Hostname: page-component-cd9895bd7-dzt6s Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-12-22T11:58:28.818Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Prepartum milking effects on parlour behaviour, endocrine and immune responses in Holstein heifers

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  26 July 2007

Susan D Eicher ,
Michael Schutz ,
Francis Kearney ,
Scott Willard ,
Susan Bowers ,
Scott Gandy  and
Kenneth Graves
Susan D Eicher*
Affiliation:
USDA-ARS, Livestock Behaviour Research Unit, 216 Poultry, Purdue University, West Lafayette IN 47907, USA
Michael Schutz
Affiliation:
Department of Animal Sciences, 105 Poultry, Purdue University, West Lafayette IN 47907, USA
Francis Kearney
Affiliation:
Department of Animal Sciences, 105 Poultry, Purdue University, West Lafayette IN 47907, USA
Scott Willard
Affiliation:
Department of Animal and Dairy Sciences, Mississippi State UniversityMS 39762, USA
Susan Bowers
Affiliation:
Department of Animal and Dairy Sciences, Mississippi State UniversityMS 39762, USA
Scott Gandy
Affiliation:
Department of Animal and Dairy Sciences, Mississippi State UniversityMS 39762, USA
Kenneth Graves
Affiliation:
Department of Animal and Dairy Sciences, Mississippi State UniversityMS 39762, USA
*
*For correspondence; e-mail: Susan.Eicher@ars.usda.gov
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

Transition of primiparous heifers to the milking herd is a period with multiple stressors. The objective of these studies was to determine effects of parlour experience and prepartum milking (pre-milking) on behavioural and physiological indicators of stress after calving. Two experiments were conducted, one was in a free-stall housing confinement system and the second was in a modified grazing system. Forty-eight first-calf heifers were assigned to three treatments: control; experienced heifers taken through the parlour without milking; or pre-milk heifers milked for 3 weeks prior to estimated parturition. Blood was collected within 24 h of parturition and on days 3, 5, 7, 10 and 14 following parturition for cortisol and acute phase protein determination. In the grazing system, 20 heifers were assigned to a prepartum milked or control group as in the confinement system and behaviour observations included days −21, −14, −7, −5, −3 and −1 relative to calving and days 1, 3, 7, 9, 14, and 16 post-calving. Milk production was greatest for prepartum milked heifers in both housing systems. However, somatic cell score was reduced by prepartum milking only in the confinement system. Balking occurred least in parlour-experienced heifers. In confinement housing, shifting while in the parlour was the only behaviour that was greater at first milking in control heifers. Kicking was most frequent for parlour experienced heifers on day 2. Grazing system pre-milked heifers shifted more at their first milking (day −21) than did the controls at their first milking (day 1). Shifting within cow was greatest on day −21 compared with day −5 (P<0·05). Pre-milked heifers shifted more on day 1 post-calving than did the control heifers (P<0·05). These results showed that shifting was the most indicative behaviour of restlessness, was transient, and decreased by day 5 prior to calving. Cortisol and α1-acid glycoprotein concentrations were not different; however, haptoglobin increased for all treatments up to and including day 3 and haptoglobin concentrations of pre-milked heifers began to decrease by day 5 post-calving. Pre-milked heifers had lower haptoglobin concentrations than the control heifers and tended to have lower concentrations than experienced heifers on day 10 post partum. By day 14 post partum, all haptoglobin concentrations were <200 μg/ml, but the haptoglobin concentration of control heifers was greater than that of pre-milked and experienced heifers. These results showed that prepartum milking and parlour experience shorten some acute phase protein responses, but minimally affect early parlour behaviours.

Keywords

Prepartum milkingdairy heifersbehaviourimmune responses
Type
Research Article
Information
Journal of Dairy Research , Volume 74 , Issue 4 , November 2007 , pp. 417 - 424
Copyright
Copyright © Proprietors of Journal of Dairy Research 2007

