The Use of Animal Activity Data and Milk Components as Indicatorsof Clinical Mastitis

摘要

Recent estimates suggest each case of clinical mastitis is associated with a $231-$289 loss (Hogeveen, 2010). As this disease is one of the most costly for our industry, researchers have continued to examine novel detection methods. Measurements of milk components in healthy lactating cows have shown little day to day variation, therefore daily monitoring of these components could serve as an early indicator of disease (Forsback et al., 2010). While several studies have examined milk component changes in relation to mastitis, none have documented the effects of milk component and activity data together (Hortet and Seegers, 1998). Recent advancements in on-farm monitoring technology may allow for the detection of disease before the onset of clinicalsigns with the use of technologies such as the Afi PedometerPlus and AfiLab allow daily monitoring of activity data and milk components (S.A.E. Afikim, Israel). Therefore, the objective of this study was to examine the changes in daily milk components and animal activity around the onset of clinical signs of mastitis.