Browsing by Author "Pinedo, Pablo, advisor"
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Item Open Access An integral approach for management challenges in the dairy industry(Colorado State University. Libraries, 2023) Herrera, Natalia, author; Pinedo, Pablo, advisor; Velez, Juan Santiago, committee member; Holt, Timothy, committee memberA growing body of literature recognizes the importance of including an integrated approach to animal welfare and employee well-being in the dairy industry. The current thesis aims to describe this integral approach by presenting two research projects developed in a commercial dairy under the same management. Hence, an animal welfare pilot study was performed on a dairy farm located in northern Colorado, and an employee well-being study was developed on three dairy farms, two located in northern Colorado and one in northern Texas. Both projects were performed during the year 2022 and the dairies are administrated by the same management. The overall structure of this thesis takes the form of three chapters, including each perspective previously analyzed in the current management challenges explored in the dairy industry. Chapter one presents an extensive literature review of both approaches identified as management challenges in the dairy industry. Then, chapter two analyses the results of an online survey undertaken from September through November 2022 that aimed to explore employee adaptation, perception, and understanding of technology in the dairy farm. In order to accomplish the goal of this pilot study, the online survey completed by two-hundred-sixty-six employees was analyzed and the results are presented in chapter two. Chapter three presents the results of an observational study done on cow-calf behavior from the expulsion of the calf up to the separation in a dairy system located in northern Colorado. One-hundred-sixty-seven calving that occurred from May to June were analyzed and the results are presented in chapter three. Results are briefly described next. First, from the adaptation, perception, and understanding of technology in the dairy farm study, employees recognize and have positive feelings towards the technology implemented at work, where they highlighted the understanding of its benefits, and recognized the technology as a tool that helps them to be more efficient. However, the challenges to adapting to new technology were mainly determined to be personal limitations, such as not knowing the language of the technology and impairments to seeing. Also environmental limitations were recognized by the employees such as cold weather, wind, or an environment that is too dark or too bright. Lastly, the level of perception of technology was found to be associated with the level of education and level of English of the employee, but no significant differences were identified by age or gender. Findings are promising and the current thesis invites the academia to extended this type of research in other livestock operations that adopt precision livestock farming technology. Second, from the cow-calf behavior from the expulsion of the calf up to separation in a dairy system research, with an average time of 2,489 seconds together, the predominant behavior found by the dam was the intensive licking towards their calf, and secondary particular behaviors were lying down after calving, aggressive behavior upon a surrogate cow, and a following behavior upon separation. On the calf side, the main behaviors were licking the cow, and mobilizing with their two front hooves. Less common behaviors were standing up, reaching the udder, suckling, and looking at her cow upon separation. Moreover, animal-level variables that were associated with these behaviors were found to be parity and calving difficulty. Also, for environmental-level variables, the drop time, calving in the patio, and temperature were associated with these behaviors as well. In general, no significant associations were found for twins, calf gender, and heat index. Lastly, when the future health performance of both animals was analyzed, only the stand-up behavior of the calf was significantly associated with an increased average daily gain weight from birth to weaning, compared to calves that did not stand up. The novel findings presented in this thesis will help dairy management to better understand latent challenges in the industry with an integral approach that includes animal welfare and employee well-being. This study extends the knowledge of cow-calf contact systems by exploring the animal behavior right after calving and up to separation and provides a comprehensive assessment of adaptation, perception, and understanding of precision livestock farming technologies by the dairy employee. The conclusions from this thesis will add to the rapidly expanding field of integrating animal and employee health into integral strategies for current management challenges in the dairy industry.Item Open Access Assessing the predictive value of dairy facial biometrics for measures of productivity, health, and social dominance(Colorado State University. Libraries, 2018) McVey, Catherine, author; Pinedo, Pablo, advisor; Grandin, Temple, committee member; Fosdick, Bailey, committee member; Maunsell, Fiona, committee memberTo view the abstract, please see the full text of the document.Item Open Access Association between patterns of body condition score during early lactation and conception rate in dairy cows(Colorado State University. Libraries, 2021) Klug, Bailey, author; Pinedo, Pablo, advisor; Salman, Mo, committee member; Ahola, Jason, committee memberThe installation of precision farming technology includes the utilization of image biometrics to calculate body condition scores (BCS) in Holstein cattle. Body condition scores