AABArchives Animal BreedingAABArch. Anim. Breed.2363-9822Copernicus PublicationsGöttingen, Germany10.5194/aab-59-381-2016Prevalence of metabolic disorders and effect on subsequent daily milk
quantity and quality in Holstein cowsGantnerVesnavgantner@pfos.hrBobićTinaPotočnikKlemenDepartment for Special Zootechnique, Faculty of Agriculture,
University of Josip Juraj Strossmayer, Kralja Petra
Svačića 1d, 31000 Osijek, CroatiaDepartment for Animal Breeding, Faculty of Agriculture,
University of Josip Juraj Strossmayer, Kralja Petra
Svačića 1d, 31000 Osijek, CroatiaDepartment of Animal Science, Biotechnical faculty, University of
Ljubljana, Groblje 3, SI-1230, Domžale, SloveniaVesna Gantner (vgantner@pfos.hr)13September20165933813863June201631July201626August2016This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 Unported License. To view a copy of this license, visit http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/This article is available from https://aab.copernicus.org/articles/59/381/2016/aab-59-381-2016.htmlThe full text article is available as a PDF file from https://aab.copernicus.org/articles/59/381/2016/aab-59-381-2016.pdf
Aiming at the determination of the metabolic disorder prevalence as well
as the effect of subclinical disorders on daily milk traits of Holsteins,
over 1 million (1 962 831) test day records were analysed. The metabolic
disorder (ketosis or acidosis) prevalence was indicated by the fat-to-protein
(F/P) ratio, while subclinical disorder was indicated by the F/P ratio and
cows' daily production. The effect of subclinical disorders on daily milk
traits was tested by Scheffe's method (SAS/STAT). The highest ketosis
prevalence occurred in early lactation. In first-parity cows ketosis
prevalence was highest in the first 15 days of lactation, while in cows in
higher lactations, the prevalence peak occurred on the 25th day. A higher ketosis
prevalence during the entire lactation was observed in multiparous cows compared to first-parity cows. Regarding the acidosis prevalence, high values were
determined at the beginning of the lactation with a decreasing trend until mid-lactation, when the prevalence increased up to 22 %. The highest decrease in
daily milk yield as a consequence of subclinical ketosis was determined as 4.21 and 3.72 kg day-1 in
first-parity cows and those with more than four lactations, respectively. A significant negative effect of subclinical acidosis on daily
milk yield (2.79 kg day-1) was highest in cows in the third lactation. A production
decline in subsequent milk controls due to subclinical ketosis or acidosis in
all cows was also determined. Subclinical disorders also significantly
alter daily milk quality. This indicates that the test day records could be
used as a cost-effective and non-invasive method for monitoring herd
health.
Introduction
Efficient dairy cattle production requires gravidity and parturition each
year. The transition from the pregnant, non-lactating state to the
non-pregnant, lactating state is too frequently a stressful experience for the
cow. LeBlanc (2010) observed that most of the metabolic disorders (up to 50 %) of dairy cows occur within the first 2 weeks of lactation.
Dairy cows are predisposed to various disorders during the transition period
as a result of a variety of factors, such as dietary changes, a negative energy
balance, decreased feed intake, weight loss, hypocalcemia, etc. Also, cows
can experience environmental stressors such as regrouping (Mulligan and
Doherty, 2008) and inadequate climatic conditions (Broucek et al., 2007) and body condition score (BCS). One of the most common disorders in
lactating dairy cows is ketosis as well as acidosis.
Basic statistics of daily milk traits according to parity.
Ketosis is a metabolic disorder that can occur both in clinical and
subclinical forms, where subclinical ketosis is defined as a preclinical
stage of ketosis. Clinical ketosis most frequently occurs in high-producing
cows between the second and seventh week after calving as a consequence of
inadequate nutrition and management (Gillund et al., 2001). Ketosis
prevalence could be influenced by a variety of factors, e.g., breed, parity,
season and herd-related factors. Dohoo and Martin (1984) reported that the lactational risk of ketosis incidence was between 1.1 and 9.2 %,
while Rajala-Schultz et al. (1999) determined an incidence risk of 2.5 and 4.2 %, depending on parity. Gustafsson and
Emanuelson (1996) as well as Rajala-Schultz and Gröhn (1999) stated that clinical ketosis induces economic losses for the dairy farmer through
treatment costs, decreased milk production, impaired reproduction
efficiency and increased involuntary culling. Andersson (1988) stated that subclinical ketosis can be revealed by determining levels of plasma
glucose, plasma non-esterified fatty acids (NEFAs), and milk or urine
ketone body concentration.
