Comparison between intrauterine application of an antibiotic and an herbal product to treat clinical endometritis in dairy cattle - A randomized multicentre field study.

Uterine diseases are main indications for antibiotic use in dairy cows. To test a non-antibiotic treatment option, we compared the effect of an intrauterine cephapirin (Metricure®; cefapirin benzathin 500 mg per dosis; CEPH) with an intrauterine applied herbal product (25 ml of EucaComp® PlantaVet containing alcoholic extracts of Calendula officinalis L., Mellissa officinalis L., Origanum majorana L. and Eucalyptus globulus Labill. (EUC)) on the clinical cure of endometritis. Examinations of 816 cows between 21 and 35 days after calving were performed and cases of clinical endometritis (n = 169) were included. Diagnosis based on a scoring system for vaginal discharge. Study animals were randomly assigned to one of two treatment groups and treated immediately. After excluding animals with incomplete datasets, 136 cows (EUC: n = 61; CEPH: n = 75) remained for the final analysis. In total, 64% (EUC: 61%, CEPH: 67%) of analysed endometritis cases were considered as clinically cured 14 ± 2 days after the first treatment, 15% stayed uncured after the application of a maximum of two consecutive treatments, leading to an overall clinical cure rate of 85% (EUC: 82%, CEPH: 88%). No statistically difference in clinical cure rates could be observed between both treatment groups nor 14 ± 2 days after the first treatment (p = 0.956) neither regarding the overall cure rate (p = 0.923). In conclusion, the clinical cure of dairy cows' endometritis after the intrauterine application of the herbal product was non-inferior to the intrauterine application of the antibiotic cephapirin. These results could contribute to reduce the antimicrobial use in the daily veterinary routine treatment of endometritis.

Pumpkin seeds, lemongrass essential oil and ripleaf leaves as feed additives for Ascaridia galli infected laying hens.

The present study was performed to evaluate the in vivo efficiency of Curcurbita pepo (pumpkin) seeds, Cymbopogon citratus (lemongrass) essential oil and Plantago lanceolata (ripleaf) leaves against helminth infections in laying hens. In the first experiment, 75 Lohmann LSL Classic hens naturally infected with Ascaridia galli were assigned to groups of five; groups were randomly assigned to one of three treatments with five replicates each (untreated control; lemongrass oil: 1 g/bird/day; pumpkin seeds: 10 g/bird/day). Feed consumption and egg production were continuously recorded, individual faecal egg counts were determined weekly, and E. coli and Lactobacillus spp. three times during the experimental period of 29 days. After slaughter, intestinal worms were counted and sexed. Pumpkin improved feed conversion as compared to the control (p = 0.008) and to lemongrass (p = 0.021); no treatment effect on any other parameter was found. In the second experiment, 75 LSL pullets were artificially infected with 3 × 200 A. galli eggs, randomly divided into groups of five and assigned to one of three treatments (untreated control, lemongrass oil: 1 g/bird/day; ripleaf: 5% of ration). After 109 days of sampling as described above, hens were slaughtered and worm burdens determined. Performance of the animals did not change regardless of the treatment and none of the treatments resulted in changes of the microbiological and parasitological parameters. In conclusion, with the exception of improved feed conversion in the pumpkin group, no positive nor negative effects of the additives on performance, parasitological and microbiological parameters of naturally and artificially A. galli infected laying hens were observed.

Heather (Calluna vulgaris) supplementation does not reduce trapping ability of Duddingtonia flagrans in faeces of Haemonchus contortus infected lambs.

