Reticulorumen ph, temperature and cow activity as indicators of diseases after calving / Ramūnas Antanaitis, Mindaugas Televičius, Dovilė Malašauskienė, Vida Juozaitienė, Arūnas Rutkauskas, Karina Džermeikaitė, Dovilė Bačėninaitė

no. HH-P02

Poster – Herd Health Management, Smart Farming and Economics

Objectives: The objective of current study was to deter-minate can reticulorumen ph, temperature and cow activity, registered before calving, be as indicators of diseases after calving.Materials and methods: Lithuanian Black and White dry dairy cows (n=30) were selected according to those fitting a profile of having had a 2nd or more lactations (on average 2.9±0.13 lactation). The clinical examination (identification of diseases after calving) performed from 60 days before calv-ing, till 60 days after calving. Clinical mastitis (CM) cases were characterized by the demonstrated clinical signs, including abnormal appearance of milk (watery, flakes, fibrin clots, and so on; mild); Milk fever (MF) were characterized by sternal re-cumbency with typical S-shaped curve on the neck, weakness and inappetance. On clinical examination, the general health-condition was found to be poor. The body temperature was subnormal and pulse was undetectable. The cows that did not expel their placenta within 12 h were diagnosed with placental retention (PR). Cows without any clinical sign of disease af-ter calving were characterized as clinical healthy (H). The pH temperature of the contents of cow reticulorumens and cow activity were measured using specific smaX-tec boluses man-ufactured for animal care.Results: The healthy cows before calving showed the highest pH and temperature of reticulum. The highest level of activity was in PR-cows, the lowest in the CM group before calving. Reticulum pH and temperature were positively related in all groups of cows. Base of our funding pH of the reticulum statistically reliably correlated with the activity of the cows — positively in the PR group and negatively in the CM, MF and H groups. The temperature of the reticulum was negatively related to the activity of the cows. In all groups of sick cows, we found a sharp decrease in the activity of animals 3-4 days before calving, while the activity of healthy cows increased. The temperature of reticulum sharply decreased in all groups of cows 6-7 days before calving in groups H, MF and PR, on day 4 - in group CM. In the PR group, the reticulum tempera-ture increased 2 days before calving.Conclusions: The highest pH and temperature before calving can be as biomarkers of healthy cows after calving. The lowest reticulum temperature before calving, can be as indicator of MF after calving. Positively correlation of reticulum pH and temperature before calving can be as biomarkers of PR.