In recent years, subacute ruminal acidosis (SARA) has become an increasing
problem in well-managed, high-yielding dairy herds. Therefore, the monitoring
of groups of cows for signs of SARA becomes crucial. In the USA, subacute
ruminal acidosis has been reported to be prevalent in 19 % of early-lactation and 26 % of mid-lactation dairy cows. Bramley et al. (2005) and
O'Grady et al. (2008) determined that between 10 and 15 % of dairy
cows grazing ryegrass-based pastures perennially have SARA. The highest rate
of SARA was determined in early-lactating cows as well as in those at peak dry-matter (DM) intake. Dirksen et al. (1985) stated that the early-lactation
cows are at a higher risk due to reduced absorptive capacity of the rumen,
poorly adapted rumen microflora and the rapid introduction to high-energy
dense diets. Oetzel (2005) observed that cows at peak DM intake are
at an increased risk due to the greater amount of acids produced in the rumen.
Regarding SARA diagnosis, Enemark (2008) stated that recent developments in
technology have led to the use of indwelling rumen pH probes, the use of
rumen valerate, and urinary net acid and base excretion.
Dairy cows' health needs to be monitored at the herd level. For that purpose
test day records (TDRs) represent an alternative which is much more cost-effective and non-invasive when compared to specific diagnostics (Duffield et
al., 1997; Eicher, 2004). TDRs include daily milk, fat and protein production,
and the fat-to-protein ratio (F/P ratio). Gravert (1991) indicated that the
ideal range for the F/P ratio is 1–1.25, while Duffield et al. (1997) set 1.33 as the upper margin. Haas and Hofírek (2004) reported that an F/P
ratio higher than 1.4 indicates energy deficiency and, if ketone bodies are
present, subclinical ketosis. Richardt (2004) defined an F/P
ratio of 1.5 as a risk level for subclinical ketosis, while Eicher (2004) also took
into account daily milk production in addition to the F/P ratio as an indication of metabolic disorders (acidosis, ketosis).
The objectives of this study were to determine the metabolic disorder
prevalence regarding the lactation stage and the effect of subclinical
disorders on daily milk traits of Holstein cows using monthly test day
records in Croatia.
Materials and methodsData
The individual test day records collected in regular milk recordings in the
period from January 2004 to December 2013 in Croatia were used for analysis.
Milk recording was performed according to the alternative milk recording
method (AT4/BT4), meaning monthly measurements of milk yield during the
evening or morning milkings and milk sampling from each lactating cow. The
daily milk yield and fat content were projected from the partial measurement.
The logical control of milk data was performed according to International
Committee for Animal Recording (ICAR) standards (2003). Daily milk trait
variability regarding the parity is shown in Table 1. Records with lactation
stages at < 0 and > 305 days, missing or no parity, test date, owner
and region value were deleted from the dataset. After logical control, data
consisted of 1 962 831 test day records of milk, fat and protein from
130 104 Holsteins reared on 9201 farms in Croatia. According to parity, four
classes were formed: P1, P2, P3 and P4+. The last class included cows in
the fourth and higher lactations. Regarding the lactation stage, 16 classes
according to 5 days were formed: L1 (< 10) …L16 (> 90). Regarding
the test date, month–year classes were formed. The metabolic disorder
(ketosis or acidosis) prevalence was indicated by the F/P ratio.
F/P≥ 1.5 was taken as an indicator of ketosis prevalence, while
F/P< 1.0 was taken as an indicator of acidosis prevalence. The
metabolic disorder prevalence was calculated as the frequency of cows
indicated as being at risk in the total number of cows according to lactation
stage classes and the parity class. Subclinical disorder (ketosis or
acidosis) was indicated by the F/P ratio and cows' daily production
(Eicher, 2004). F/P≥ 1.5 in cows that yielded between 33 and
50 kg day-1 was taken as an indicator of subclinical ketosis, while
F/P< 1.0 in cows that yielded between 20 to 43 kg day-1 was
taken as an indicator of subclinical acidosis. Only cows with a detected
subclinical disorder were included in the analyses. Milk traits measured on
the test day when the subclinical disorder occurred were used as the
reference level. The disorder index was defined as follows, according to the
number of days after the subclinical disorder indication: D-0 – test day
milk yields collected when subclinical disorder was indicated; A-1 – yields
collected within 35 days of indication; A-2 – yields collected between 35
and 70 days after indication; A-3 – yields collected between 70 and 105 days
after indication; and A-4 – yields collected more than 105 days after
indication.
