On-farm use of a water hardness test kit to assess total blood calcium level in dairy cattle.

In this Research Communication we report the measurement of total blood calcium concentration with a water hardness test kit (WHTK) in dairy cattle and compare the results to a reference method. The study was carried out on 107 Holstein Friesian cows from three commercial dairy farms in Sardinia (Italy). Blood samples were collected ≤7 d from calving and total serum calcium concentration was determined using a biochemical analyzer and a WHTK. The relationship between the laboratory results and the WHTK results was investigated using Spearman's rank correlation test and simple linear regression was determined. Sensitivity, specificity, negative and positive predictive values, intra and inter-assay coefficient of variation were also calculated. The test values were highly correlated with the laboratory values (R2 = 0.72, P < 0.001). Sensitivity and specificity were respectively 88 and 83% for the WHTK and intra and inter-assay coefficients of variation were 7.3 and 11.3% respectively. The WHTK was identified as a potential on-farm tool for monitoring early postpartum Ca concentrations at herd level.

Association between left-displaced abomasum corrected with 2-step laparoscopic abomasopexy and milk production in a commercial dairy farm in Italy.

BACKGROUND: Left displacement of the abomasum (LDA) is a condition of dairy cows that causes huge economic losses. The aim of the study was to evaluate the effect of LDA after on-farm correction by the 2-step laparoscopic abomasopexy on milk production based on 305-d milk yield on a commercial dairy farm in Italy.The study was performed between January 2011 and January 2014 on 58 Holstein Friesian cattle with left displacement of the abomasum in a commercial dairy farm in the farmland of Ozieri, Sardinia (Italy). Each cow underwent a 2-step laparoscopic abomasopexy performed by the same veterinarian. Each case was matched with a control herdmate by age, parity and calving date. Cows with LDA and healthy control cows also had a similar 305-d milk yield in the previous lactation. Data on milk production were collected using a dairy herd management software programme (Afimilk®, Afimilk Ltd., Israel). The 305-d lactation yield was obtained from the sum of daily milk yields for each cow. An unpaired Student's t-test was used to compare changes in milk production, mean fat and protein percentage of cases and controls before and after surgical procedure. RESULTS: Data from 4 cows were excluded from the analysis due to post-surgical complications. 54 cases and 54 control cows participated in the study. We found that milk production significantly decreased from a baseline of 12,295 ± 1690 kg to 11,165 ± 1989 kg in the affected lactation. Conversely, a significant increase was observed for mean fat and protein percentage during lactation in case cows. CONCLUSIONS: In the present study cows with left displacement of the abomasum corrected with 2-step laparoscopic abomasopexy produced less milk than their control herdmates. Each case and control pair in the present study came from the same farm in order to eliminate farm to farm differences in management, housing, season, etc. However, this limits the validity of our data to the specific situation described here.