Hermann H. Swalve

The placement of lactating sows in farrowing crates restricts movement and may limit the expression of species-specific behaviour. This study investigated physiological and behavioural responses of sows in loose-housed farrowing systems with temporary confinement. Seventy-one Landrace sows were temporarily confined in farrowing crates from entry into the farrowing unit until day 4 postpartum (p.p.), after which the crates were opened to allow greater freedom of movement. Saliva samples were collected twice daily on days 3, 5, 9, and 10 p.p. The Towel Test (TT) was performed on days 4 and 10 p.p. to assess behavioural responses to a novel stimulus. Cortisol concentrations differed significantly between sampling days, with higher concentrations on day 5 p.p. compared with days 3, 9, and 10 p.p. As this increase occurred after crate opening and declined thereafter, it suggests a transient physiological response to the change in housing conditions. Primiparous sows showed higher cortisol concentrations than multiparous sows. Behavioural responses in the TT were not significantly associated with cortisol concentrations, although higher TT scores were accompanied by numerically higher cortisol concentrations. These findings indicate that salivary cortisol is sensitive to short-term management-related changes, whereas behavioural responses provide additional information on individual variation. Combining physiological and behavioural indicators may improve welfare assessment in loose-farrowing systems.

Production diseases in dairy cattle impose economic and welfare burdens, yet few studies quantify costs using on-farm cases. This study aimed to estimate costs and lost revenues at the individual-animal level in 10 German dairy farms (average of 592 cows; 9694 kg marketed milk/cow/year; 32.9% culling rate). Each farm was visited for three weeks; diseased cows and calves were examined by a trained veterinarian. Diagnoses, treatments, labour times, and outcomes were recorded, and costs calculated for labour, products, veterinary and orthopaedic services, discarded milk, decreased milk yield, culling, book loss, and reduced carcass value. In total, 1272 single-animal cases were included: 68% were stand-alone diseases, 11% involved multiple diagnoses within one organ system, and 21% affected several organ systems. When several diseases occurred in the same animal, total costs and lost revenues were greater than the sum of stand-alone cases, indicating compounding effects. High-impact conditions included mastitis, claw disorders, left displaced abomasum, and multimorbidity; per-case losses ranged from €43 (digital dermatitis) to >€1200 (left displaced abomasum with complications). Labour and culling-related costs were higher than reported, and productivity losses exceeded treatment costs in many cases. Findings support farm-level decision-making, prevention, and parameterization of future dynamic models.

Managing transition cows and preventing diseases related to this period is challenging due to the latter’s multifactorial nature. The aim of this applied observational case study is to illustrate and discuss the different aspects involved and provide an approach to analysis and the resulting management solutions using a real-life case within a 500-cow herd. The initial assessment, involving the collection of data on the level of production, animal health and behaviour, and metabolic indicators, as well as management and housing key indicators, revealed key risk factors, including overcrowding, suboptimal feeding strategies, inadequate water supply, and insufficient disease monitoring. These factors contributed to increased cases of metabolic disorders such as hypocalcemia (annual incidence 7.8%), excessive lipomobilisation, and displaced abomasum (annual incidence 5.2%). A holistic approach combining feeding adjustments, disease monitoring, facility improvements, and long-term management strategies was implemented to address these challenges. Short-term interventions, such as optimizing the dietary cation–anion balance and enhancing disease detection protocols, led to noticeable improvements. However, structural constraints and external factors, such as extreme weather conditions (heat stress) and economic limitations, created significant hurdles in achieving immediate and sustained success. The farm ultimately opted for infrastructural improvements, including a new transition cow facility, to provide a long-term solution to these recurring issues. This case highlights the complexity of transition cow management, demonstrating that long-term success depends on continuous monitoring, interdisciplinary collaboration, and adaptability in response to evolving challenges in dairy production.

The proceedings of the 12th World Congress on Genetics Applied to Livestock Production provide you with 816 papers representing the leading research in livestock genetics around the globe. This boo...

Bovine digital dermatitis (BDD) is an infectious disease of the hoof in cattle with multifactorial etiology and a polygenic influence on susceptibility. With our study, we identified genomic regions with the impact on occurrence and development of BDD. We used 5,040 genotyped animals with phenotype information based on the M-stage system for genome-wide association. Significant associations for single-nucleotide polymorphisms were found near genesCMPK2(chromosome 11) andASB16(chromosome 19) both being implicated in immunological processes. A sequence analysis of the chromosomal regions revealed rs208894039 and rs109521151 polymorphisms as having significant influence on susceptibility to the disease. Specific genotypes were significantly more likely to be affected by BDD and developed chronic lesions. Our study provides an insight into the genomic background for a genetic predisposition related to the pathogenesis of BDD. Results might be implemented in cattle-breeding programs and could pave the way for the establishment of a BDD prescreening test.

