Evaluation of the iVET® birth monitoring system in primiparous dairy heifers.

The objective was to validate the iVET® birth monitoring system and to determine if it reduced fetal death in primiparous dairy heifers over a 1-y interval. There were 359 pregnant heifers enrolled; 167 heifers in the iVET® group were monitored electronically and the remaining 192 (controls) were monitored visually for onset of Stage 2 labor, according to routine farm management. In addition, as a reference, all heifers were observed throughout the study by two independent investigators. Calves born dead or that died within 24 h after birth were defined as stillborn. The interval from appearance of the chorioallantoic sac to recognition of onset of calving in the control group averaged 21 min longer than the iVET® signal (p = 0.0001) and rate of fetal death was numerically lower in the iVET® group (8.9%) than in the control group (10.4%, p = 0.65). Interestingly, dystocia occurred more often in the iVET® group (58.3%) than in the control group (40.9%, p = 0.001). The iVET® system detected onset of Stage 2 labor earlier than conventional monitoring by farm staff. However, the device was lacking in several aspects and should be improved before its use in primiparous heifers can be recommended.

[Metabolic monitoring on small and medium sized dairy farms in Emsland, Germany]. / Stoffwechselmonitoring in kleinen und mittelgroßen Milchrindbetrieben im Emsland.

OBJECTIVE: The aim of this study was to evaluate metabolic analyses on small dairy farms regarding indications, realization, and results over 5 years. MATERIAL AND METHODS: In 793 serum samples (122 submissions from 53 farms) originating from cows of different lactation stages and from heifers, the parameters free fatty acids (FFA), ß-hydroxybutyrate (BHB), cholesterol, urea, creatinine, glucose, total protein, albumin, bilirubin, liver enzymes, creatine kinase (CK), ß-carotene, electrolytes and trace elements were analyzed. RESULTS: In 20% of cases, investigations were initiated to control for the metabolic status. Further reasons for laboratory diagnostics were consistent with the culling causes. FFA with 56.7% displayed the most frequent deviations from the normal range during the lactation ante partum. At 8 weeks post partum (p. p.) it fell to 36-38% and later to < 11%. The BHB deviations from the normal range exceeded 68% throughout the whole lactation. During the middle and late lactation, 40-50% of the measured urea concentrations were above the upper reference limit. Hypocalcemia occurred during the first week p. p. to 13.2% and hypophosphatemia to 6.6%. For CK, deviations from the reference value of 60.4-90.0% were determined. Selenium and copper deficiencies were present in approximately 15% of cases. Heifers more frequently displayed a copper deficiency (21.3%) than cows. ß-carotene deficiency was measured ante partum at 50% and p. p. at 47.1-77.8%. Adverse deviations increased between 2006 and 2011 for FFS, urea, ß-carotene, and selenium in correlation with a reduction in the milk price between 2009 and 2010. Deviations from the normal range for BHB, CK, cholesterol, calcium, and inorganic phosphate remained constant. On 80% of the farms, the metabolic status improved during the investigation period. CONCLUSION: Even on smaller farms, peripartal metabolic screenings enable early discovery of causes of the most common culling reasons and provide options for corrective action.