Time spent feeding as an early indicator of metritis in postpartum dairy cows: systematic review and meta-analysis
R. Cocco A , M. E. A. Canozzi
B , A. C. Vieira A and V. Fischer A *
+ Author Affiliations
- Author Affiliations
A Animal Science Department, Federal University of Rio Grande do Sul, Porto Alegre, Rio Grande do Sul 91540-000, Brazil.
B Instituto Nacional de Investigación Agropecuaria (INIA), Programa Producción de Carne y Lana, Estación Experimental INIA La Estanzuela, Ruta 50 km 11, Colonia 70000, Uruguay.
Animal Production Science 63(12) 1215-1225 https://doi.org/10.1071/AN22302
Submitted: 6 August 2022 Accepted: 9 March 2023 Published: 4 April 2023
© 2023 The Author(s) (or their employer(s)). Published by CSIRO Publishing
Abstract
Context: Feeding behaviour is an important tool for the early detection of diseases in dairy cows.
Aims: The aim of this study was to evaluate whether the variation in time spent feeding in the prepartum and postpartum periods may be used to detect the occurrence of metritis and subclinical ketosis (SCK) before the onset of the clinical symptoms at the postpartum.
Methods: The research was conducted in four electronic databases, including Scopus, Science Direct, Pubmed, and Web of Science. The inclusion criteria for citations were original research, evaluation of daily time spent feeding in dairy cows, and use of this indicator for early identification of metritis and/or SCK in dairy cows in the prepartum and postpartum periods. A random-effect meta-analysis (MA) was conducted for metritis with the time spent feeding means of control (healthy) and treated (sick) groups measured in the prepartum and postpartum periods. The analysis was conducted with the values of daily time spent feeding before and after calving in both groups.
Key results: In total, 26 trials from six papers, involving 1037 dairy cows, were included in the statistical analysis. No data were obtained for SCK to conduct a MA, while for metritis, 16 trials from six papers (prepartum) and 10 trials from three papers (postpartum) were considered. The heterogeneity between studies on metritis was moderate (I2 = 57.5%) in the prepartum period and low (I2 = 10.0%) in the postpartum period. The mean difference feeding time for healthy and unhealthy animals was greater during postpartum (21.14 min/day, P < 0.001) than during prepartum (16.36 min/day, P < 0.001). Meta-regression analysis showed that number of daily milkings, sample size, and the place of running trial significantly influenced the time spent feeding by cows.
Conclusion: On the basis of available and suitable scientific literature, time spent feeding is reduced at the prepartum and postpartum periods in dairy cows further affected by metritis.
Implications: This study evidenced that feeding time might be incorporated into health-monitoring protocols for early detection of metritis in dairy cows.
Keywords: behavior, consumption, dairy cows, early detection of illnesses, eating time, ingestive, metritis, SCK, transition period.
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