J. Dairy Sci.

91:1510–1518
doi:10.3168/jds.2007-0235
© American Dairy Science Association, 2008.

Associations Between Housing, Management, and Morbidity

During Rearing and Subsequent First-Lactation Milk Production
of Dairy Cows in Southwest Sweden
C. Svensson1 and J. Hultgren
Department of Animal Environment and Health, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, PO Box 234, SE-532 23 Skara, Sweden

ABSTRACT at first test day produced less milk on the same day
than cows with lower counts. It was concluded that
Information regarding health, management, and rearing factors and calfhood health status can influence
housing from birth to first calving was collected for
first lactation milk production.
1,029 Swedish Reds, 991 Swedish Holsteins, and 40
Key words: dairy cattle, management, morbidity,
heifers of crossbreed or other breeds on bimonthly farm
milk production
visits made by 3 project veterinarians to 107 dairy herds
in southwest Sweden. Additional data were obtained
from the official milk- and health-recording program. INTRODUCTION
Milk production at first test day after calving [energy- Inheritance and the feeding and management of the
corrected milk (ECM)1] and during the first 305 d of lactating cow influence its milk production. Many farm-
lactation (ECM305), respectively, were analyzed by 2- ers also associate a high milk yield with a successful
level (animal; herd) linear regression, after initial rearing of the replacement heifer. First-lactation milk
screening by univariable analyses of 67 potentially im-
production is affected by BW at calving (Carson et al.,
portant predictors. The ECM1 ranged from 7.9 to 48.0
2002); Keown and Everett (1986) reported optimal milk
(median = 27.1) kg, and ECM305 ranged from 3,764 to
production for Holstein cows with a BW of between 544
12,136 (median = 8,006) kg. In the final models, factors
and 567 kg at first calving. Milk production is also
associated with ECM1 or ECM305 or both were age at
affected by age at calving (Moore et al., 1991). Further-
first calving, body condition score at first service, breed,
more, in several studies, high feeding regimes and
calfhood diarrhea, calving season, composite somatic
hence high daily weight gains after sexual maturity
cell count at first test day, daily weight gain from wean-
and during pregnancy have resulted in higher BW at
ing to first service, housing system after calving, and
calving and increased milk production (e.g., Foldager
increase in concentrate fed around calving. Higher age
and Sejrsen, 1991). At an early calving, accelerated
at calving was associated with higher production. Pro-
postpubertal growth was, however, found to be associ-
duction also increased with higher daily weight gains
ated with lower first-lactation milk production (Hoff-
from weaning to first service. Swedish Holsteins pro-
man et al., 1996), and no effect on mammary develop-
duced more than Swedish Reds, cows calving in May
ment and milk yield was reported by Sejrsen et al.
to September produced more than those calving during
(1982). There is substantial evidence of a negative effect
other months, and cows housed in short stalls after
of high weight gains during the period of allometric
calving produced more than those in cubicles. Body con-
mammary growth (i.e., from approximately 90 to 300
dition scores ≥3.2 at first service were associated with
kg of BW; Sejrsen et al., 1982). Contradicting results
lower ECM305 than scores ≤2.9. Animals that con-
have, however, been reported (Gardner et al., 1988;
tracted mild diarrhea during their first 3 mo of life had
Pirlo et al., 1997) and might be due to different feed
lower ECM305 than animals without diarrhea,
whereas animals receiving a high increase in concen- intensity, protein levels, period of study, and age at
trate pre- and postcalving had higher ECM305 than calving. Further studies and different types of data are
those subjected to a more moderate increase. Cows with needed to elucidate the complexity of these matters.
a composite somatic cell count >1 million cells/milliliter Beside experiments on BW and weight gain, there are
few reports on the effect of management and housing of
the dairy calf and replacement heifer on subsequent
milk production. Reports on effects of morbidity during
Received March 27, 2007.
Accepted December 14, 2007. the rearing period are especially scarce. Diseases early
1
Corresponding author: [email protected] in life have been associated with increased risks for