help dairy operations to individually estimate energy reserves for each animal, based on subcutaneous fat found throughout the body but more specifically along the spine and the pelvis. Body condition scoring was originally a visual task performed by trained personnel that required specialized training and was often subjective. With the installation of a new automated system that has been validated (DeLaval Body Condition Scoring BCS™), BCS has become more accessible and flexible as a herd management tool. The hypothesis of this study was that low BCS, or a loss in BCS, during early lactation would reduce the rate of conception at multiple artificial inseminations (AI) increasing the number of days to pregnancy. Therefore, the overall objective of this research was to evaluate the association between BCS dynamics and the probability of conception at multiple AI. In chapter 1, a brief literature review about the challenges during the transition period, fertility, and BCS is presented. Chapter 2 is focused on the association between BCS and BCS changes (∆BCS) at multiple time points post-parturition and conception at first AI, while chapter 3 analyzed subsequent breedings up to fourth AI. This prospective observational study was performed on a single dairy operation in Windsor, Colorado, USA with a population of 2,885 Holstein cows including 1,460 primiparous and 1,425 multiparous cows. Study cows were housed in a free stall, cross-ventilated barn and milked three times per day. For study 1, automatic BCS was recorded using the DeLaval Body Condition Scoring BCS™. The records of BCS were gathered at 7, 21, 35, 49, and 60 d in milk (DIM) and on the d of first AI (dAI1). A 5-point scale was used to record BCS with 0.1 intervals. The categorization of BCS was defined as low (L; < mean - 1 SD), intermediate (M; mean ± 1 SD) and high (H; > mean + 1 SD). Changes in BCS were also categorized as no loss (NL; ΔBCS ≥ 0 points) and loss (Los; ΔBCS < 0 points). Multivariate logistic regression models were used to estimate the effect of explanatory variables on conception as a binary outcome. Additionally, a cox regression analysis with hazard ratios were used along with frequency analysis to further visualize the data. The overall conception rate at first AI was 30.1% (34.6 and 25.5% in primiparous and multiparous cows, respectively). Low BCS was associated with lower conception rate to first AI, while loss of BCS resulted in greater days to conception. The same study design was applied in chapter three; however, BCS records were gathered at 7, 30, and 60 DIM, and at dAI1, on the day of second AI (dAI2), third AI (dAI3), and fourth AI (dAI4). Low BCS during early lactation resulted in lower odds of pregnancy at multiple AI. Logistic regression analyses of ∆BCS also showed cows that lost BCS had greater odds of pregnancy at different inseminations. The likelihood that cows will conceive concurrent with a loss in BCS was greater across multiple AI compared to cows that did not lose BCS. The overall success of pregnancy was 27.8% at second AI (pAI2), 21.4% at third AI (pAI3), and 16.0% at fourth AI (pAI4). In conclusion, low BCS were associated with lower conception rates at AI. Furthermore, a loss in BCS were associated with greater number of days from parturition to conception to first AI However, a loss in BCS was associated with greater conception at second, third, or fourth AI. Monitoring daily automatic BCS provides potential for assessing future fertility of dairy cows.Item Open Access Evaluation of novel strategies for improving prevention and early diagnosis of health disorders in organic dairy cattle(Colorado State University. Libraries, 2018) Manriquez Alvarez, Diego Ignacio, author; Pinedo, Pablo, advisor; Ivanek-Miojevic, Renata, committee member; Melendez, Pedro, committee member; Olea-Popelka, Francisco, committee member; Roman-Muniz, Ivette Noami, committee memberTo view the abstract, please see the full text of the document.Item Open Access Identifying risk factors for early pregnancy loss in Holstein cows(Colorado State University. Libraries, 2022) Ciarletta, Cassandra Dominique, author; Pinedo, Pablo, advisor; Engle, Terry, committee member; Applegate, Tanya, committee memberAdequate reproductive performance is a key factor in the success of dairy production. However, events such as early pregnancy loss occur in 15 to 17% of dairy pregnancies and result in diminished fertility and increased culling within herds. Identifying risk factors for pregnancy loss will help farmers use evidence to formulate effective breeding and management protocols to maximize efficiency and welfare. This thesis is focused on identifying risk factors in early pregnancy and explaining the impacts that factors such as body condition and health status pose on the maintenance of pregnancy.Chapter 1 presented relevant literature involving the transition period, reproductive advancements, and reproductive challenges within the dairy industry. The objective of chapter 2 was to characterize the associations between body condition score (BCS) and BCS change, utilizing an automated camera system during early lactation and close to artificial insemination, and pregnancy loss. A secondary objective was to identify the impact of disease on pregnancy loss over multiple periods throughout lactation. Overall, the dynamics of BCS differed between animals that lost pregnancy and those that maintained pregnancy. During the period close to artificial insemination, low BCS, and a significant loss in BCS, as well as disease resulted in higher rates of pregnancy loss.Item Open Access Influence of early life management strategies on indicators of health and performance in pre-weaned dairy calves and mature cows(Colorado State University. Libraries, 2021) Velasquez