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Indicators of animal welfare, cow comfort, and its economic impact

Indicators of animal welfare, cow comfort, and its economic impact. Alvaro Garcia D.V.M Ph.D. Associate Professor South Dakota State Universit y. American farms in the XXI century. Women have long played a significant role in dairy farming. Aging farmer population and growing demand for

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Indicators of animal welfare, cow comfort, and its economic impact

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  1. Indicators of animal welfare, cow comfort, and its economic impact Alvaro Garcia D.V.M Ph.D. Associate Professor South Dakota State University

  2. American farms in the XXI century • Women have long played a significant role in dairy farming. • Aging farmer population and growing demand for niche markets encourage more women into owning and managing dairy farms. • Women as principal dairy operator increased by 36%: 1997 2.8 % 2002 3.8%

  3. Women on dairy farms Long-term planning vs. daily decisions • Men tend to decide about feed, women about calf care and milking. • The person who does the job makes the decisions. • Joint decisions about capital and dairy herds and long-term financial decisions (see table). Source: University of WI.

  4. Time use by gender Source: University of WI.

  5. Current trends in dairy • Farm expansion • Reduction of owner-animal interaction • Higher reliance on problem detection by farm crew • Subclinical problems may escape diagnosis • Early treatment or management changes: • increase their effectiveness • improves animal welfare • reduces overall costs

  6. Cattle comfort • Influences profitability of farms due to: 1. involuntary culling 2. cow longevity 3. productive life

  7. Productive life “Lactations completed before a cow is culled” • dilutes fixed and variable costs • fewer replacements needed per year • allows to concentrate in voluntary culling • allows improvement in genetic potential • important from an animal welfare perspective

  8. Cash Flows of a Cow’s LifeCow has economic attributes How do I increase the net positive area/unit time ? David Galligan, 2007

  9. Cash Flows of a Cow’s LifeCow has economic attributes How do I increase the net positive area/unit time ? Affect Milk yield? Alter time and $/d Heifer Repro. Efficiency Higher yield Sire Selection Efficiency “Seeds” Replacement Issue (Culling Technologies) Longevity/Pruning ? David Galligan, 2007

  10. Cow comfort assessment parameters

  11. Cow hygiene •  Indicator of the environment al cleanliness: • Compromised comfort • Dirty cows > risk of intramamary infections • SCC increased as the score for udder, legs, and composited score increased. Reneau et al. 2005

  12. Cow hygiene score In dairies where environmental mastitis predominates: • 40-50,000 SCC per unit change in hygiene score. • Hygiene score from 4 to 2 = 100,000 less SCC in the tank.

  13. Economic impact: • Premiums • Production • Treatment costs • Culling

  14. Somatic Cell Counts Premiums Premiums Table calculations • 350,000 SCC = 0. • Hygiene score of 4.5 and SCC of 350,000 no premiums or penalties. • Hygiene score drops from 4.5 to 1.5 and SCC from 350,000 to 200,000 150,000. • Premiums for low SCC paid on per lb of protein basis. • Avg. protein for the farm = 3.05%, SCC premiums calculation: (350 – 200)* rate from table/3.0 = .125 per lb of protein. • Calculations: $ .125/lb of protein * avg. 3.05 protein for the farm = $.381/cwt.

  15. Production losses SCC and Production Things to consider: Drops in SCC: • increase production, • improves animal health, • decreases treatment costs, • reduces culling losses, • increases longevity • Reduces replacement needs This is “opportunity milk” that could have been produced at no additional cost.

  16. Teat condition • Affects production, milk quality and health of cows. • Healthy teats = less mastitis, better cow prep and letdown. • Impacts involuntary culling. • Milking machine in contact with cows 2-4 times per d. • Teat lesions result of over-milking or vacuum fluctuations. • Determine percent of the herd affected by teat lesions.

  17. Teat condition Mein et al. 2001

  18. Number of animals to score: • Dairies with less than 100 cows? Score them all!. Large dairies? Select 80 animals at random or 20% of the herd, whichever number is larger. • Determine presence of hyperqueratosis (smooth and rough) • Associated with aspiration of teat ends during over-milking. • Teat shape also important (more frequent with pointy teats). • Lesions of the teat end and/or its skin predispose the cow to bacterial infection (Staph. aureus!).