Infection with gastro-intestinal nematodes (GIN) seriously impairs productivity and health of grazing animals. Due to the considerable rise in anthelmintic resistance and the increasing popularity of organic farming, alternative control strategies will replace or complement traditional anthelmintics. The efficacy of two potential alternatives (i) feeding the tanniferous forage heather (Calluna vulgaris) and (ii) the nematophagous fungus Duddingtonia flagrans (isolate FiBL-DF-P14), was tested in a feeding experiment with lambs artificially infected with Haemonchus contortus. Animals received hay supplemented with heather or with a late cut hay (ecohay) as a control feed ad libitum for three weeks. Two doses (1 × 105 and 5 × 104 chlsp/kg LW) of D. flagrans chlamydospores (chlsp) were administered to animals of each roughage treatment and H. contortus larval recovery from faecal cultures was compared with an untreated control (6 animals per D. flagrans-heather combination). Protein, crude fiber and energy contents of ecohay and heather were similar but heather contained approximately twice more fat, four times more lignin and ten times more of all condensed tannin fractions. Heather contained 17.3 mg Proanthocyanidin per g dry matter (DM) while contents of ecohay were 1.7 mg/g DM. Daily average feed intake across both treatments was 1.5 kg DM/animal/day, of which heather/ecohay intake accounted for 0.17/0.19 kg. Overall, there was no significant effect of heather on faecal egg counts (FEC). There was a tendency for a significant interaction between feed supplement and time and a significantly (p = 0.030) lower FEC of nominally 1799 EPG in the heather treatment at the end of the heather feeding period compared with the ecohay treatment. Lambs in this study consumed less heather than grazing sheep in other studies, even though condensed tannin contents were comparably low. Heather supplementation did not affect larval recovery in faecal cultures and trapping ability of D. flagrans. As compared with the untreated control, both doses of D. flagrans reduced larval recovery by 96.2 % and 95.5 %, respectively (p < 0.001), with no significant difference between the doses. The isolate FiBL-DF-P14 was at least as effective as isolates tested in other studies and achieved over 95 % reduction at a low dosage of 5 × 104 chlsp/kg LW. In conclusion, our results confirm the potential of and indicate no negative interactions between both alternative GIN control methods.

Performance and parasitological parameters of steers sequentially grazed with lambs.

In the majority of mixed or sequential gazing studies with sheep, cattle performance remained unaffected. However, the treatment regime of the sheep in these studies was often intense and this may have limited cross-transmission of nematodes from sheep to cattle. We conducted a sequential grazing trial with cattle and sheep with moderate anthelmintic intervention. Twenty first season grazing steers were stratified to 10 couples according to their origin, egg excretion per gram faeces (EPG), metabolic weight and previous weight gain record. Thirty naturally infected ewe lambs were stratified to 5 groups according to metabolic live weight and EPG. Five pairs of the steers were sequentially grazed with the 5 groups of lambs whereas another five pairs of steers served as control. Grazing duration was 70 days with a subsequent indoor period of additional 35 days for the steers. Weight and EPG was recorded 3 days before and 27, 49, 70 and 105 days after trial start. The recorded live-weight of the sequentially grazed steers was 182 ± 14, 191 ± 11, 205 ± 15, 219 ± 15 and 236 ± 18 and the live-weight of the control steers was 180 ± 18, 193 ± 19, 203 ± 21, 217 ± 24 and 234 ± 24 kg respectively. The EPG of the sequentially grazed steers 3 days before grazing start and at day 27, 49, 70 and 105 was 94 ± 100, 95 ± 48, 49 ± 42, 58 ± 41 and 140 ± 73 EPG respectively. The EPG of the control steers at the same dates was 96 ± 82, 98 ± 24, 104 ± 77, 98 ± 71 and 270 ± 287 EPG respectively. The sequentially grazed steer groups did not differ from the control groups with regard to EPG, live weight and daily weight gain. However, the sequentially grazed steers showed elevated pepsinogen levels compared to the control steers (e.g. 3.34 ± 1.05 units tyrosine and 1.29 ± 0.50 units tyrosine after 70 days of grazing, respectively). Larval samples from individual steer coprocultures of both groups were tested PCR-positive for Cooperia oncophora, Ostertagia ostertagi and Haemonchus contortus. We conclude that short term sequential grazing of first season grazing steers with lambs excreting mainly eggs of Haemonchus spp. did not adversely affect steer performance despite increased pepsinogen values. However, hot and dry conditions may have had a suppressive effect on larval development, migration and finally uptake by the steers.

