & Natural Resources, 8(1): 79-83 2015


Author(s):  
Felicity J Manson ◽  
J D Leaver

Lameness in dairy cows has both important animal welfare and economic implications. High concentrate to silage ratios may be an important predisposing factor, whilst trimming has been advocated as an effective preventative measure. This trial examined the effects of these two factors on locomotion, incidence of lameness and hoof measurements.


2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Abhijit Duggal ◽  
Rachel kast ◽  
Emily Van Ark ◽  
Lucas Bulgarelli ◽  
Matthew Siuba ◽  
...  

Rationale: The acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) is a heterogenous condition, and identification of subphenotypes may help in better risk stratification. Objectives: Identify ARDS subphenotypes using new simpler methodology and readily available clinical variables. Design: Retrospective Cohort Study of ARDS trials. Setting: Data from the U.S. ARDSNet trials and from the international ART trial. Participants: 3763 patients from ARDSNet datasets and 1010 patients from the ART dataset. Primary and secondary outcome measures: The primary outcome was 60-day or 28-day mortality, depending on what was reported in the original trial. K-means cluster analysis was performed to identify subgroups. For feature selection, sets. Sets of candidate variables were tested to assess their ability to produce different probabilities for mortality in each cluster. Clusters were compared to biomarker data, allowing identification of subphenotypes. Results: Data from 4,773 patients was analyzed. Two subphenotypes (A and B) resulted in optimal separation in the final model, which included nine routinely collected clinical variables, namely: heart rate, mean arterial pressure, respiratory rate, bilirubin, bicarbonate, creatinine, PaO2, arterial pH, and FiO2. Participants in subphenotype B showed increased levels of pro-inflammatory markers, had consistently higher mortality, lower number of ventilator-free days at day 28, and longer duration of ventilation compared to patients in the subphenotype A. Conclusions: Routinely available clinical data can successfully identify two distinct subphenotypes in adult ARDS patients. This work may facilitate implementation of precision therapy in ARDS clinical trials.


2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Louise Ferrais ◽  
Kevin Tougeron ◽  
Pauline Gardin ◽  
Thierry Hance

Alternative measures to pesticides to control the rosy apple aphid Dysaphis plantaginea are being developed. Naturally occurring predators and parasitoids often fail to reduce aphid abundance below the economic threshold in orchards, because they are active too late after the aphid first infestation. We tested the efficiency of mass release of two parasitoid species, Aphidius matricariae and Ephedrus cerasicola, early in the season to match the presence of aphid fundatrix (sensitive stages). In this trial focusing on an organic apple orchard, three releases were done either every week or every two weeks to test the effect of the release frequency, during two consecutive years. The number of aphid colonies and aphid number per tree were monitored from late March to late May. Degree-days necessary for parasitoid emergence in the field after release were calculated. We show that a sufficient level of aphid control by parasitoids is reached during the first month of the survey, but control mostly fails during the second part of the monitoring session, for both release treatments, and compared to the neem oil control treatment. The relative effects of release frequencies were different between years probably because of interannual differences in aphid population dynamics and initial infestation in orchards. The field survey and the degree-day model suggest that parasitoid releases, at either frequency, are promising candidates for biological control of the rosy aphid, although the method still needs proper calibration. This conclusion needs to be reinforced by repeating the study in more orchards, but our case study lays the first empirical basis that will help to develop future control methods of aphids by parasitoid releases in apple orchards. We argue that releases should be done one to two weeks before first aphid detection to account for long development times of parasitoids at relatively low temperatures.


2020 ◽  
Vol 47 (2) ◽  
pp. 109-118
Author(s):  
Milan Adamović ◽  
Mirjana Stojanović ◽  
Muhamed Harbinja ◽  
Marijana Maslovarić ◽  
Aleksandra Bočarov-Stančić ◽  
...  

The paper presents the results of testing the effect of pyrophyllite shale (pyrophyllite) on the quality of maize plant silage, primarily on the production of organic acids, pH value, quality assessment and microbiological safety. The ensiling was done in plastic containers which allowed the storage of 10 kg of chopped green mass. Tested pyrophyllite doses were: 0% in the control treatment (I), 0.5 and 1.0% in experimental treatments (II and III, respectively). Granulated pyrophyllite (100 µm), originating from Parsovići, Konjic site, AD Harbi Ltd., Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina, was manually incorporated. The chopped green mass of the maize plant came from FAO 600 hybrids. The green mass containing 37.17% of dry matter (final waxy ripening phase) was compressed in the same manner in all three treatments during the filling of the vessels. The containers were then covered with nylon foil (0.2 mm) above which a layer of fine sand (approx. 5 cm) was placed in toward the silage protection from air passage. The silages were opened after 7 weeks and organoleptic, chemical and microbiological analyses were performed. The organoleptic properties of silages (colour and odour) were better in silages containing 0.5 and 1.0% pyrophyllite. The silage temperature at the moment of opening of the containers was lower in the treatments with 0.5 and 1.0% added pyrophyllite (13.7 and 13.2 °C, respectively) while in the control treatment it was 14.6 °C. The addition of pyrophyllite to silage affected the production of volatile fatty acids (p ≤ 0.05). The highest amount of lactic acid was found in the silage sample without the addition of pyrophyllite, and acetic acid in the silage treated with 0.5 and 1.0% of pyrophyllite. The lowest amount of butyric acid was determined in the silage with the addition of 1% pyrophyllite. Based on the content and interrelationship of lactic, acetic and butyric acid, as well as the pH values, all three silages were rated as the highest (I) class. The number of aerobic mesophilic bacteria, as well as the number of yeasts, was lower in the silages with the addition of 0.5 and 1.0% pyrophyllite. In future, particular attention should be paid on the possibility of pyrophyllite enrichment (e.g. with nitrogen) and more appropriate physical formulation (e.g. granules) that would allow more efficient practical application.


2007 ◽  
Vol 76 (8) ◽  
pp. S109-S116 ◽  
Author(s):  
M. Malena ◽  
E. Voslářová ◽  
A. Kozák ◽  
P. Bělobrádek ◽  
I. Bedáňová ◽  
...  

The death of animals during transport for slaughter is a major factor indicating the level of welfare in transported animals. However, research data that report the level of animal welfare as reflected in transport-related mortality rates of individual animal species and categories are missing. The present study focused on losses of pigs and cattle in the period from 1997 to 2006. Transport-related mortality rates were recorded by species and categories of animals and also for the following travel distances: up to 50 km, 51-100 km, 101-200 km, 201-300 km, and over 300 km. Rates differed according to species and category. The highest mortality rates were found in young sows, sows, and boars (0.2562%) followed by fattened pigs (0.1075%), excluded dairy cows (0.0396%), calves (0.0269%), and fattened cattle (0.0069%). Significant differences were found among mortality rates (p < 0.05). The lowest mortality rates occurred with shorter travel distances (< 50 km and 51-100 km) when compared to long travel distances (101-200 km, 201-300 km and > 300 km), with a significant difference (p < 0.05) between short and long travel distances being found in fattened pigs, fattened cattle and dairy cows. Mortality rates in animals during transport for slaughter show young sows, sows, and boars to be the most susceptible to transport-related stress, followed by fattened pigs, dairy cows, and calves, whereas the highest resistance was observed in fattened cattle.


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