Deviation of behavioural and productive parameters in dairy cows due to a lameness event: a synthesis of reviews

Abstract

Lameness is a widespread multifactorial condition affecting the health and performance of dairy cows. Despite the growing support by precision farming technologies, farmers still lack reliable data-driven tools to early identify lame cows. This study used a synthesis of reviews to identify cow’s behavioural and productive parameters most related to lameness and estimate their deviation due to a lameness event. The methodological approach used reviews as starting point to identify the most pertinent studies with the intention of extracting and analysing data from these primary studies. The final dataset used information collected from 31 research papers, cited in 15 reviews, and involved more than 25,000 dairy cows. Five parameters were suitable for the meta-analysis: one about eating behaviour (eating time), three regarding activity and resting behaviour (lying bouts, lying bout duration and lying time) and milk yield. The meta-analysis revealed that all parameters had a significant deviation in cows affected by lameness. The calculation of the pooled means allowed to quantify a mean value for the deviation imposed by a severe lameness event from the value recorded on nonlame cows. Compared to a nonlame animal, a lame cow had a significant negative deviation for eating time (−39 min/day), number of lying bouts (−0.5/day), and milk yield (−3 kg/day). Lame cows had positive deviations for lying bout duration (+12 min/bout) and daily lying time (+42 min/day). The individual or combined use of these mean deviation values as alarm reference thresholds could improve the accuracy of the current automated lameness detection systems.

HIGHLIGHTS

• Feeding and resting habits, and milk yield had a significant deviation in lame cows.

• Lame cows decreased their time spent eating, lying bouts frequency, and milk yield.

• Lame cows had prolonged lying bout duration and daily lying time.

Keywords:

• Dairy cow
• lameness
• behaviour
• welfare
• meta-analysis

Acknowledgment

This research did not receive any specific grant from funding agencies in the public, commercial, or not-for-profit sectors.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by author(s).

Ethical approval

Ethical review and approval were not required because this study did not involve animals for experimental or other scientific purposes.

Data availability statement

The data that support the findings of this study are available from the corresponding author, Cozzi G., upon reasonable request.