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. 2023 May 4;13(9):1544.
doi: 10.3390/ani13091544.

Udder Hygiene and Mastitis Indicators in Contrasting Environmental Conditions during Half-Time Confinement in Pasture-Based Dairy Systems

Graciana R Mendina  1 , Juan Pablo Damián  2 , Ana Meikle  2 , Pablo Chilibroste  3 , Oscar Bentancur  3 , Maria de Lourdes Adrien  1
Affiliations

Udder Hygiene and Mastitis Indicators in Contrasting Environmental Conditions during Half-Time Confinement in Pasture-Based Dairy Systems

Graciana R Mendina et al. Animals (Basel). .

Abstract

This study aimed to compare the association between two types of housing, compost barns (CB) vs. outdoor soil-bedded yard (OD), and udder hygiene and mastitis indicators in Holstein dairy cows calving in autumn (n = 31) and spring (n = 27). After calving, cows were transferred to a pasture-based system with half-time confinement in one of two treatments: CB or OD. The udder hygiene score (UHS) was evaluated monthly and on days after rainfall over the entire lactation period. Individual somatic cell count (SCC) was determined throughout lactation, and the prevalence of intramammary infection (IMI) was estimated. Cows confined in OD presented higher UHS compared to cows in CB (p < 0.05) in both calving seasons. After rains, autumn-calving cows in OD were dirtier than on days without previous rain (OR = 1.85, CI 95%: 1.1-3.1; p < 0.02). However, no differences in IMI and clinical mastitis were found between OD and CB cows in either calving season.

Keywords: compost barn; moisture; mud; outdoor soil-bedded; rainfall.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no conflict of interest.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Percentage of the day with a temperature humidity index (THI) <68 (white area), 68 to 71 (grey area), and ≥72 (black area), and average THI (dotted grey line), during the months of study.
Figure 2
Figure 2
Milk production (L/cow/day; (A,B)) and somatic cell score (C,D) by week for compost barn (CB ◼) and outdoor soil-bedded (OD ☐) in autumn (left) and spring (right) calving cows. Grey bars indicate periods of complete confinement.
Figure 3
Figure 3
Daily and monthly accumulated rainfall (A), percentage of dirty cows (UHS score 3 and 4) per date of observation for compost barn (CB ◼) and outdoor soil-bedded (OD ☐), for autumn (B) and spring (C) calving cows during the experimental period. Grey bars indicate periods of complete confinement. Asterisks indicate significant differences between treatments in autumn-calving cows (p < 0.01).
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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