Journal
PREVENTIVE VETERINARY MEDICINE
Volume 100, Issue 3-4, Pages 237-241Publisher
ELSEVIER SCIENCE BV
DOI: 10.1016/j.prevetmed.2011.04.001
Keywords
Death; Pasture; Confinement; Animal health; Cattle
Categories
Funding
- Aarhus University
- Stiftelsen Hofmansgave
- Maelkeafgiftsfonden
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The effect of summer grazing in large Danish dairy herds and certain management characteristics of grazing were studied for their impact on dairy cow mortality. Mortality data (from the Danish Cattle Database) from 391 Danish dairy herds (>100 cows) were combined with information from a questionnaire survey of grazing procedures on these herds in 2008. In all, 131 of the herds were identified as summer grazing and 260 as zero-grazing herds. The mortality was affected by an interaction of summer grazing and milking system. The risk of a cow dying was reduced to 46% in a grazing compared to a zero-grazing herd having automatic milking system. In traditional milking system, mortality was reduced to 75% in grazing compared to zero-grazing herds. Within the grazing herds, the risk of mortality decreased with increasing number of hours on pasture during the season. Free access between barn and pasture was associated with increased cow mortality. (C) 2011 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.
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