Hostname: page-component-cd9895bd7-8ctnn Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-12-28T09:31:27.357Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Prevalence of, and risk factors associated with, perinatal calf mortality in pasture-based Holstein-Friesian cows

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  01 April 2008

J. F. Mee ,
D. P. Berry  and
A. R. Cromie
J. F. Mee*
Affiliation:
Teagasc, Moorepark Dairy Production Research Centre, Fermoy, Co. Cork, Ireland
D. P. Berry
Affiliation:
Teagasc, Moorepark Dairy Production Research Centre, Fermoy, Co. Cork, Ireland
A. R. Cromie
Affiliation:
The Irish Cattle Breeding Federation, Shinagh House, Bandon, Co. Cork, Ireland
*
E-mail: [email protected]
Get access

Abstract

Recent publications indicate that the prevalence of perinatal mortality has increased in some dairy industries and an increased proportion of this loss is not associated with the traditional risk factors for perinatal mortality. The objectives of this study were to establish the prevalence of perinatal mortality (calf death within 24 h of calving) in Irish dairy herds and to determine the current significance of putative risk factors in pasture-based management systems. A total of 182 026 records of full-term calvings from Holstein-Friesian dams served by artificial insemination (AI) sires of seven breeds in herds of 20 calvings or more per year were available from the Irish national breeding database over 4 years (2002 to 2005). The prevalence of perinatal mortality was 4.29% (7.7% in primiparae and 3.5% in pluriparae). The likelihood of perinatal mortality increased between 2002 and 2005 and was greatest in June and in winter. There was an interaction (P < 0.001) between the effect of calving assistance and parity with the effect of dystocia on perinatal mortality being greater in primiparae. The odds of perinatal mortality were greater in male (OR = 1.12; P < 0.001) and in twin calves (OR = 5.70-13.36; P < 0.001) and in dams that had perinatal mortality at the previous calving (OR = 4.21; P < 0.001). The logit of the probability of perinatal mortality increased by 0.099 per unit increase in sire predicted transmitting ability (PTA) for direct perinatal mortality. The probability of perinatal mortality increased at an increasing rate in primiparae as animals calved at a younger age relative to the median age at first calving. The only herd-level factor examined, herd size did not affect the odds of perinatal mortality. These data indicate that the prevalence of perinatal mortality in this cattle population is similar to that in other pasture-based dairy systems worldwide. The putative exposures and attributes traditionally associated with perinatal mortality were associated with perinatal mortality in this pasture-based dairy cow population. The practical implication of these results is that as many of the significant risk factors are largely not under management control (year of calving, month of calving, twin calving, primiparity, previous perinatal mortality and foetal gender), herd owners must focus on the significant determinants under their control (age at first calving, sire genetic merit for direct perinatal mortality and both the extent of calving supervision and the degree of assistance), in order to reduce the prevalence of perinatal mortality and improve perinatal welfare.

Keywords

dairymortalitypastureperinatalrisk factors
Type
Full Paper
Information
animal , Volume 2 , Issue 4 , April 2008 , pp. 613 - 620
Copyright
Copyright © The Animal Consortium 2008

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

Ansari-Lari, M 2007. Study of perinatal mortality and dystocia in dairy cows in Fars Province, Southern Iran. International Journal of Dairy Science 2, 85–89.Google Scholar
Auran, T 1972. Factors affecting the frequency of stillbirths in Norwegian cattle. Acta Agriculturae Scandinavica 22, 178–182.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
BAMN 2007. Heifer growth and economics: target growth. Bovine Alliance on Management and Nutrition Publication No. 9 . AFIA Publications, Arlington, Virginia, USA. pp. 1–6.Google Scholar
Bar, D, Ezra, E 2005. Effects of common calving diseases on milk production in high yielding dairy cows. Israel Journal of Veterinary Medicine 60, 106–111.Google Scholar
Berglund, B, Steinbock, L, Elvander, M 2003. Causes of stillbirth and time of death in Swedish Holstein calves examined post mortem. Acta Veterinaria Scandinavica 44, 111–120.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Berry, DP, Lee, JM, Macdonald, KA, Roche, JR 2007. Body condition score and body weight effects on dystocia and stillbirths and consequent effects on post-calving performance. Journal of Dairy Science 90, 4201–4211.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Casanova, PD, Garcia, FX, Magofke, SJC, Gonzalez, VH, Martinez, HV 1999. Genetic parameters estimation of calving difficulty and associated traits in dairy cattle. Avances en Produccion Animal 24, 57–65.Google Scholar
Chassagne, M, Barnouin, J, Chacornac, JP 1999. Risk factors for stillbirth in Holstein heifers under field conditions in France: a prospective survey. Theriogenology 51, 1477–1488.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Colburn, DJ, Deutscher, GH, Nielsen, MK, Adams, DC 1997. Effects of sire, dam traits, calf traits, and environment on dystocia and subsequent reproduction of two-year-old heifers. Journal of Animal Science 75, 1452–1460.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Collery, P, Bradley, J, Fagan, J, Jones, P, Redehan, E, Weavers, E 1996. Causes of perinatal calf mortality in the Republic of Ireland. Irish Veterinary Journal 49, 491–496.Google Scholar
Crosse, S, Soede, N 1988. The incidence of dystocia and perinatal mortality on commercial dairy farms in the South of Ireland. Irish Veterinary Journal 42, 8–12.Google Scholar
Drew, B 1986. Factors affecting calving rates and dystokia in Friesian dairy heifers, the results of a large scale field trial. Irish Grassland and Animal Production Journal 20, 98–104.Google Scholar
Dwyer, CM, Calvert, SK, Farish, M, Donbavand, J, Pickup, HE 2005. Breed, litter and parity effects on placental weight and placentome number, and consequences for the neonatal behaviour of the lamb. Theriogenology 63, 1092–1110.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Echternkamp, S, Cushman, R, Allan, M 2006. Effects of ovulation rate and fetal number on fertility in twin-producing cattle. Journal of Dairy Science 84 (suppl. 1), 152.Google Scholar
Ettema, JF, Santos, JEP 2004. Impact of age at calving on lactation, reproduction, health, and income in first-parity Holsteins on commercial farms. Journal of Dairy Science 87, 2730–2742.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Fahey, J, O’Sullivan, K, Crilly, J, Mee, JF 2002. The effect of feeding and management practices on calving rate in dairy herds. Animal Reproduction Science 74, 133–150.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Fourichon, C, Beaudeau, F, Bareille, N, Seegers, H 2001. Incidence of health disorders in dairy farming systems in western France. Livestock Production Science 68, 157–170.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Garry, FB 2004. An overview of animal welfare in the US dairy industry. The Bovine Practitioner 38, 1–22.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Hansen, M, Misztal, I, Lund, MS, Pedersen, J, Christensen, LG 2004. Undesired phenotypic and genetic trend for stillbirth in Danish Holsteins. Journal of Dairy Science 87, 1477–1486.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Harbers, A, Segeren, L, de Jong, G 2000. Genetic parameters for stillbirth in the Netherlands. Interbull Bulletin 25, 117–122.Google Scholar
Heringstad, B, Chang, YM, Svendsen, M, Gianola, D 2007. Genetic analysis of calving difficulty and stillbirth in Norwegian Red cows. Journal of Dairy Science 90, 3500–3507.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Jamrozik, J, Fatehi, J, Kistemaker, J, Schaeffer, LR 2005. Estimates of genetic parameters for Canadian Holstein female reproduction traits. Journal of Dairy Science 88, 2199–2208.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Johanson, JM, Berger, PJ, Kirkpatrick, BW, Dentine, MR 2001. Twinning rates for North American Holstein sires. Journal of Dairy Science 84, 2081–2088.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Johanson, JM, Berger, PJ 2003. Birth weight as a predictor of calving ease and perinatal mortality in Holstein cattle. Journal of Dairy Science 86, 3745–3755.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Klassen, DJ, Cue, RI, Hayes, JF 1990. Estimation of repeatability of calving ease in Canadian Holsteins. Journal of Dairy Science 73, 205–212.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Kornmatitsuk, B, Dahl, E, Ropstad, E, Beckers, JF, Gustafsson, H, Kindahl, H 2004. Endocrine profiles, haematology and pregnancy outcomes of late pregnant Holstein dairy heifers sired by bulls giving a high or low incidence of stillbirth. Acta Veterinaria Scandinavica 45, 47–68.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Lombard, JE, Garry, FB, Tomlinson, SM, Garber, LP 2007. Impacts of dystocia on health and survival of dairy calves. Journal of Dairy Science 90, 1751–1760.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
McClintock SE 2004. A genetic evaluation of dystocia in Australian Holstein-Friesian cattle. PhD, University of Melbourne, Australia, 193pp.Google Scholar
McGuirk, BJ, Going, I, Gilmour, AR 1999. The genetic evaluation of UK Holstein Friesian sires for calving ease and related traits. Animal Science 68, 413–422.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Mee, JF 1991. Factors affecting the spontaneous twinning rate and the effect of twinning on calving problems in nine Irish dairy herds. Irish Veterinary Journal 44, 14–20.Google Scholar
Mee, JF 1999. Stillbirths – what can you do? Cattle Practice 7, 277–281.Google Scholar
Mee, JF 2004. Managing the dairy cow at calving time. The Veterinary Clinics of North America: Food Animal Practice 20, 521–546.Google ScholarPubMed
Mee, JF 2006. The unexplained stillbirth. Irish Veterinary Journal 59, 438–439.Google Scholar
Mee JF 2008. Prevalence and risk factors for dystocia in dairy cattle: a review. Veterinary Journal 175 (in press).CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Meyer, CL, Berger, PJ, Koehler, KJ, Thompson, JR, Sattler, CG 2001. Phenotypic trends in incidence of stillbirth for Holsteins in the United States. Journal of Dairy Science 84, 515–523.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Philipsson, J 1976. Studies on calving difficulty, stillbirth and associated factors in Swedish cattle breeds. II. Effects of non-genetic factors. Acta Agriculturae Scandinavica 26, 165–174.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Pryce, JE, Harris, BL, Sim, S, McPherson, AW 2006. Genetics of stillbirth in dairy calves. Proceedings of the New Zealand Society of Animal Production 66, 98–102.Google Scholar
SAS 2006. SAS/STAT Software, Release 9.1. SAS Institute Inc., Cary, NC, USA.Google Scholar
Silva del Rio, N, Stewart, S, Rapnicki, P, Chang, YM, Fricke, PM 2007. An observational analysis of twin births, calf sex ratio, and calf mortality in Holstein dairy cattle. Journal of Dairy Science 90, 1255–1264.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Simensen, E 1982. An epidemiological study of calf health and performance in Norwegian dairy herds II. Factors affecting mortality. Acta Agriculturae Scandinavica 32, 421–427.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Simerl, NA, Wilcox, CJ, Thatcher, WW, Martin, FG 1991. Prepartum and peripartum reproductive performance of dairy heifers freshening at young ages. Journal of Dairy Science 74, 1724–1729.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Sorge U 2005. The effect of varied duration of the close up period of primiparous cows on the incidence of dystocia and perinatal calf mortality. PhD Dissertation, FU Berlin, Germany, 110pp.Google Scholar
Steinbock, L, Nasholm, A, Berglund, B, Johansson, K, Philipsson, J 2003. Genetic effects on stillbirth and calving difficulty in Swedish Holsteins at first and second calving. Journal of Dairy Science 86, 2228–2235.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Streit, P, Ernst, E 1992. Influences on peri- and postnatal calf losses with particular reference to husbandry conditions. 1. Influences on perinatal calf losses. Zuchtungskunde 64, 35–44.Google Scholar
Szenci, O, Kiss, MB 1982. Perinatal calf losses in large cattle production units. Acta Veterinaria Academiae Scientiarum Hungaricae 30, 85–95.Google ScholarPubMed
Thompson, JR, Rege, JEO 1984. Influences of dam on calving difficulty and early calf mortality. Journal of Dairy Science 67, 847–853.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Verma, A, Gupta, K 2002. Genetic and non-genetic factors on incidence of abnormal calvings and components of replacement rate. SARAS Journal of Livestock and Poultry Production 18, 29–33.Google Scholar
Waltner-Toews, D, Martin, SW, Meek, AH, McMillan, I 1986. Dairy calf management, morbidity and mortality on Ontario Holstein herds. 1. The data. Preventive Veterinary Medicine 4, 103–124.CrossRefGoogle Scholar