Search

The purpose of the study was to explore the associations of serum non-esterified fatty acids (NEFA) and β-hydroxybutyrate (BHBA) concentrations with the body condition score (BCS) and rumen fill score (RFS) in order to predict the risk of postpartum culling, and to further investigate effective monitoring stages during the dry period. From October 2012 to March 2014, clinically healthy Holstein heifers and cows were sampled once before calving, and the occurrence of culling within 60 days in milk (DIM) was investigated. The discriminatory ability of each parameter was evaluated using receiver operating characteristic (ROC) analysis. Of the 720 cows sampled between 14 and 2 days before the actual day of calving in the study, 42 cull cows (mean DIM ± SE: 22.0 ± 2.6) were confirmed. The areas under the curve (AUC) of the ROC for predicting culling using serum NEFA concentrations were 0.6 and 0.7 at 14 to 2 and 7 to 2 days before calving, respectively. The AUC for the RFS was 0.7 for both periods, indicating the same diagnostic level as the serum NEFA concentration. Both the serum NEFA concentration and RFS were possible predictors in cows with ≥ 2 parities, but not in cows with 0-1 parity sampled even at 7 to 2 days before calving. The serum BHBA concentration and BCS were not suitable predictors of culling for any period or parity. These results indicate that RFS has a discriminatory ability comparable to the serum NEFA concentration for predicting culling within 60 DIM., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest The authors declare no conflicts of interest associated with this manuscript., (Copyright © 2024. Published by Elsevier Ltd.)

The objectives of this study were to conduct a survey of failure-of-passive-transfer (FPT) in eastern Hokkaido Japan, to evaluate the association between herd-level FPT and death and culling or treatment, and to test the effectiveness of monitoring using herd-level FPT. A total of 4,411 Holstein and Holstein-Wagyu crossbreds calves born from Holstein dams during the year beginning April 2, 2019 on 39 dairy farms were included in the study to investigate death-and-culling and the treatment rate during the first month of life, as well as rearing management up to 3 weeks of age. A subset of Holsteins (n=381) was included in the study for passive transfer and farms were diagnosed as having FPT if more than 20% of newborn calves had serum IgG levels below 10 g/L at the herd level. The prevalence of FPT (

This study was carried out as an observational study in order to examine the difference of change in serum very low-density lipoprotein (VLDL) between primiparous and multiparous cows. Twenty-one clinically healthy cows (10 primiparous and 11 multiparous) were selected at 21 days prior to expected calving. Blood samples were collected in the morning (before feeding) on days -21, -7, 7, 21 and 56 days in milk (DIM). At 7 and 21 DIM, the serum non-esterified fatty acid concentration of multiparous cows was significantly higher than that of primiparous cows. The serum β-hydroxybutyrate concentration was also markedly higher in multiparous cows than in primiparous cows at 21 DIM. These results suggested that the degree of negative energy balance was greater in multiparous cows than in primiparous cows during this period. In both, serum VLDL concentrations decreased at over 7 DIM, increased at 21 DIM, and then decreased at 56 DIM. On the other hand, triglyceride and total protein concentrations of VLDL in multiparous cows were significantly lower than in primiparous cows at 21 DIM. This suggests that multiparous cows have poor triglyceride secretion from the liver and that they become more susceptible to hepatic lipidosis.

This study was carried out as an observational study in order to determine the prevalence of postpartum subclinical ketosis (SCK) in dairy herds in Hokkaido, Japan. From April 2012 to March 2014, blood β-hydroxybutyrate (BHBA) concentration was measured once within 3-88 days in milk (DIM) in 1394 apparently healthy cows from 108 farms to diagnose SCK (≥1.2 mM). In cows within 14 DIM, this was classified as SCK II, and from 15 DIM, this was classified as SCK I. Herds with a combined percentage of SCK I and SCK II of less than 10% were classified as SCK-negative herds, those with percentages of 10-25%, were classified as alert herds, and those with one of 25% or more, we classified as positive herds. The prevalence of SCK in the entire DIM was 17.6%. The prevalence of SCK II (20.2%) tended to occur more frequently than SCK I (16.5%, p = 0.094). The frequency of SCK I was higher at the fourth parity. The number of milking cows in SCK-positive herds was significantly smaller than those of the other two types of herds ( p = 0.004). The frequency of SCK-positive herds in tie stalls and with component feeding was higher than for free stall or free barn and with total mixed ration ( p = 0.054 and p = 0.002). This study reveals the prevalence of SCK in Hokkaido, Japan, and shows that SCK is associated with parity and the management system.