1510
 HOUSING, MANAGEMENT, AND MORBIDITY DURING REARING 1511

morbidity later during the rearing period (Svensson et were excluded due to abortions. All of the remaining
al., 2006a), and long-term effects of calf morbidity on 2,060 animals from 107 herds were included in the
survival and age at calving have been reported (War- present study. They were Swedish Reds (n = 1,029),
nick et al., 1994; van der Fels-Klerx et al., 2002). Cobo- Swedish Holsteins (n = 999), and crossbreeds or animals
Abreu et al. (1979), studying animals from 1 university of other breeds (n = 40). As previously reported by
dairy herd in Ontario, found (although not significant) Svensson et al. (2006b), the 107 herds were larger (me-
that cows experiencing respiratory disease as calves, dian = 50.6 vs. 41.7 cows; 95% confidence interval for
or in adult life, had a poorer milk production. However, the difference between means: 3.7 to 9.5 cows) and had
when Britney et al. (1984) later studied data from the a higher average annual herd-level milk production
same university herd plus 1 additional institutional (median = 9,127 vs. 8,843 kg; 95% confidence interval
farm, they did not detect any effect on milk production for difference between means: 153 to 615 kg) than the
of 5 types of calf morbidity. They therefore suggested sampling frame consisting of all herds with 28 to 94
that the poor milk production reported by Cobo-Abreu cows included in the Swedish official milk- and health-
et al. (1979) was mainly associated with respiratory recording program from September to August 2001
disease postcalving and not with calfhood pneumonia. when most of the animals calved (n = 5,132).
Results from institutional herds might not be applicable Calves were kept in single pens, or in group pens
to commercial herds because of differences in manage- bedded with straw or sawdust until weaning, and then
ment, veterinary service, and economic decision-mak- in group pens with slatted floors, deep litter, or in deep-
ing. Warnick et al. (1995) therefore instead studied com- bedded pack pens. However, especially heifers on slats
mercial dairy farms but also failed to detect an associa- were subsequently transferred to similar housing sys-
tion between calf morbidity and subsequent first- tems as for lactating cows in the herds, mainly tie stalls.
lactation (305 d) and second test day milk production. From 210 d of age to breeding, approximately 8% of the
Data comprised just 728 heifers from 25 herds and were heifers were tethered. From breeding to calving, 4%
based on owner-diagnosed calf diseases. Svensson et were kept in cubicles and 45% in other systems, mainly
al. (2003) reported that only half the cases of pneumonia tethered. Grazing was generally practiced between May
diagnosed by a project veterinarian at bimonthly visits and October. However, 9% of the heifers were not
were recognized by farmers. Hence, diagnoses by own- grazed before calving.
ers are likely to underestimate the true disease occur-
rence and thus potentially bias the results. The aim of Data Collection
the present study was to investigate the associations
of housing, management, and farmer- and veterinary- Diseases prepartum were recorded by farmers and
diagnosed morbidity of dairy calves and replacement by project veterinary surgeons visiting the farms bi-
heifers on their subsequent first-lactation milk produc- monthly to make a brief physical examination of the
tion using epidemiological data from dairy herds in calves. The project veterinarians recorded information
southwest Sweden. about building type, housing system, stocking rate, and
age distribution. They collected information about the
MATERIALS AND METHODS indoor feed rations offered and weighed the amounts
of feed ingredients given daily to calves and heifers
As previously described by Lundborg et al. (2003), within specific age groups (Hessle et al., 2004). Project
122 dairy farms with 28 to 94 cows in the county of veterinarians also measured the NH3 concentration,
Skaraborg in the southwest of Sweden enrolled in the temperature, and relative humidity of the air in the
official milk-recording program were selected on basis buildings where the calves and replacement heifers
of their housing system for calves and replacement heif- were housed throughout the rearing period, as pre-
ers. In 1998, herd sizes in the range of 28 to 94 cows viously described by Svensson et al. (2006a).
represented 56% of all Swedish dairy herds. In the se- For each calf, the farmers were requested to record
lected farms, all heifer calves born in 1998 (n = 3,081) the breed, the place and time of birth, whether the
were monitored by research staff from birth to first calving had been supervised, the time from birth to first
calving or, alternatively, to the day of their removal observed ingestion of colostrum, the main method of
from the study. In total, 179 (5.8%) of the animals died, feeding the first 2 meals of colostrum to the calf, and
267 (8.7%) were slaughtered, 259 (8.4%) were sold be- the main source of the first 2 meals of colostrum fed to
fore calving, and 250 (8.1%) were lost because the the calf. The farmers were also requested to measure
farmer could no longer participate or because the farm the heart girth of the animals at birth, at weaning, at
left the official milk-recording program. Fifty-eight first service, at turn-outs to pasture and housings in
cows (1.9%) lacked production data, and 8 cows (0.3%) their first and second grazing periods (or if not grazed

