Pre-calving lying duration is associated with transition cow health and performance in multiparous dairy cows

Understanding the behavioral needs of dairy cows has the potential to benefit health and production. The aim of this study was to evaluate the association between lying duration during the transition period and early-lactation health, production, pregnancy, and culling outcomes in dairy cows. Data were gathered for 499 multiparous cows in a single herd. Lying duration for each cow was recorded daily by automated activity monitoring devices mounted on the right foreleg of each cow, beginning at dry off until 21 d after calving. Cows were screened for existing lameness at dry off and lameness events occurring in the previous lactation. Management and reproductive records were analyzed for cows receiving treatment in the first 30 d of lactation for clinical mastitis, reproductive tract disease, ketosis, milk fever, and displaced abomasum. The association of stocking density, the combined effect of gestation length and days spent in the close-up pen (accounted for by principal component analysis), the number of days from a pen filling event to calving and the calving density experienced by a cow in her week of calving were also evaluated. Disease odds decreased as daily lying duration from d 8 to 2 pre-calving increased toward the model estimated minimum of 874 min/d, before rising again at higher durations. Lying duration before calving was positively associated with early lactation milk production but not with whole lactation milk production. Time to pregnancy was not associated with lying duration around calving; however, cows that experienced a lameness event during the previous lactation were less likely to become pregnant and more likely to exit the herd early than other cows. These results suggest that daily lying duration in the days before calving is an important factor associated with the occurrence of disease in early lactation and immediate improvements in cow health can be made by encouraging herd managers to fully facilitate lying duration around calving. Optimizing lying duration should also be prioritized during the planning and construction of new facilities.