Effects of Long-term Comfort and Stress in Dairy Cow Housing Environments on Milk Quality and Productivity

摘要

Environmental pathogen load is commonly associated with increased clinical mastitis but immunological status also affects mastitis susceptibility (Sordillo et al., 1997). Stress in the housing environment may impair dairy cow immune function, increasing mastitis susceptibility. The purpose of this study was to identify long-term effects of high comfort, low stress and low comfort, high stress environments on production, milk quality, and infection prevalence in Holstein dairy cattle.