Journal of Dairy Science Vol. 91 No. 4, 2008

1512 SVENSSON AND HULTGREN

during corresponding autumns), and at calving. The lacking, quartiles were used as cut-off points. For logi-
heart girths were transformed to live weights, and daily cal reasons, the set of predictors considered varied be-
weight gains were calculated individually for the peri- tween outcome traits. Univariable analyses were per-
ods from birth to weaning, from weaning to 6 to 9 mo formed, testing (one at a time) the predictors possibly
of age, from 6 to 9 mo of age to first service, from first associated with each trait (with a random intercept
service to calving, and from birth to calving, as pre- effect of herd in model) and selecting those significant
viously described by Hessle et al. (2004). Body condition at type 3 PF ≤ 0.30, where PF = significance level based
was scored by AI technicians or the project veterinary on F-test. Based on previous knowledge and results
surgeons at first insemination using the method de- from the described initial selection, confounding vari-
scribed by Edmonson et al. (1989). ables representing breed, calving year, calving season,
Information on monthly milk production and cow and housing system after calving (for categories see
composite SCC was obtained from the official milk-re- Table 1) were forced into all models henceforth. Includ-
cording program. This program includes 86% of all ing the random intercept effect of herd, remaining se-
dairy herds in Sweden and is based on results from test lected independent variables were tested once again
milkings reported monthly by farmers. Milk production (one at a time), this time retaining for further analyses
from the day after first calving until 305 d of lactation only those significant at PF ≤ 0.20, denoting them eligi-
or culling (305-d milk production) was calculated as- ble predictors.
suming recorded test day yields at each day from half- Eligible predictors (of one or both traits; categories
way from the preceding test day to halfway to the fol- given in Tables 1 or 2 or within brackets) were age at
lowing. calving, amount of concentrate fed at calving, amount
of concentrate fed 2 mo before calving, birth place (ma-
Data Edits and Statistical Analyses ternity pen, tie stall, other place), BCS at first service,
calving weight (<486 kg, 486 to 522 kg, 523 to 559 kg,
Data were edited and descriptive statistics created ≥560 kg), daily weight gain from weaning to first ser-
in Microsoft Office Excel 2003 spreadsheet software vice, diarrhea before 91 d of age, housing from birth to
(Microsoft Corp., Redmond, WA) and JMP Statistical 90 d of age (6 to 30 animals on automatic milk feeding;
Discovery software, release 6 (SAS Institute Inc., Cary, 3 to 8 calves on manual milk feeding), housing from
NC). Two continuous outcome traits expressed in kilo- birth to first service [single pen to 90 d and group pen
grams of ECM were modeled: milk yield at first test day with slatted floor from 91 d; group pen to 90 d and
before 81 d in milk (ECM1) and 305-d milk production group pen with slatted floor from 91 d; litter pen or
(ECM305). Associations between each trait and the cubicles from 91 to 210 d and litter pen, cubicles, or
morbidity of the animals and their housing, feeding, tied from 211 d, other, or combinations (mainly chang-
and management before calving were investigated by ing from litter pen to slats or vice versa)], increase in
a linear mixed model using the MIXED procedure in concentrate fed around calving, number of cows in herd
SAS for Windows software package, version 9 (SAS in 1998 (<43, 43 to 52, 53 to 66, ≥66), other disease
Institute Inc.), assuming normality of residuals. The before 91 d of age, and respiratory disease before 91 d
models were defined by the equation: of age (no, mild, severe).
In alternative analyses, calving weight was allowed
Yij = β0 + u0j + Σ(βm + um)Xmij + eij to enter the models. For both production traits, this
resulted in a distinct reduction of the parameter esti-
where Yij = the milk production of cow i in herd j; β0 = mates of other predictors, especially those representing
the intercept; u0j = a random intercept effect at the herd different aspects of growth (age at calving, BCS at first
level; βm = regression coefficients expressing included service, and daily weight gain from weaning to first
fixed effects; um = parameters expressing included ran- service), whereas calving weight itself resulted highly
dom slope effects at the herd level; Xmij = covariates; significant. Hence, calving weight was considered an
and eij = a random term at the cow level. intervening variable (Dohoo et al., 2003), and the alter-
A total of 67 independent cow- and herd-level vari- native models were therefore discarded.
ables, representing housing, management, feeding, To utilize as many observations as possible, missing
growth, body condition, and health during rearing were values of continuous cow-level predictors were imputed
considered in the models. Of these variables, 12 were as the mean value in that particular herd. Thus, 550
justified by hypotheses, and the remaining were possi- records received imputed values of calving weight, 443
ble confounders. Initially, calving weight was not con- records of daily weight gain from weaning to first ser-
sidered as a predictor. Continuous variables were cate- vice, and 95 records of daily weight gain until weaning.
gorized; when biologically relevant categories were In the analysis of ECM1, 2,059 observations from 107

