A retrospective cohort study investigating the association of environment, milk performance and udder health with the yield and solid content of first-milking colostrum in Holstein dairy cows.

IF 2.3 2区 农林科学 Q1 VETERINARY SCIENCES
Gonçalo Pereira, Ricardo Bexiga
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引用次数: 0

Abstract

Background: The administration of high-quality colostrum is widely recognized as crucial for the health and survival of neonatal calves, yet identifying factors influencing colostrum yield and solid content has remained a challenge. With dairy farmers facing increasing difficulties in maintaining a year-round supply of high-quality colostrum, this retrospective cohort study evaluated the association between environmental, milk performance, and udder health factors with colostrum yield and solid content (as measured by Brix % determination) in 1731 lactations of Holstein dairy cows (583 primiparous and 1148 multiparous) on a commercial farm.

Results: In primiparous cows, colostrum yield was associated with the time interval between calving and colostrum collection (as estimated by whether colostrum was collected during morning or afternoon milking), while lower colostrum solid content was associated with higher occupancy of the close-up pen. In multiparous dairy cows, both colostrum yield and solid content were associated with lactation number (higher lactations associated with lower yield but with higher solid content), dry period length (longer dry periods associated with higher yield and higher solid content), and whether colostrum was collected during morning or afternoon milking. A lower colostrum solid content of multiparous cows was also associated with higher occupancy of the close-up pen and a higher colostrum yield was associated with higher THI during the 21 days before calving. Moreover, greater milk yield at dry-off was associated with lower colostrum yield and a longer previous calving interval was associated with greater colostrum yield. These findings highlight the benefits of longer dry periods and calving intervals for colostrum production, the need to revise dry-off practices for high-yield dairy cows, and the importance of addressing overpopulation in close-up pens, especially in heat-stressed herds with higher variation in close-up pen occupancy. This work also reinforces the importance of shorter intervals between calving and colostrum collection for higher solid content of colostrum in multiparous cows.

Conclusions: Overall, this study enhances understanding of the factors influencing colostrum production and provides valuable insights for developing improved colostrum management strategies.

一项回顾性队列研究调查了环境、产奶性能和乳房健康与荷斯坦奶牛初乳产量和固体含量的关系。
背景:高质量初乳的使用被广泛认为对新生牛犊的健康和生存至关重要,然而确定影响初乳产量和固体含量的因素仍然是一个挑战。由于奶农在维持全年高质量初乳供应方面面临越来越多的困难,本回顾性队列研究评估了环境、产奶性能和乳房健康因素与初乳产量和固体含量(以Brix %测定)之间的关系,研究了1731头荷斯坦奶牛(583头初产奶牛和1148头多产奶牛)在商业农场的泌乳量。结果:在初产奶牛中,初乳产量与产犊和收集初乳之间的时间间隔有关(根据在上午或下午挤奶时收集初乳来估计),而较低的初乳固体含量与较高的近距离围栏占用率有关。在多产奶牛中,初乳产量和固体含量与泌乳次数(泌乳量越大,产奶量越低,固体含量越高)、干期长度(干期越长,产奶量越大,固体含量越高)以及初乳是在上午还是下午挤奶有关。在产犊前21天,较低的初乳固体含量也与较高的近栏占用率有关,较高的初乳产量与较高的THI有关。此外,干乳期产奶量越大,初乳产量越低,产犊间隔越长,初乳产量越高。这些发现强调了较长的干燥期和产犊间隔对初乳生产的好处,需要修改高产奶牛的干燥做法,以及解决近距离围栏人口过剩问题的重要性,特别是在近距离围栏占用率变化较大的热应激牛群中。本研究也强调了缩短产犊和初乳采集间隔对提高多胎奶牛初乳固体含量的重要性。结论:总体而言,本研究增强了对影响初乳生产的因素的理解,并为制定改进的初乳管理策略提供了有价值的见解。
本文章由计算机程序翻译,如有差异,请以英文原文为准。
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来源期刊
BMC Veterinary Research
BMC Veterinary Research VETERINARY SCIENCES-
CiteScore
4.80
自引率
3.80%
发文量
420
审稿时长
3-6 weeks
期刊介绍: BMC Veterinary Research is an open access, peer-reviewed journal that considers articles on all aspects of veterinary science and medicine, including the epidemiology, diagnosis, prevention and treatment of medical conditions of domestic, companion, farm and wild animals, as well as the biomedical processes that underlie their health.
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