Supplementing Holstein cows with low doses of bovine somatotropin prepartum and postpartum reduces calving-related diseases

The objective of this study was to evaluate whether supplementing Holstein cows with bovine somatotropin (bST; 142.8 mg/14 d), beginning at 21 d (+/- 3 d) before expected calving and continuing through 42 d in milk (+/- 3 d), affected the incidence rates of retained fetal membranes (RFM), metritis (MET), clinical mastitis (MAS), digestive problems (DIG), ketosis (KET), milk fever (MF), displaced abomasum (DA, left or right), lameness (LAM), or number of sick cows during the first 60 d in milk. Data for multiparous Holstein cows from 3 separate trials were merged for analyses (n = 437). Cows in the bST-supplemented group (n = 162) received biweekly subcutaneous injections of Posilac, whereas control cows (n = 166) and a group of cohorts (n = 109) were not supplemented. Incidences of disease were collected from the herd health records. Across all treatment groups, the incidence rates (number of diseased cows divided by the total number of cows) for RFM, MET, MAS, DIG, KET, MF, DA, and LAM were 8.47, 18.31, 16.02, 4.35, 4.35, 3.66, 3.20, and 3.66%, respectively. The incidence rates of RFM, MET, MAS, DIG, KET, MF, DA, and LAM for cows in the bST-supplemented, control, and cohort groups were 6.79, 7.83, and 11.93%; 16.05, 7.47, and 22.94%; 10.49, 18.07, and 21.10%; 1.23, 5.42, and 7.34%; 1.23, 6.02, and 6.42%; 2.47, 4.22, and 4.59%; 2.47, 3.61, and 3.67%; and 3.70, 3.61, and 3.67%, respectively. The percentages of sick cows (number of cows having one or more cases of disease divided by the total number of cows) in the bST-supplemented, control, and cohort groups were 33.95, 43.37, and 49.54%, respectively. Significant chisquared values were detected between the bST-supplemented and control groups for MAS, DIG, and KET, with a greater number of healthy cows in the bST-supplemented group. No differences in incidences of diseases or sick cows were detected between the control and cohort groups. Results indicated that a low dose of bST supplemented to Holstein cows for 3 wk prepartum through 60 d in milk reduced the incidences of some calving-related diseases compared with nonsupplemented controls or cohorts. Importantly, no negative effects of bST supplementation on postpartum calving diseases were detected compared with nonsupplemented cows.