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

Alsemgeest, SP, Taverne, MEM, Boosman, R, van der Weyden, BC & Gruys, E 1993 Peripartum acute phase protein serum amyloid-A concentration in plasma of cows and fetuses. American Journal of Veterinary Research 54 164–167CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Baumann, H & Gauldie, J 1994 The acute phase response. Immunology Today 15 74–80CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Bowers, S, Gandy, S, Graves, K, Eicher, S & Willard, S 2006 Effects of prepartum milking on postpartum reproduction, udder health and production performance in first-calf dairy heifers. Journal of Dairy Research 73 257–263CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Cole, DJ, Roussel, AJ & Whitney, MW 1997 Interpreting a bovine CBC: Evaluating the leukon and acute-phase proteins. Veterinary Medicine May470–478Google Scholar
Godson, DL, Baca-Estrada, ME, Van Kessel, AG, Hughes, HPA, Morsy, MA, Van Dondersgoed, J, Harland, RJ, Shuster, DE, Daley, MJ & Babiuk, LA 1995 Regulation of bovine acute phase responses by recombinant Interleukin-1β. Canadian Journal of Veterinary Research 59 249–255Google Scholar
Greene, WA, Galton, DM & Erb, HN 1988 Effect of prepartum milking on milk production and health performance. Journal of Dairy Science 71 1406–1416CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Grummer, RR, Bertics, SJ & Hackbart, RA 2000 Short Communication: Effects of prepartum milking on dry matter intake, liver triglyceride and plasma constituents. Journal of Dairy Science 83 60–61CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Guidry, AJ, Paape, MJ & Pearson, RE 1976 Effects of parturition and lactation on blood and milk cell concentrations, corticosteroids, and neutrophil phagocytosis in the cow. American Journal of Veterinary Research 37 1195–1200Google ScholarPubMed
Guide for the Care and Use of Agricultural Animals in Agricultural Research and Teaching 1999 1st Revised Edition 1999 Savoy IL, USA: Consortium, Federation of Animal Science Societies p. 61874Google Scholar
Hemsworth, PH, Barnett, JL, Tilbrook, AJ & Hansen, C 1989 The effects of handling by humans at calving and during milking on the behaviour and milk cortisol concentrations of primiparous dairy cows. Applied Animal Behaviour Science 22 313–326CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Hemsworth, PH, Hansen, C & Barnett, JL 1987 The effects of human presence at the time of calving of primiparious cows on their subsequent behavioural response to milking. Applied Animal Behaviour Science 18 247–255CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Kehrli, ME, Nonnecke, BJ & Roth, JA 1989 Alterations in bovine neutrophil function during the periparturient period. American Journal of Veterinary Research 50 207–214Google ScholarPubMed
Littell, RC, Milliken, GA, Stroup, WW & Wolfinger, RS 1996 SAS® System for Mixed Models. SAS Institute Inc., Cary NC, USAGoogle Scholar
Mačuhová, J, Tančin, V, Kraetzl, W-D, Meyer, HHD & Bruckmaier, RM 2002 Inhibition of oxytocin release during repeated milking in unfamiliar surrounding: the importance of opioids and adrenal cortex sensitivity. Journal of Dairy Research 69 63–73CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Malven, PV, Head, HH, Collier, RJ & Buonomo, FC 1987 Periparturient changes in secretion and mammary uptake of insulin and in concentrations of insulin and insulin-like growth factors in milk of dairy cows. Journal of Dairy Science 70 2254–2265CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Munksgaard, L, DePasillé, AM, Rushen, J, Herskin, MS & Kristensen, AM 2001 Dairy cows’ fear of people: social learning, milk yield and behaviour at milking. Applied Animal Behaviour Science 73 15–26CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Pennington, JA & Malven, PV 1985 Prolactin in bovine milk near the time of calving and its relationship to premature induction of lactogenesis. Journal of Dairy Science 70 2254–2265Google Scholar
Santos, JEP, Cerri, RLA, Kirk, JH, Juchem, SO & Villaseňor, M 2004 Effect of prepartum milking of primigravid cows on mammary gland health and lactation performance. Livestock Production Science 86 105–116CrossRefGoogle Scholar
SAS User's Guide Statistics, Version 7-1 Edition 1999 SAS Inst., Inc., Cary NC, USAGoogle Scholar
Schutz, MM & Eicher, SD 2001 Prepartum milking of Holstein heifers: effects on production, reproduction, edema and SCC. Journal of Dairy Science 82(Supplement l) 60Google Scholar
Tilg, H, Dinarello, CA & Mier, JW 1997 IL-6 and APPs: anti-inflammatory and immunosuppressive mediators. Immunology Today 18 428–432CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Uchida, E, Katoh, N & Takahashi, K 1993 Appearance of haptoglobin in serum from cows at parturition. Journal of Veterinary Medical Science 55 893–894CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Van Reenen, CG, Van der Werf, JTN, Bruckmaier, RM, Hopster, H, Dngel, B, Noordhuizen, JPTM & Blokhuis, HJ 2002 Individual differences in behavioral and physiological responsiveness or primiparous dairy cows to machine milking. Journal of Dairy Science 85 2551–2561CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed