Comparison of ketosis, clinical mastitis, somatic cell count, and reproductive performance between free stall and tie stall barns in Norwegian dairy herds with automatic feeding.

Publisher: BioMed Central Country of Publication: England NLM ID: 0370400 Publication Model: Print Cited Medium: Print ISSN: 0044-605X (Print) Linking ISSN: 0044605X NLM ISO Abbreviation: Acta Vet Scand Subsets: MEDLINE

Publication: London : BioMed Central
Original Publication: Copenhagen.

Animal Husbandry/*standards ; Dairying/*methods ; Eating/*physiology ; Ketosis/*veterinary ; Mastitis, Bovine/*epidemiology ; Milk/*cytology ; Reproduction/*physiology; Animals ; Cattle ; Cell Count/veterinary ; Cohort Studies ; Confounding Factors, Epidemiologic ; Dairying/instrumentation ; Female ; Incidence ; Ketosis/epidemiology ; Ketosis/physiopathology ; Linear Models ; Mastitis, Bovine/pathology ; Mastitis, Bovine/physiopathology ; Milk/metabolism ; Models, Biological ; Norway/epidemiology ; Retrospective Studies ; Surveys and Questionnaires

Differences in ketosis and clinical mastitis rates, mean somatic cell counts (SCC) and reproductive performance scores (fertility status index = FS-index) between herds housed in free stall (n = 533) and tie stall (n = 59) barns were measured in relation to management and environmental factors in a retrospective cohort study of Norwegian dairy farms with automatic grain feeding systems. Herds with tie stalls were found to have a higher clinical mastitis rate, (61.6 cases per 100 cow-years versus 46.4 cases per 100 cow-years (p < 0.01)); a significantly higher proportion of herds with ketosis, (relative risk = 1.59, (p < 0.01)); and a lower mean fertility status index, (67.3 versus 82.8 (p < 0.01)). No significant difference in mean SCC was found between the 2 groups of dairies (p = 0.32). Large herds had higher Loge geometric mean SCC than small herds (p < 0.01) and herds with high SCC had lower milk production than herds with low SCC (p < 0.01). Herds that scored "very good" on cow cleanliness had significantly lower adjusted mean SCC than herds with scores of "average" or "good" (p < 0.05). Herds in barns with a concrete floor had an adjusted mean number of cases of clinical mastitis of 51.4 per 100 cow-years, 14 per cent higher than herds in barns with rubber mats, litter bed or wood (45.2 cases per 100 cow-years) (p < 0.05). Herds with high milk production level had higher FS-index than herds with low milk production (p < 0.01). Lower disease rates and the higher fertility status measured in the present study favor free stall herds over tie stall herds.

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Date Created: 19970101 Date Completed: 19971016 Latest Revision: 20210422

20221213

PMC8057027

9257454