  19. Lameness • Among the best welfare indicators for dairy cattle. • Impairs production and reproduction, and increases culling. • Predisposing factors: • excessively smooth floors • irregular, excessively abrasive floors • Hoof hardness is critical • Hooves absorbed 1/3 of total water during the 1st hour of exposure to high moisture conditions Borderas et al. (2004)

  20. Hock lesions score • Chronic trauma of the hocks • Reasons: inadequate stall design and/or amount of bedding. • Hock lesion score: • 0 =normal, no lesions or hair loss; • 1 = hair loss, no swelling; • 2 = swelling, no hair loss; • 3 = swollen hock with hair loss. • Easily performed during milking. % cows with lesions = (No scores 1 or 2 or 3/cows scored)*100

  21. Source: University of MN

  22. Economic incidence • Direct costs (treatment) • Indirect costs: decreased production, reproduction, early culling. • Prolonged days to 1st insemination, days open, time spent in the breeding group and services per conception. (Sprecher et al. (1997) • Delayed ovarian activity during the post calving period. Garbarino et al. (2004) • Lame cows had 3.5 greater probability of delayed cycles. • Return to normal ovarian cycles in lame cows improved by 71% by preventing onset of lameness.

  23. Effects of lameness on dry matter intake and milk production Locomotion scoring can be used to predict expected reductions in intake, Production, and associated economic losses. The greatest drop in production compared with DMI implies the cow prioritizes energy to maintain body tissues; the reduction in intake reflects on production. Lameness decreased milk yield by upto 682 lbs per lactation. Rajala-Schultz et al. 1999 Source: Robinson, P.

  24. Lameness is multi-factorial • Several management issues can have an influence: • Adequate nutrition maintains hoof integrity and prolongs productive life. • Consequences: subclinical and clinical acidosis, laminitis (nutritional and/or management errors). • Effective fiber deficiency: grain in excess and/or highly fermentable carbohydrates.

  25. Feeding behavior and cow comfort • Ketosis, acute locomotion problems, and chronic lameness result in changes in short-term feeding behavior. • Ketosis: rapid decreases in intake, feeding time, and feeding rateduring 3.6 d beforediagnosis by farm personnel. • Acute locomotion disorders: smaller daily decreases in intake and feeding time, and daily increasein feeding rate during an average of 7.7d from onset to diagnosis. • Daily feeding time changed most consistently. • It’s possible to detect more than 80% of cows with acute disorders at least 1 d beforediagnosis by farm personnel. González et al. 2008

  26. Short-term feeding behavior and early identification of sick cows

  27. Manure scoring • Manure consistency: indicator of digestive upsets. • Increased amount of undigested grain or a pH of the manure under 6.0 suggest accelerated rate of passage. • Inadequate dietary effective fiber (mat formation), • Origin: dietary imbalances or management flaws. • Animal competition results in an uneven intake of feeds. • Are subclinical and eventually clinical acidosis potential problems? • Score manure based on its consistency.

  28. Manure scoring

  29. Cow comfort measurements • Cow comfort index (CCI) = [ (# cows lying in stalls) / (# cows lying + # cows standing in a stall)]*100 • Benchmark: 80-85 • Time of measurement: when minimal amounts of feed are available, and when cows have not yet been disturbed.

  30. Cow comfort measurements • Stall use index (SUI)= [(# cows lying in stalls) / (# cows not eating)]*100 • Benchmark: 75 • Time of measurement: when minimal amounts of feed are available, and when cows have not yet been disturbed.

  31. Cow comfort measurements • Stall Standing index (SSI) = [# cows standing or perching in stalls / all cows in stalls]*100 • Benchmark: 6 to 35% • Time of measurement: when minimal amounts of feed are available, and when cows have not yet been disturbed.

  32. Take home messages • Hygiene and lameness are priorities when evaluating cow comfort. • SCC are closely associated with cow hygiene. • Scoring for locomotion regularly (e.g. monthly) can help identify individual cows at risk of clinical lameness. • Locomotion scoring is useful to estimate economic losses and assess the cost-benefit of corrective actions. • Temperature/humidity index, hock lesions, changes in intake and body condition scores, are also important indicators when evaluating overall cow comfort.

  33. Thank you!

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