Statistical analysis
The effect of subclinical disorders (ketosis or acidosis) on daily milk traits
was studied separately for each parity class using the following
statistical model:
yijklm=μ+b1di305+b2di3052+b3ln305di+b4ln2305di+Sj+Rk+Hl+eijklm,
where yijklm is the estimated daily milk trait; μ is the intercept;
b1, b2, b3 and b4 are the regression coefficients; Hl is
the days in milk; Sj is the fixed effect of month–year j (j= 1/2004 to 12/2013); Rk is the fixed effect of region k (k: Croatian counties); Dl is the fixed effect of the disorder index l
(l= D-0, A-1, A-2, A-3, A-4); and eijklm is the residual.
The significance of the differences between the levels of the disorder index
was tested by Scheffe's method of multiple comparisons using the MIXED
procedure of SAS (SAS Institute Inc., 2000).
Results
The ketosis prevalence indicated by the daily F/P≥ 1.5 was
considered with regard to the lactation stage and parity (Fig. 1). In first-parity cows,
the highest prevalence, with an indication in 33 % of cows, occurred in the first
15 day of lactation, after which a continuous declining trend was noticed. The
prevalence peak in cows in higher lactations occurred on 25th day of
lactation, with the highest prevalence in cows in the third lactation. A similar
declining trend after the prevalence peak was noticed in first-parity cows and also
characterized cows in higher lactations. The highest prevalence during all
lactations, with the exception of the first 15 days, was observed in third-lactation
cows.
Ketosis prevalence (%) according to lactation stage and parity
classes.
Acidosis prevalence (%) according to lactation stage and parity
classes.
Effect of subclinical disorders (ketosis (KET), acidosis (ACI)) on
daily milk traits according to parity.
Values within the same column marked with different letters
differ in a statistically highly significant way (p<0.01).
The acidosis prevalence indicated by the daily F/P< 1.0 was considered
with regard to the lactation stage and parity (Fig. 2). A high prevalence,
with an indication in 19 to 20.5 % of cows, depending on parity, occurred
in the first 10 days of lactation, after which the risk declined in the next
5 days. The prevalence increase was observed from the 15th lactation day in
cows in first, second and third lactation, with the highest increase in
second-lactation cows. In cows in fourth and higher lactations, the
prevalence increase started after the 45th lactation day.
The effect of subclinical disorders (ketosis, acidosis) on daily milk traits
indicated by the F/P ratio and daily milk yield was evaluated for each
parity class (Table 2). All traits included in the statistical model were
shown to be highly significant (p<0.01). A significant negative effect of
subclinical ketosis on daily milk yield for each parity was determined
(Table 2). A decrease in milk yield of 4.21, 2.73, 2.78, 2.83 and
3.72 kg day-1 in each parity (i.e., parities 1, 2, 3 and 4+) was
determined within 35 days after the detection of subclinical ketosis. The
milk-reducing effect continued in subsequent milk controls.
A highly significant decrease in daily fat content, a highly significant
increase in daily protein content and an expected highly significant
drop in the F/P ratio were observed within 35 days of the subclinical
ketosis indication date in all parity classes. Regarding the subclinical
acidosis detection, a significant negative effect was determined on the daily
milk yield as well as on the daily protein content regardless of the parity.
The daily milk yield decreased within 35 days after the subclinical acidosis
detection date, with 1.4, 1.1, 2.79 and 1.74 kg day-1 in
parity class 1, 2, 3 and 4+. A production decline in subsequent milk controls
in all cows was also determined. As a consequence of subclinical acidosis,
the daily fat content significantly increased by about 1 % day-1. This
increase was retained in subsequent milk controls. Due to subclinical acidosis
incidence, the daily protein content significantly decreased, while the F/P ratio,
as expected, significantly increased. Determined trends apply for all parity
classes.
Discussion
The majority of metabolic disorder cases occurs at the beginning of
lactation when the physiological demands of the cow are high. Mulligan and
Doherty (2008) defined the period 3 weeks before and 3 weeks after calving as
the critical period associated with a peak incidence of metabolic and nutritional
disorders or infectious diseases. These disorders and diseases have been
generally associated with increased unplanned culling, which leads to financial
loses (Fetrow et al., 2006) by increasing diagnosis and treatment costs and
decreasing milk yield and reproductive performance in a dairy herd (Suthar et
al., 2013). Due to a negative energy balance at the beginning of lactation, the milk fat content tends to increase, while the milk protein content tends to
decrease, which makes the F/P ratio a good indicator in metabolic disorder detection. According to Heuer et al. (1999), the first test day records (daily
milk yield and F/P ratio) are a more reliable predictor of disorders,
fertility and milk yield than a loss in body condition scoring. Therefore,
the determination of subclinical ketosis (SCK) prevalence based on the F/P ratio
during the first 2 weeks of lactation could be beneficial (Iwersen et al.,
2009). Suthar et al. (2013) stated that the prevalence of SCK was high between 2
to 15 days in milk. This high prevalence increased the odds of metritis,
clinical ketosis, lameness and a displaced abomasum in European dairy herds.