Influence of Housing and Management on Claw Health in Swiss Dairy Goats.

Due to a rising demand for goat milk and goat milk products worldwide, it is likely that dairy goat production will be intensified in the future, with larger herds per farm. In Switzerland, as in many other countries with intensive farming systems, dairy goats are typically housed on deep litter, with little access to hard abrasive surfaces. Such housing conditions will result in wall horn overgrowth. The aim of this study was to gain profound knowledge on the occurrence of overgrown wall horn, its impact on claw health and locomotor behavior, and possible adverse effects on animal welfare. Additionally, housing and management factors that may contribute to non-physiological claw conditions were evaluated. To compare claw conditions after the summer grazing period and the winter indoor housing period, data were collected on 28 Swiss dairy goat farms in autumn and spring (621 goats in total). Claw lesions were recorded with the help of a "claw card" documenting each claw. Furthermore, pictures were taken of each claw to determine the severity of wall horn overgrowth. Locomotion behavior (activity, lying time and lying bouts) was recorded with three-dimensional accelerometers fixed to the goats' hind legs. In autumn, 66.7% of the examined claws showed moderate overgrowth, 32.4% severe overgrowth and 0.9% no overgrowth. In spring, 47.4% of the examined claws were affected with moderate overgrowth, 52.6% with severe overgrowth and 0.0% with no overgrowth. Horn separation (48.1% of examined claws) and sole hemorrhages (16.0% of examined claws) were the most frequent lesions. In goats with severely overgrown claws, the risk of developing sole hemorrhages was doubled compared with moderate overgrowth. The occurrence rate of horn separation was lower if the trimmer had attended a special skills training course (p < 0.001). Furthermore, locomotor activity (p < 0.01) and the number of lying bouts per day (p < 0.01) were higher in spring than autumn. Neither the goats' activity nor the number of lying bouts per day differed before and after claw trimming. Finally, season and trimming were not associated with the goats' total lying time. A certain extent of wall horn overgrowth in dairy goat claws cannot be avoided under the housing conditions typical for Swiss farms. Severe wall horn overgrowth is associated with an increase in the proportion of claws with sole hemorrhages. Therefore, regular and careful functional claw trimming, taking the housing situation (deep bedding, access to pasture, grazing on alpine pasture) into account, should be promoted.

Welfare Aspects of Raising Entire Male Pigs and Immunocastrates.

For a long time, scientists assumed that newborns have a severely limited sense of pain (if any). However, this assumption is wrong and led to a "start of the exit" from piglet surgical castration. Some of the currently discussed or already implemented alternatives such as general or local anaesthesia during surgical castration raise additional welfare concerns as well as legal problems and/or are hardly applicable. The favoured long-term, welfare-friendly "gold standard" is to raise entire male pigs (EM). However, this may also impose certain welfare problems under the current conventional housing and management conditions. The specific types of behaviour displayed by EM such as mounting and aggressive behaviours but also increased exploration, which are partially linked to sexual maturation, increase the risk for injuries. The current status of knowledge (scientific literature and farmer experiences) on housing of EM suggests that environmental enrichment, space, group-stability, social constellation, feeding (diet and feeder space), health and climate control are critical factors to be considered for future housing systems. From an animal welfare point of view, an intermediate variant to be favoured to reduce problematic behaviour could be to slaughter EM before reaching puberty or to immunize boars early on to suppress testicular function. Immunization against endogenous GnRH can reduce EM-specific problems after the 2nd vaccination.

Effects of a Multicomponent Herbal Extract on the Course of Subclinical Ketosis in Dairy Cows - a Blinded Placebo-controlled Field-study.