The objective of this study was to analyze death and culling (DC) of calves during the first month of life and associated economic losses on dairy farms in eastern Hokkaido, Japan. The DC in the first month of life of 4411 Holstein and Wagyu crossbred calves born in the year 2019-2020 on 39 dairy farms milking Holsteins was investigated. Based on a target DC rate of 6.75%, farms were classified into two groups, those with high DC rates (HDC, 11.68%, n = 18) and those with low DC rates (LDC, 2.67%, n = 21), and analyzed for DC factors (breed, sex, parity of dams, and housing type of dams) and diseases causing DC, their loss estimates, and replenishment of DC calves (birth rate, purchase of heifers, and housing type of dams). Comparisons between groups were made using the Kaplan-Meier method, the Mann-Whitney U test, and chi-square test. The DC rate of Holsteins was significantly higher (P < 0.001) for HDC farms than for LDC ones. But, the DC rate of Wagyu crossbreds was not different between the groups, which suggested hybrid vigor. The DC rates for digestive diseases were significantly higher (P < 0.01) in the HDC farms, except for congenital diseases and deaths of unknown cause. The overall loss estimates of DC per calf-month for all farms was 8892, JPY/calf-months, 14,726 for HDC farms, and 4065 for LDC farms. The loss estimates of items with significant differences in DC rates were significantly higher (P < 0.05) in the HDC farms, with higher loss estimates for Holsteins and digestive diseases being the most common characteristics of HDC farms. In binomial logistic regression analysis with "HDC farms or not" as the response variable and replenishment of DC calves as the explanatory variable, HDC was significantly more likely (OR: 1.10, P < 0.05) on farms with a higher birth proportion of Holsteins, and HDC farms supplemented the DC calves by increasing the birth proportion of Holsteins., Competing Interests: Declaration of Competing Interest The authors declare that this study is not supported by any special funds., (Copyright © 2023 The Authors. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

The aim of this study was to characterize peripartum metabolic profiles, including the insulin sensitivity index, in cows diagnosed with subclinical ketosis (SCK) in the early stage of lactation. Cows that calved from January 2011 through December 2014 on a dairy farm with alarm level prevalence of SCK in Hokkaido, Japan ( n = 175) were used. Blood and body condition scores (BCS) were obtained at regular health examinations in 2 consecutive periods, the first between 14 and 2 d before parturition, and the second between 3 and 14 d after parturition. Animals were divided into 3 groups at postpartum sampling: an SCK group with 35 multiparous and 15 primiparous cows having β-hydroxybutyrate (BHBA) concentrations ≥ 1.2 mM without clinical signs, a disease group of 36 multiparous and 9 primiparous cows that received treatment between parturition and postpartum sampling, and a control group consisting of 49 multiparous and 31 primiparous cows with BHBA concentrations < 1.2 mM. The prepartum revised quantitative insulin sensitivity check index was significantly lower in the multiparous SCK and disease groups than in the control group, demonstrating decreased insulin sensitivity in these cows, but not in primiparous cows. The prepartum BCS was significantly higher only in the multiparous SCK and disease groups. The prepartum apolipoprotein B-100 (ApoB-100) concentration was significantly decreased in the multiparous disease group, suggesting hepatic lipidosis. Conversely, primiparous cows had a higher prepartum ApoB-100 concentration. Prepartum decreased insulin sensitivity in the multiparous SCK and disease groups was considered to facilitate progression to SCK after calving.