Associations of parity with health disorders and blood metabolite concentrations in Holstein cows in different production systems.

Data were obtained from studies in Australia, Canada, and the United States using individual cow data from 28,230 Holstein cows to evaluate associations between parity and disease. Our goal was to develop understanding of disease risks for cows of differing parity. We hypothesized that there would be increased risks of disease and changes in metabolite concentrations with increased parity. Parity ≥5 represented 2,533 cows or 9.0%, parity 4 was 9.8% (2,778), parity 3 as 19.0% (5,355), parity 2 as 28.1% (7,925), and parity 1 was 34.1% (9,639) of the sample. Of these cows, 15.5% were in Australia, 14.7% in Canada, and 69.8% in the United States. Lactational incidence (LI) risk of clinical hypocalcemia increased with parity from 0.1% for parity 1 to 13% for parity ≥5 cows. The marked increase suggests profound differences in metabolism with increased parity. The LI of clinical mastitis was 17.4%. The odds of mastitis increased with parity to 2.5 times greater in parity ≥5 than in parity 1. The LI of lameness increased with parity; specifically, the odds of lameness was 5.6 times greater for parity ≥5 than parity 1. Dystocia incidence was 8.7% and greatest for parity 1 cows. The LI of retained placenta was 7.4% and increased with parity, with the odds for parity ≥5 2.3 times greater than for parity 1. The LI of metritis was 10% and of endometritis 14%, with the greatest odds in parity 1. The LI of clinical ketosis was 3.3% with a marked increase in odds with parity. The prevalence of subclinical ketosis was 26.8% with only cows in parity 1 having lower odds than other parities. Parity ≥5 cows had greater odds (odds ratio = 1.7) of respiratory disease than parity 1 cows, which were lesser than other parities. Metabolite concentrations were evaluated in 5,154 Holstein cows in the precalving, calving, and immediate postcalving data sets. Metabolic measures near peak lactation provided 1,906 observations. Concentrations of ß-hydroxybutyrate (BHB) and nonesterified fatty acids increased with parity on d 1 to 3 of lactation and at peak lactation. On d 1 to 3 after calving differences in glucose, nonesterified fatty acids, and BHB indicated a greater reliance on mobilized lipid to export energy to peripheral tissues as BHB for greater parity cows. Differences in concentrations among parity groups were marked at times, for example >0.20 mM in Ca for parity 1 and 2 to parity ≥5 and >0.33 mM for all older parities compared with parity 1 for P on the day of calving. The marked increase suggests profound differences in metabolism with increased parity are probably influenced, in part, by increased production. We found marked differences in concentrations of metabolites with parity that are consistent with reduced reproduction, health, and body condition for higher parity cows. These unfavorable differences in metabolism in Ca, P, glucose, and cholesterol concentrations for higher parity cows also complement the often-substantial differences in disease risk with parity and suggest a need to carefully consider the parity structure in study design. Managers and advisors will need to consider methods to reduce risk of health disorders tailored to cows of different ages.

Holstein dairy cows lose body condition score and gain body weight with increasing parity in both pasture-based and total mixed ration herds.

Body condition scoring (BCS) and body weight (BW) are observations associated with labile tissue reserves, health, and reproduction efficiency of dairy cows. The effect of parity (1 through to ≥5) and feeding system (pasture-based and TMR) on BCS and BW were evaluated utilizing raw data sets from 16 retrospective studies that totaled 24,807 Holstein cows across 3 nations (Australia, Canada, and the United States). Linear regression models were used to investigate the 5 outcome variables of precalving BCS, peak milk BCS, change in BCS from precalving to peak milk, and peak milk BW and their respective associations with parity and feeding system. To help control for the influence of calendar time, study treatment protocols when applicable, and genetic change, all outcome variables were center-transformed around each study group mean. Including feeding system as a covariate improved model fit for most outcome variables; however, the relative effect size of parity was generally much greater than feeding system effect size. Parity 2 cows had the lowest precalving BCS of -0.087 [95% confidence interval (CI): -0.107, -0.065] less than the mean, whereas parity 1 cows had the greatest, 0.068 (95% CI: 0.043, 0.092) above mean, regardless of feeding system. Peak milk BCS overall decreased with increasing parity (parity 1 to parity ≥5: -0.13, 95% CI: -0.19, -0.08) and BCS change during the transition period monotonically decreased with increasing parity (parity 1 to parity ≥5: -0.22, 95% CI: -0.26, -0.17). Peak milk BW monotonically increased with increased parity (parity 1 to parity ≥5: 114 kg, 95% CI: 104, 125). A waffle plot was used to present the proportions of cows, by parity, that were partitioned into "low BCS and low BW," "low BCS and high BW," "high BCS and low BW," or "high BCS and high BW" groups. Cows were assigned either a high or low status by being above or below their specific centered study group means, respectively. Considering a null hypothesis of 25% per BCS-BW category, there was a striking change in category from parity 1 cows that were predominantly in the "high BCS and low BW" category (61.2%) to parity ≥5 cows that were predominantly in the "low BCS and high BW" category (55.5%). The study supports studies showing increased weight and change in BCS with increased parity. We highlight the associations among production system, BCS, BW, and parity.

Non-antimicrobial approaches for the prevention or treatment of infectious bovine keratoconjunctivitis in cattle applicable to cow-calf operations: A scoping review.

Infectious bovine keratoconjunctivitis (IBK) is a common ocular disease in cattle that causes economic losses to producers and negatively impacts animal welfare. In a 2016 survey of cow-calf producers in California, IBK was identified as the disease for which antimicrobials are most frequently used. The presented scoping review examined the available literature for methods to prevent IBK and for alternatives to antimicrobials to treat the disease that can be applied in cow-calf operations. Online databases were searched for publications about IBK in cattle populations that were reported from 1950 to 2020. Citations were systematically evaluated in a multi-stage approach using commercial software and summarized in a scoping review format. For the studies included in the review, most research (n = 50) has focused on the development of vaccines for the prevention of IBK. Although the quality of publications has improved over time, there is a lack of consistent evidence for vaccine efficacy against IBK in post-2000 experimental and conventional vaccine trials. A systematic analysis of vaccine studies is warranted. A limited number (n = 6) of studies evaluated the prevention of IBK through fly control, where most have found efficacy of this control measure. Several treatment options (n = 5) that do not include the use of antimicrobials have been investigated but remain at the preliminary stage of testing. Differences in breed susceptibility has been demonstrated with breeds belonging to the Bos indicus subspecies less frequently affected compared to those belonging to the Bos taurus subspecies. Hereford cattle and those lacking pigmentation around the eyelid margin are more frequently affected than other breeds. At present, there are few evidence-based measures that producers can utilize to reduce the burden of IBK in their herds and more research into the efficacy of fly control measures, non-antimicrobial treatment options, the continued search for a viable vaccine, as well as identifying genetic markers associated with traits that confer resistance to the disease are needed.