Munoz, Ana Karina, author; Pinedo, Pablo, advisor; Lombard, Jason, committee member; Rao, Sangeeta, committee member; Roman Muniz, Ivette Noami, committee memberTo view the abstract, please see the full text of the document.Item Open Access Strategies to enhance health and well-being of dairy calves: exploring the use of prebiotics and environmental enrichment(Colorado State University. Libraries, 2018) Velasquez Munoz, Ana, author; Pinedo, Pablo, advisor; Han, Hyangchul, committee member; Callan, Robert, committee memberReplacement dairy calves and heifers represent the future for dairy producers. However, rearing healthy animals is not an easy task, since the first day of life calves encounter stressors and management systems that might impact their future health and survival. It is a fundamental production management need to identify and understand these critical windows of stress in the pre-weaned and weaned life in order to create strategies that benefit young animals. This thesis is focused to exploring alternatives for prevention and treatment of neonatal diarrhea and measuring changes in behavior and health when an enriched environment is provided in the first weeks after weaning and grouping in collective pens. In chapter 1, a brief literature review related with health and well-being of dairy calves is presented. The objective of the experiment presented in chapter 2 is to evaluate the addition of stabilized rice bran (SRB) in the milk of neonatal Holstein calves for a period of 28 days and its effects on health, immunity and performance. A paired comparison design was performed with a control (n=45) and a treatment group (n=45). The variables analyzed were neonatal diarrhea presentation, time to recovery from a moderate diarrhea episode, animal removal, concentration of IgA in feces, and average daily gain (ADG). After the treatment period was completed, health, disease presentation, and animal removal was analyzed until weaning through the use of farm records. No differences were found for any of the variables studied in the 28 days of SRB addition or in the follow up until weaning. iii Chapter 3 is focused on the time of weaning, when dairy calves are grouped for the first time in their lives. The objective was to evaluate the effects of an automated grooming brush on health, behavior and performance through a paired comparison design, with one treatment group (n= 81) and one control group (n=81). Four groups of calves were housed in pens of 19 to 22 animals for 3 weeks. One automated brush was placed per treatment pen. Individual behavior data was obtained through the use of 3-D accelerometer sensors. The variables analyzed included disease presentation, time to first clinical disease, animal removal due to disease, and ADG. The 3-D sensor data allowed analysis of "eating", "rumination", "not active", "active", and "high active" behavioral activities, as daily averages and hourly averages. No differences were found for animal removal, time to first clinical disease, or ADG. A tendency was found for the presentation of diseases, indicating that control calves were more likely to be detected sick. Additionally, significant differences were found for "eating" time in favor of treatment calves (P=0.01), and "not active" time in favor of control calves (P=0.014) by day. Hourly differences were found for the variables "eating" time; "not active" time , and "high active" Indicating that treatment calves spent less time "not active" and more time "eating" than control calves by day and more time high active at certain hours than control calves. From our results, the addition of SRB in milk of pre-weaned calves had no an effect on health, immunity or performance of pre-weaned calves. The presence of an automated brush in calves housed in collective pens had a positive effect in the behavior of weaned calves.Item Open Access The association of lunar phases with pregnancy at first artificial insemination of dairy cows(Colorado State University. Libraries, 2024) Schatte, Margaret, author; Grandin, Temple, advisor; Pinedo, Pablo, advisor; Keller, Kayleigh, committee memberMyths and old farming legends have circulated the belief that the full moon affects livestock behavior and reproduction. To assess this association in dairy cattle, 13,558 records from 2019 to 2021 at an organic dairy farm in Colorado were analyzed. These records included lactation number, artificial insemination date (AI date), and pregnancy result. AI date was categorized into season and lunar phases. Lunar phases were separated into four equal categorizations: new moon, first quarter, full moon, and third quarter. The primary objective of this study was to identify any associations between the lunar phases and PAI1 (pregnancy rate at first AI). The secondary objective of this study was to use logistic regression to specify which phases had the lowest and greatest PAI1 while accounting for other effects on fertility. Logistic regression was used to complete this by comparing the pregnancy result of lunar phases while accounting for lactation number and season, which are known to affect pregnancy rate. The 4 lunar phase categorizations did have an association on PAI1 (p<0.05). The new moon phase resulted in the lowest PAI1 at 35.3% while the third quarter was the highest at 38.3%. Estimated marginal means were explored to identify the seasonal effect on pregnancy and found that winter had the highest probability of pregnancy and summer had the lowest. This analysis of 3 years of records provides evidence that the week of the new moon is the least probable week out of the month for pregnancy after first AI to occur, while the week before and week of the full moon are the most probable days for pregnancy after first AI to occur within the lunar cycle.