A blinded placebo-controlled multi-center on-farm trial was conducted in dairy cows with subclinical ketosis to investigate effects of a multicomponent herbal extract. Blood ketone levels were measured weekly in early lactating cows from 16 Swiss herds. Cows were subclassified based on their initial blood-ß-hydroxybutyrate levels (≥ 1.0 [KET-low, 84 cows] and > 1.2 mmol/L [KET-high, 39 cows]) and randomly distributed to 3 groups treated orally with herbal extract containing Camellia sinensis, Cichcorium intybus, Gentiana lutea, Glycyrrhiza glabra, Taraxacum officinale, Trigonella foenum-graecum, and Zingiber officinale, sodium propionate, or placebo twice a day for 5 days. Milk yield, milk acetone, blood-ß-hydroxybutyrate, glucose, nonesterified fatty acids, gamma-glutamyl transferase, and glutamate dehydrogenase were analyzed over 2 wk. Linear mixed effect models were used for data analysis. No effects were found for nonesterifed fatty acids, gamma-glutamyl transferase, and glucose. Significantly higher glutamate dehydrogenase (29.71 U/L) values were found in herbal extract-treated animals compared to sodium propionate on day 7 (22.33 U/L). By trend, higher blood-ß-hydroxybutyrate levels (1.36 mmol/L) were found in the placebo group of KET-high-cows on day 14 compared to the sodium propionate group (0.91 mmol/L). Milk yields of all treatment groups increased. Milking time and treatment showed a significant interaction for milk acetone: sodium propionate led to an immediate decrease, whereas herbal extracts resulted in a milk acetone decrease from day 7 on, reaching significantly lower milk acetone on day 14 (3.17 mg/L) when compared to placebo (4.89 mg/L). In conclusion, herbal extracts and sodium propionate are both likely to improve subclinical ketosis in dairy cows, however, by different modes of action.

Potentials of using milk performance data and FAMACHA score as indicators for Targeted Selective Treatment in Lacaune dairy sheep in Switzerland.

Targeted Selective Treatment (TST) is one approach to slow down the development of anthelmintic resistance. Its success is closely linked to the correct identification of animals in need of treatment. In dairy goats it has been proposed to use milk yield as TST indicator and to focus treatments on high yielding dairy goats. In dairy sheep the relationship between milk performance and infection with gastrointestinal nematodes (GIN) is not well known. The aim of this study was to investigate the relationship between milk yield and GIN infection in dairy sheep and based on this, to evaluate milk performance data as a potential TST indicator. Overall 1159 Lacaune ewes of 15 dairy sheep farms in Switzerland were included in the study. The ewes were phenotyped once between August and December 2019, when they were at least 70 days in milk (DIM). Individual faecal samples were taken from every ewe to determine the nematode egg concentration per gram faeces (EPG). In addition, the clinical parameters FAMACHA score and packed cell volume (PCV) were measured. Linear mixed models were used to analyse the effects of the collected parameters on EPG. EPG increased significantly with increasing test day milk yields (P = 0.002), indicating high yielding ewes to be less resistant to GIN infections than low yielding ewes. The effect was most pronounced in earlier lactation but remained within a moderate range. Overall, our results indicated the potential of using milk yield data of rather early lactation as TST indicator in dairy sheep. On farms with predominantly H. contortus the combination with FAMACHA might improve the correct identification of highly infected ewes, as FAMACHA was correlated with EPG (r = 0.37, P < 0.001).

Potentials of using milk performance data and FAMACHA score as indicators for Targeted Selective Treatment in Lacaune dairy sheep in Switzerland.

Targeted Selective Treatment (TST) is one approach to slow down the development of anthelmintic resistance. Its success is closely linked to the correct identification of animals in need of treatment. In dairy goats it has been proposed to use milk yield as TST indicator and to focus treatments on high yielding dairy goats. In dairy sheep the relationship between milk performance and infection with gastrointestinal nematodes (GIN) is not well known. The aim of this study was to investigate the relationship between milk yield and GIN infection in dairy sheep and based on this, to evaluate milk performance data as a potential TST indicator. Overall 1159 Lacaune ewes of 15 dairy sheep farms in Switzerland were included in the study. The ewes were phenotyped once between August and December 2019, when they were at least 70 days in milk (DIM). Individual faecal samples were taken from every ewe to determine the nematode egg concentration per gram faeces (EPG). In addition, the clinical parameters FAMACHA score and packed cell volume (PCV) were measured. Linear mixed models were used to analyse the effects of the collected parameters on EPG. EPG increased significantly with increasing test day milk yields (P=0.002), indicating high yielding ewes to be less resistant to GIN infections than low yielding ewes. The effect was most pronounced in earlier lactation but remained within a moderate range. Overall, our results indicated the potential of using milk yield data of rather early lactation as TST indicator in dairy sheep. On farms with predominantly H. contortus the combination with FAMACHA might improve the correct identification of highly infected ewes, as FAMACHA was correlated with EPG (r=0.37, P<0.001).

