Feeding practices, ration composition, and body condition scores (BCS) were assessed in an observational case-contrast study of Norwegian dairy herds with low (n = 98) and high (n = 94) mastitis infection rates. Differences between the 2 groups of herds were associated with feeding practices and amount of roughage. More herds in the low-infection group were fed a reduced amount of roughage at d...

Flow cytometry is considered the only reliable method for the separation of X and Y chromosome bearing spermatozoa in equines. The MoFlo SX DP sorter is highly efficient, allowing the production of foals of the desired sex. However, to achieve acceptable pregnancy rates the currently used protocol requires working with fresh semen obtained close to, or at, the sorting facility. An alternative p...

This paper compares management of mastitis on organic dairy farms with that on conventional dairy farms. National standards for organic production vary by country. In the United States, usage of antimicrobials to treat dairy cattle results in permanent loss of organic status of the animal, effectively limiting treatment choices for animals experiencing bacterial diseases. There are no products ...

The objective of this study was to characterize opinions and practices of Wisconsin dairy producers about biosecurity and animal wellbeing. Wisconsin dairy producers were surveyed using a mailed questionnaire and responder herds were categorized based on the number of lactating cows: very small herds (< or =50 lactating cows; n = 279); small herds (51 to 100 lactating cows; n = 202); medium her...

It is well known that transition cow diseases negatively affect reproductive performance; thus, profitability and welfare of dairy herds. Prevention of diseases at the herd level requires a constant effort and effective coordination of the total system (animals, environment, nutrition, and personnel). Substantial knowledge exists to prevent many diseases or conditions; however, it must be trans...

BACKGROUND Control of bovine tuberculosis (bTB) and zoonotic tuberculosis (zTB) has relied upon surveillance and slaughter of infected cattle, milk pasteurisation and public health education. In Cameroon, like many other sub-Saharan African countries, there is limited understanding of current cattle husbandry or milk processing practices or livestock keepers awareness of bTB. This paper describ...

The current technology to sort X and Y chromosome bearing sperm population requires individual identification and selection of spermatozoa in a modified high-speed flow cytometer. For farm animal species, the technology is capable of producing sexed sperm at greater than 90% purity. However, only in the bovine, the technology has reached a developmental level that allows its commercial applicat...

In this study, the presence of antibodies to Brucella abortus, Chlamydophila abortus, Coxiella burnetii, Bovine herpesvirus-1 (BHV-1), Bovine viral diarrhea virus (BVDV) and Bovine herpesvirus-4 (BHV-4) were investigated in dairy cattle herds with abortion history in Burdur province, Southwest region of Turkey. The blood samples were collected from 932 dairy cattle ≥2 years of age from 10 herds...

The objective of this study was to determine the seroprevalence of paratuberculosis in dairy cattle in Burdur province located in southwest of Turkey. Blood samples were collected and tested by the enzyme linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) from 465 dairy cattle older than 2 years randomly selected from 24 dairy cattle herds. Seroprevalence of paratuberculosis was found in 6.2% at the individual...

Obtaining sexed sperm from previously frozen doses (reverse-sorted semen [RSS]) provides an important advantage because of the possibility of using the semen of bulls with desired genetic attributes that have died or have become infertile but from whom frozen semen is available. We report the efficiency of RSS on the pregnancy rate and birth rate of calves in a large-scale program using ovum pi...