Article ID Journal Published Year Pages File Type
5793631 Preventive Veterinary Medicine 2013 13 Pages PDF
Abstract
The overall health scores of the farms in the sample were classified as moderate for the vast majority of farms (95.4%) (mainly due to subclinical mastitis, dystocia and pain induced by disbudding/dehorning) and varied little between farms. Some livestock systems were associated with a higher overall health score: straw yards and milking parlors (P < 0.0001), highland vs. lowland locations (P = 0.013), Montbeliarde rather than Holstein breeds (P = 0.006). Some management practices also were associated with a higher level of health: medium herd average parity (P = 0.03), low proportion of dirty cows (P = 0.002) and low proportion of cows with abnormal body condition (P = 0.04). These results suggest that some systems contribute to better health and that improvement of health can be obtained in the short term by the modification of routine management practices.
Related Topics
Life Sciences Agricultural and Biological Sciences Animal Science and Zoology
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