Hostname: page-component-cd9895bd7-jn8rn Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-12-28T03:52:15.989Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Farm characteristics related to on-farm cow mortality in dairy herds: a questionnaire study

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  01 July 2014

K. Alvåsen ,
A. Roth ,
M. Jansson Mörk ,
C. Hallén Sandgren ,
P. T. Thomsen  and
U. Emanuelson
K. Alvåsen*
Affiliation:
Department of Clinical Sciences, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, Ulls väg 26, PO Box 7054, SE-75007 Uppsala, Sweden
A. Roth
Affiliation:
Department of Clinical Sciences, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, Ulls väg 26, PO Box 7054, SE-75007 Uppsala, Sweden Växa Sverige, Vattugatan 17, PO Box 210, SE-10124 Stockholm, Sweden
M. Jansson Mörk
Affiliation:
Växa Sverige, Vattugatan 17, PO Box 210, SE-10124 Stockholm, Sweden
C. Hallén Sandgren
Affiliation:
DeLaval International AB, Gustaf DeLavals väg 15, PO Box 39, SE-14721 Tumba, Sweden
P. T. Thomsen
Affiliation:
Department of Animal Science, Aarhus University, Blichers Allé 20, PO Box 50, DK-8830 Tjele, Denmark
U. Emanuelson
Affiliation:
Department of Clinical Sciences, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, Ulls väg 26, PO Box 7054, SE-75007 Uppsala, Sweden
*
† E-mail: karin.alvasen@slu.se
Get access

Abstract

Dairy cow mortality is an important animal welfare issue that also causes financial losses. The objective of this study was to identify farm characteristics and herd management practices associated with high on-farm cow mortality in Swedish dairy herds. A postal questionnaire was sent to farmers that had either high or low mortality rates for 3 consecutive years. The questionnaire consisted of five sections: ‘About the farm’, ‘Milking and housing’, ‘Feeding’, ‘Routines’ and ‘Lame and sick cows’. A total of 145 questionnaires were returned (response rate=33%). Ten of the 77 characteristics investigated met the inclusion criteria for multivariable analysis. The final logistic regression model included: herd size, breed, use of natural service bull, bedding improvement frequency and pasture system. Herds with Swedish Holstein as the predominant breed (odds ratio (OR) 22.9, 95% confidence interval (CI) 5.2 to 101.8) or with mixed breeds (OR 5.5, 95% CI 1.7 to 17.5) had a greater risk of being high mortality herds than herds that were predominantly Swedish Red (OR 1). Herds larger than 100 cows (OR 19.6, 95% CI 3.5 to 110.4) and herds with 50 to 99 cows (OR 13.8, 95% CI 3.2 to 60.6) had greater risk of mortality than herds numbering 35 to 50 cows (OR 1). Being a high mortality herd was also associated with having cows on exercise lots during the summer season (OR 3.6, 95% CI 1.3 to 9.9) compared with on pasture. A missing answer on the question of bedding improvement frequency was associated with high mortality herds. Overall, this study suggests that characteristics that are related to intensification of the dairy industry are also associated with high on-farm mortality of dairy cows.

Keywords

dairy cattleunassisted deatheuthanasiamanagement
Type
Research Article
Information
animal , Volume 8 , Issue 10 , October 2014 , pp. 1735 - 1742
Copyright
© The Animal Consortium 2014 

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Alban, L and Agger, JF 1996. Welfare in Danish dairy herds 2. Housing systems and grazing procedures in 1983 and 1994. Acta Veterinaria Scandinavica 37, 65–77.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Alvåsen, K, Jansson Mörk, M, Hallén Sandgren, C, Thomsen, PT and Emanuelson, U 2012. Herd-level risk factors associated with cow mortality in Swedish dairy herds. Journal of Dairy Science 95, 4352–4362.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Alvåsen, K, Thomsen, PT, Hallén Sandgren, C, Jansson Mörk, M and Emanuelson, U 2014. Risk factors for unassisted on-farm death in Swedish dairy cows. Animal Welfare 23, 63–70.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Bendixen, PH, Vilson, B, Ekesbo, I and Åstrand, DB 1987. Disease frequencies in dairy cows in Sweden. II. Retained placenta. Preventive Veterinary Medicine 4, 377–387.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Bendixen, PH, Vilson, B, Ekesbo, I and Åstrand, DB 1988. Disease frequencies in dairy cows in Sweden. V. Mastisis. Preventive Veterinary Medicine 5, 263–274.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Burow, E, Thomsen, PT, Sørensen, JT and Rousing, T 2011. The effect of grazing on cow mortality in Danish dairy herds. Preventive Veterinary Medicine 100, 237–241.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Dechow, CD and Goodling, RC 2008. Mortality, culling by sixty days in milk, and production profiles in high- and low-survival Pennsylvania herds. Journal of Dairy Science 91, 4630–4639.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Dechow, CD, Smith, EA and Goodling, RC 2011. The effect of management system on mortality and other welfare indicators in Pennsylvania dairy herds. Animal Welfare 20, 145–158.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Dohoo, IR 2014. Bias – is it a problem, and what should we do? Preventive Veterinary Medicine 113, 331–337.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Emanuelson, U, Oltenacu, PA and Gröhn, YT 1993. Nonlinear mixed model analyses of five production disorders of dairy cattle. Journal of Dairy Science 76, 2765–2772.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Hare, E, Norman, HD and Wright, JR 2006. Survival rates and productive herd life of dairy cattle in the United States. Journal of Dairy Science 89, 3713–3720.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Hernandez-Mendo, O, von Keyserlingk, MAG, Veira, DM and Weary, DM 2007. Effects of pasture on lameness in dairy cows. Journal of Dairy Science 90, 1209–1214.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Mayer, MW and Kammel, DW 2010. Dairy modernization works for family farms. Journal of Extension 48, 5–7.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
McConnel, CS, Lombard, JE, Wagner, BA and Garry, FB 2008. Evaluation of factors associated with increased dairy cow mortality on United States dairy operations. Journal of Dairy Science 91, 1423–1432.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Mee, JF, Sánchez-Miguel, C and Doherty, M 2014. Influence of modifiable risk factors on the incidence of stillbirth/perinatal mortality in dairy cattle. The Veterinary Journal 199, 19–23.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Miller, RH, Kuhn, MT, Norman, HD and Wright, JR 2008. Death losses for lactating cows in herds enrolled in dairy herd improvement test plans. Journal of Dairy Science 91, 3710–3715.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Nørgaard, NH, Lind, KM and Agger, JF 1999. Cointegration analysis used in a study of dairy-cow mortality. Preventive Veterinary Medicine 42, 99–119.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Nyman, AK, Ekman, T, Emanuelson, U, Gustafsson, AH, Holtenius, K, Waller, KP and Sandgren, CH 2007. Risk factors associated with the incidence of veterinary-treated clinical mastitis in Swedish dairy herds with a high milk yield and a low prevalence of subclinical mastitis. Preventive Veterinary Medicine 78, 142–160.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Raboisson, D, Cahuzac, E, Sans, P and Allaire, G 2011. Herd-level and contextual factors influencing dairy cow mortality in France in 2005 and 2006. Journal of Dairy Science 94, 1790–1803.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Smith, JW, Ely, LO and Chapa, AM 2000. Effect of region, herd size, and milk production on reasons cows leave the herd. Journal of Dairy Science 83, 2980–2987.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Thomsen, PT and Houe, H 2006. Dairy cow mortality. A review. Veterinary Quarterly 28, 122–129.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Thomsen, PT, Kjeldsen, AM, Sørensen, JT and Houe, H 2004. Mortality (including euthanasia) among Danish dairy cows (1990–2001). Preventive Veterinary Medicine 62, 19–33.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Thomsen, PT, Kjeldsen, AM, Sorensen, JT, Houe, H and Ersboll, AK 2006. Herd-level risk factors for the mortality of cows in Danish dairy herds. Veterinary Record 158, 622–626.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed