Transition cow health and management in pasture-based dairy herds: A farmers' survey

Seasonal-calving pasture-based systems characterize Irish dairy production. During the dry period, cows are housed and offered predominantly grass silage, providing unique transition cow management opportunities. This study aimed to describe transition period disease incidence and management strateg...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:PloS one 2024-12, Vol.19 (12), p.e0314987
Main Authors: Horan, Louise, Patton, Joseph, McAloon, Conor G, García-Muñoz, Ángel, Regan, Áine, Mee, John F, Valldecabres, Ainhoa
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Advisors
Animals
Biology and Life Sciences
Cattle
Cattle Diseases - epidemiology
Cattle Diseases - prevention & control
Cattle Diseases - therapy
Condition monitoring
Consent
Cow's milk
Dairy cattle
Dairy farming
Dairy farms
Dairying - methods
Data analysis
Disease
Earth Sciences
Farmers
Farms
Female
Fever
Grass silage
Grasses
Health aspects
Ireland - epidemiology
Livestock industry
Management
Medicine and Health Sciences
Milk
Milk fever
Nutrient deficiency
Pasture
Pattern analysis
Practice
Pregnancy
Research and Analysis Methods
Seasons
Surveys
Surveys and Questionnaires
Tetany
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Summary:Seasonal-calving pasture-based systems characterize Irish dairy production. During the dry period, cows are housed and offered predominantly grass silage, providing unique transition cow management opportunities. This study aimed to describe transition period disease incidence and management strategies reported by farmers, and to evaluate their associations with herd size and calving pattern to inform and guide research activities and national advisory. An online survey distributed amongst 3,899 Teagasc Technical Dairy Advisory clients yielded 525 responses suitable for analysis. Results are presented for all respondents, by herd size and by the two most common calving systems (spring- [84.3%; 439/521] and split-calving [12.9%; 67/521]). Disease incidence was reportedly highest in cows within their first 3 weeks postpartum (58%; 299/519), in cows calving at the end of the calving season (48%; 245/510) and in multiparous cows (52%; 266/513). Respondents reported treating >3% of their herd for milk fever (23%; 120/521) and retained placenta (13%; 68/518), and
ISSN:1932-6203
1932-6203
DOI:10.1371/journal.pone.0314987