Milk fatty acids (FA) have been suggested as biomarkers for early-lactation metabolic diseases and for female fertility status. The aim of the present study was to infer associations between FA, the metabolic disorder ketosis (KET), and the interval from calving to first insemination (ICF) genetically and genomically. In this regard, we focused on a single-step genomic BLUP approach, allowing consideration of genotyped and ungenotyped cows simultaneously. The phenotypic data set considered 38,375 first-lactation Holstein cows, kept in 45 large-scale co-operator herds from 2 federal states in Germany. The calving years for these cows were from 2014 to 2017. Concentrations in milk from the first official milk recording test-day for saturated, unsaturated (UFA), monounsaturated (MUFA), polyunsaturated, palmitic, and stearic (C18:0) FA were determined via Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy. Ketosis was defined as a binary trait according to a veterinarian diagnosis key, considering diagnoses within a 6-wk interval after calving. A subset of 9,786 cows was genotyped for 40,989 SNP markers. Variance components and heritabilities for all Gaussian distributed FA and for ICF, and for binary KET were estimated by applying single-step genomic BLUP single-trait linear and threshold models, respectively. Genetic correlations were estimated in series of bivariate runs. Genomic breeding values for the single-step genomic BLUP estimations were dependent traits in single-step GWAS. Heritabilities for FA were moderate in the range from 0.09 to 0.20 (standard error = 0.02-0.03), but quite small for ICF (0.08, standard error = 0.01) and for KET (0.05 on the underlying liability scale, posterior standard deviation = 0.02). Genetic correlations between KET and UFA, MUFA, and C18:0 were large (0.74 to 0.85, posterior standard deviation = 0.14-0.19), and low positive between KET and ICF (0.17, posterior standard deviation = 0.22). Genetic correlations between UFA, MUFA, and C18:0 with ICF ranged from 0.34 to 0.46 (standard error = 0.12). In single-step GWAS, we identified a large proportion of overlapping genomic regions for the different FA, especially for UFA and MUFA, and for saturated and palmitic FA. One identical significantly associated SNP was identified for C18:0 and KET on BTA 15. However, there was no genomic segment simultaneously significantly affecting all trait categories ICF, FA, and KET. Nevertheless, some of the annotated potential candidate genes DGKA, IGFBP4, and CXCL8 play a role in lipid metabolism and fertility mechanisms, and influence production diseases in early lactation. Genetic and genomic associations indicate that Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy FA concentrations in milk from the first official test-day are valuable predictors for KET and for ICF.

The objective of the study was to evaluate behavioral observation procedures and tests to characterize sows’ behavior for their suitability for free farrowing systems. Nest building activity (NB), lying-down behavior (LDB), and position after lying down (PLD) were assessed. Four tests were designed to characterize the reaction of sows to a novel object and an unexpected situation (Towel Test, TT), behavior towards humans (Dummy Arm Test, DAT; Trough Cleaning Test, TCT), and behavior towards piglets (Reunion Test, RT). The study was performed on a nucleus farm in 37 batches including 771 purebred landrace sows housed in farrowing pens with short-term fixation. The assessment of NB started 2 days before the expected date of the farrowing. In 56.2% of the observations, the sows showed increased chewing activity on gunnysacks. The LDB and PLD were assessed on days 3 and 19 post partum (p.p.). In 49.1% of the observations, sows showed careful lying-down behavior. In 50.1% of cases, sows preferred the stomach-teats-position when lying down. With the DAT on day 4 p.p., in 89.3% of observations, no or only slight reactions of the sow were documented. The TT and TCT were performed on days 3 and 10 p.p. Strong defensive reactions of animals towards humans were recorded in 4.5% of the observations in the TT, and in 4.0% of the observations in the TCT. In the RT on day 3 p.p., in 61.8%, a joyful response of the sows to the reunion with their piglets was observed. This study showed that the behavioral observation procedures and designed tests are suitable to characterize sows’ behavior towards humans and piglets with regard to traits that are particularly important in systems without fixation.