Bioactive Compound Fingerprint Analysis of Aged Raw Pu'er Tea and Young Ripened Pu'er Tea.

Pu'er tea produced from Camellia sinensis var. assamica is a widely appreciated and consumed beverage that can be divided into two kinds of tea depending on the different fermentation processed used, the special sensory characteristics, and their chemical composition. However, authentication seems to be very important for such teas, as they are traded to comparatively high prices, especially in Europe. The results for selected biochemical markers showed that aged raw pu'er tea contained 210.2 mg GAE/g polyphenols, of which 2.2 mg/g were gallic acid, 16.1 mg/g theogallin, 35.1 mg/g (-)-epigallocatechin gallate, and 40.1 mg/g (-)-epicatechin gallate, on average. Young ripened pu'er tea contained about 104.6 mg GAE/g polyphenols, of which 5.5 mg/g gallic acid, 0.9 mg/g theogallin, 0.7 mg/g (-)-epigallocatechin gallate, and 1.8 mg/g (-)-epicatechin gallate, on average. An additional objective of the present study was to unravel the best brewing conditions for optimal extraction of the bioactive compounds. Infusions of nineteen commercial teas (from pu'er cakes) were obtained at different time-temperature ratios for studying the content of bioactive compounds (flavan-3-ols, flavonols, caffeoylquinic acids, methylxanthines). Brewing at 90 °C for 5 min was the best condition to obtain a high content of total polyphenols in ripened pu'er tea. Principal component analysis and hierarchical cluster analysis showed, that young ripened and aged raw pu'er tea can be successfully differentiated by the analyzed chemical compounds. Principal component analysis results indicated that young ripened pu'er tea has higher contents of gallic acid, quercetin, and kaempferol than aged raw pu'er tea.

Chronic intermittent stress exposure and access to grass silage interact differently in their effect on behaviour, gastric health and stress physiology of entire or castrated male growing-finishing pigs.

Entire male pigs display more aggressive and sexual behaviour. This might cause a condition of chronic stress and impair their welfare. In order to assess chronic stress in entire and castrated male pigs, as well as effects of providing grass silage as occupational and feed material on behaviour and health, we carried out a 2 × 2 × 2-factorial experiment with 147 growing-finishing pigs. Factors investigated were castration (entire/castrated), chronic intermittent social stress exposure (yes/no) and access to grass silage (yes/no), as well as their interactions. The stress exposure treatment consisted of repeated short-term confrontations and separations. We recorded different behavioural variables, circadian rhythm of salivary cortisol, response to an ACTH (adrenocorticotropic hormone) challenge test, pathological changes in the gastric mucosa and morphology of the intestinal epithelium. Stress exposure caused a decrease in posture changes and head knocks/bites in the home pen. Reference indicators affected by stress exposure did not differ between entire and castrated male pigs, indicating that there is no permanently increased baseline level of stress in entire male pigs. However, entire males responded more pronouncedly to the stress exposure compared to castrated males in terms of posture changes and play behaviour. Pigs provided with grass silage showed more play behaviour and less manipulative behaviours than pigs not receiving grass silage. Stress treated pigs had more hyperkeratosis in the gastric mucosa and gastric ulcers, while offering grass silage reduced such changes. In conclusion, our results indicate that the increased behavioural stress response of entire male pigs might require some adaptations in housing and management of entire male pigs. Gastric ulceration scoring turned out to be a potential post mortem indicator for chronic stress. Finally, providing roughages like grass silage could be a means to positively affect behaviour and gastric health in pigs.