Koeck et al. (2013) stated that 87 % of ketosis cases in Holstein cows
was recorded during the first 30 days of lactation. The results of this study
confirm that the highest ketosis prevalence occurred in early lactation. In
the first-parity cows, ketosis prevalence was highest in the first 15 days of
lactation, while in cows in higher lactations, the prevalence peak occurred
on the 25th day. A higher ketosis prevalence during the entire lactation was observed in
multiparous cows compared to first-parity cows, with the exception of the first
15 days of lactation. Similarly, McArt et al. (2012) reported the lowest
ketosis prevalence in first-parity cows. A more frequent ketosis prevalence
in multiparous cows compared with primiparous cows was also observed by
Carrier et al. (2004), while Andersson and Emanuelson (1985) and Duffield et
al. (1997) concluded that levels of ketosis increase with parity. In this
study, a ketosis prevalence higher than 30 % was determined in the first month
of lactation in all cows, regardless of the parity. Similarly, like previous
research (Dirksen et al., 1985; Bramley et al., 2005; Oetzel, 2005; O'Grady
et al., 2008), this study showed a high acidosis prevalence at the beginning of lactation (19–20.5 % of cows depending on the parity),
with a decreasing trend until mid-lactation, when prevalence increased up to
22 %. Toni et al. (2011) found that cows with an F/P ratio in the interval
(< 1; > 2) showed consistently lower milk production. According to
Rajala-Schultz et al. (1999), the average total loss per cow due to ketosis
prevalence was over 300 kg lactation-1, while McArt et al. (2012)
determined that cows with subclinical ketosis, compared to non-ketotic cows,
produce 3.4–6 % less milk daily in the first 30 days of lactation.
Significantly lower milk production in the first month of lactation was
confirmed by McArt et al. (2013) in later research as well as by Ospina et al. (2010).
A significant (p<0.01) decrease in daily milk yield as well as daily fat
content within 35 days of the subclinical ketosis detection date was also
determined in this research. The highest decrease in daily milk yield was
determined in first-parity cows and cows with more than four lactations; the decrease amounted to 4.21 and
3.72 kg day-1, respectively. The milk-reducing effect continued in
subsequent milk controls. A significant negative effect of subclinical acidosis
was also determined. The highest drop in daily milk yield of
2.79 kg day-1 within the 35 days after the subclinical acidosis detection
date was determined in cows in the third lactation. A production decline in
subsequent milk controls in all cows was also determined. As a consequence of
subclinical acidosis, the daily fat content significantly increased by about
1 % day-1, while the daily protein content significantly decreased.
As the results of this study show, a significant decrease in daily milk quantity
and variation of daily milk quality in Holsteins could be expected in cases
when the F/P ratio ≥ 1.5 in cows that yielded between 33 and
50 kg day-1 (subclinical ketosis) as well as when F/P< 1.0 in
cows that yielded between 20 and 43 kg day-1 (subclinical acidosis).
Also, a production decline in subsequent milk controls after the detection of both
disorders could be expected.
Conclusions
Late pregnancy and early lactation is the most critical period for
high-producing cows associated with a peak metabolic disorder prevalence.
Generally, metabolic disorder prevalence has been associated with high
financial losses due to increased treatment costs, decreased milk production,
impaired reproduction efficiency and increased involuntary culling. This
study determined a highly significant decline in daily milk yield and
variation of daily milk components as a result of metabolic disorders
(ketosis or acidosis) detected based on the fat/protein ratio and daily
milk yield. This indicates that the F/P ratio could be a good indicator of
metabolic disorder prevalence, while the F/P ratio associated with daily
milk yield could be an accurate indicator in metabolic disorder detection.
Finally, test day records could be used as a cost-effective and non-invasive
method for monitoring herd health, enabling the farmer to react early and
prevent the development of strong clinical symptoms. In this way, the
farmer's economic losses and the cow's illness could be significantly
decreased or completely avoided.
Data availability
Analysed databace are not publicly accessible because this is national
database which is available only with the approval of the director of the
Croatian Agricultural Agency.
Acknowledgements
Acknowledgements to the Croatian Agricultural Agency for access to the
necessary database. Edited by:
S. Maak Reviewed by: M. Brka, A. Kostelic, and one anonymous
referee
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