Acta Veterinaria et Zootechnica Sinica ›› 2023, Vol. 54 ›› Issue (6): 2389-2401.doi: 10.11843/j.issn.0366-6964.2023.06.018

• ANIMAL GENETICS AND BREEDING • Previous Articles     Next Articles

Analysis on the Influencing Factors of Wellness Traits in Holstein Lactating Cows in Ningxia

ZHANG Junxing1, ZHANG Hailiang2, HAN Liyun3, MA Yanfen1, WEN Wan4, ZHOU Jiamin4, TIAN Jia4, LU Tingting4, MA Yun1*, WANG Yachun2*   

  1. 1. Key Laboratory of Ruminant Molecular and Cellular Breeding in Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region, School of Agriculture, Ningxia University, Yinchuan 750021, China;
    2. National Engineering Laboratory of Animal Breeding, Key Laboratory of Animal Genetics, Breeding and Reproduction of MARA, College of Animal Science and Technology, China Agricultural University, Beijing 100193, China;
    3. Ningxia Nongken Dairy Industry Co. Ltd., Yinchuan 750021, China;
    4. The Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region Animal Husbandry Station, Yinchuan 750021, China
  • Received:2022-11-17 Online:2023-06-23 Published:2023-06-16

Abstract: The aim of this study was to investigate the population patterns of health events in Holstein lactating cows in Ningxia, and analyze the effect of risk factors on wellness traits. Calving and health records of 58 549 lactating cows calving between 2015 to 2021 were collected from 13 herds in Ningxia. The correlation between health events were analyzed using the UpSet program and the Spearman correlation analysis. In addition, Logistic regression models were used to analyze the effects of risk factors on health events, such as parity, calving season and calving ease score. The results showed that udder health and reproductive disorders accounted for a large proportion of the health events of lactating cows, at 29.97% and 28.95%, respectively. The first 60 days after calving was a critical period for health events in lactating cows. As the parities increased, the incidence of udder health, digestive disorders and metabolic disorders all gradually increased, while the incidence of reproductive disorders tended to first decrease and then increase, with the lowest incidence in 2-parturient cows. In the phenotypic correlation analysis, the correlations between the different health events were all weak. Logistic analysis of risk factors found significant effects of parity, calving season and calving ease score on selected wellness traits in lactating cows. The risk of metabolic disorders was higher in cows that calved in spring and summer, the risk of udder health and reproductive disorders was higher in cows that calved in autumn and winter. And the risk of metabolic and reproductive disorders was increased by 1.30-1.82 times, for assisted at calving comparing to cows unassisted. Based on large-scale herd data, this study identified reproductive disorders and udder health are key health events for lactating cows in Ningxia, the various health events have weak phenotypic correlations, parity, calving season and calving ease score were all risk factors for wellness traits. The results provided a reference for managing herd health events on large-scale farms, and provided theoretical support for research and selection of dairy cow wellness traits.

Key words: Holstein cows, wellness traits, reproductive disorders, udder health, metabolic disorders, risk factors

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