UBC Theses and Dissertations

UBC Theses Logo

UBC Theses and Dissertations

Clinical ketosis and standing behaviour in transition dairy cows Itle, Amber Joelle

Abstract

Ketosis is a common disease in dairy cattle, especially in the days after calving, and is often undiagnosed. The objective of this study was to compare the standing behaviour of dairy cows with and without ketosis during the days around calving to determine if changes in this behaviour could be useful in the early identification of sick cows. Serum beta-hydroxybutyrate (BHBA) was measured in 370 cows on three commercial dairy farms, twice weekly from 2 to 21 d after calving. Standing behaviour was measured from 7 d before calving to 21 d after calving using data loggers. Retrospectively, 19 cows with subclinical ketosis (BHBA ≥1.2 and ≤ 2.9 mmol/L) and 20 cows with clinical ketosis (BHBA >2.9 mmol/L) were matched by farm with 39 non-ketotic cows (BHBA

Item Media

Item Citations and Data

Rights

Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 2.5 Canada