Feeding Behavior Identifies Cows at Risk for Metritis

Abstract

Identification of sick animals is a key component of any dairy herd health program. Metritis, one common disease following calving, can be a costly disease to producers. These costs are incurred by increased days open, lower first-service conception, more inseminations, and failure to become pregnant, leading to involuntary culling. Clearly, an improved ability to identify or predict metritis will help avoid these costs by aiding prevention and early treatment. Previous research has indicated that cows with lower feed intakes are more likely to be diagnosed with metabolic and infectious diseases during the transition period. However, changes in feed intake must ultimately result from changes in feeding behavior. Moreover, feeding behavior has been shown to predict morbidity in feedlot steers and may be similarly useful for prediction of disease in transition dairy cows. There is little opportunity to monitor individual feed intake on commercial farms due to prohibitive costs; however, electronic monitoring of feeding behavior shows greater promise for commercial application. This paper will present and discuss studies conducted by our research group that provide evidence that changes in prepartum feeding behavior can be used to identify cows at risk of postpartum metritis.