Dairy cattle

Effect of metabolic diseases on milk performance of Spanish dairy cattle

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Abstract

During the first weeks postpartum, high-producing dairy cows must face a negative energy balance. A poor adaptive response to these circumstances may entail an increase in metabolic diseases in detriment of milk performance. The aim of this study was to quantify the impact of four metabolic disorders occurring independently within the first 68 days postpartum on complete 305-day lactation milk production: displaced abomasum (DA), hypocalcemia (HCa), clinical ketosis (CK), and subclinical ketosis (SCK). Data from 831,838 official milk records and 28,139 complete lactations collected between 2013 and 2024 were analyzed, corresponding to 18,726 cows from first, second, and third or later parities (up to fifth). Lactations were defined as healthy when none of the four metabolic diseases were recorded during that 68 days period. The effect of each disorder on milk yield at 68 days (M68) and 305 days (M305) was evaluated using linear mixed models, including the animal and permanent environmental effects as random factors, and herd-year of calving, calving month, lactation-age, and the exclusive presence or absence of each disease as fixed effects. A lactation was considered positive for SCK when the milk beta-hydroxybutyrate concentration exceeded 0.10 mMol/L. Cows affected by DA exhibited milk yield losses in M68 ranging from 17%, in first lactation, to 23% from the second lactation onward, and partial recovery at M305, reaching 6% in first lactation and 10% in later ones. HCa had a significant impact on M68 only in cows from the third lactation onward, with estimated losses of 145 kg. However, affected cows recovered over time, and no differences were observed compared with healthy cows at M305 regardless the parity number. Primiparous cows were more susceptible to the effects of CK than multiparous cows, showing significant losses of 4% in M68 and 1% in M305. Multiparous cows only experienced the impact of CK in M68 and later recovered to levels comparable to healthy cows. SCK caused significant losses exclusively in M68, increasing with parity from 53 kg to 77 kg, while a normal level of production was recovered at M305. Overall, cows showed a considerable ability to recover from metabolic diseases occurring within the first 68 days of lactation, but for CK in first lactation and DA across all lactations kept a negative impact on M305.

Keywords: 2026

How to Cite:

García-García, D., Jiménez-Montero, J. & Pérez-Cabal, M., (2026) “Effect of metabolic diseases on milk performance of Spanish dairy cattle”, World Congress on Genetics Applied to Livestock Production Digital Archive 2026(1): 2285398. doi: https://doi.org/10.31274/wcgalp.23683

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