Journal of Dairy Science Vol. 91 No. 4, 2008

 HOUSING, MANAGEMENT, AND MORBIDITY DURING REARING 1513
Table 1. Description of included variables and results of final multivariable model of milk yield at first test milking (mean 21 d) after
calving (kg of ECM) in 2,059 Swedish dairy cows born during 1998 in 107 herds
Variable Category b SE(b) P1 99% CI2 (b)

Intercept 24.0 2.57 <0.0001 17.4 to 30.6

Age at first calving <0.0001
≤783 d 0 — — —
784 to 839 d 0.799 0.309 0.0097 0.0036 to 1.59
840 to 930 d 1.90 0.341 <0.0001 1.02 to 2.78
>930 d 2.10 0.417 <0.0001 1.02 to 3.17
Breed 0.0019
Swedish Red 0 — — —
Swedish Holstein 0.838 0.299 0.0053 0.065 to 1.61
Crossbreed or other breed −1.39 0.900 0.12 −3.72 to 0.926
Calving season <0.0001
May to September 1.52 0.292 <0.0001 0.752 to 2.28
October to April 0 — — —
Calving year 0.033
1999 −3.97 3.02 0.19 −11.8 to 3.82
2000 0.466 2.52 0.85 −6.04 to 6.97
2001 0.618 2.52 0.81 −5.87 to 7.11
2002 2.21 2.57 0.39 −4.43 to 8.85
2003 0 — — —
Daily weight gain from weaning to first service <0.0001
≤598.3 g 0 — — —
598.4 to 665.1 g 0.167 0.340 0.62 −0.710 to 1.05
665.2 to 737.9 g 0.885 0.367 0.016 −0.062 to 1.83
>737.9 g 1.70 0.403 <0.0001 0.660 to 2.74
Housing system after calving3 <0.0001
Cubicle system −2.60 0.536 <0.0001 −4.01 to −1.19
Long stalls −0.088 0.494 <0.86 −1.39 to 1.21
Short stalls 0 — — —
Milk cell count at first test day 0.0051
≤1,000,000 cells/mL 0 — — —
>1,000,000 cells/mL −1.46 0.522 0.0051 −2.81 to −0.117
1
For effects, Wald test; for comparisons of categories, χ2 test (1 df).
2
CI = confidence interval.
3
Cubicle system = loose-housing system with concrete (scraped solid surface or slats) alleys and freestalls for lying; long stalls = housing
system for tied cattle equipped with lockable feeding barriers with stalls long enough to allow for rising and lying down behaviors when
feeding barriers are closed and cows do not have access to the feeding tables; short stalls = housing system for tied cattle, in which cows
have unlimited access to the feeding table and space above feeding table is needed for unrestricted rising and lying down behaviors.

herds were included. The analysis of ECM305 used significant interactions were found. Random intercept
1,562 observations from 105 herds. Of the excluded and random slope terms at the herd level for all fixed
records, the majority lacked production data from 1 or effects in the model were tested for inclusion, retaining
more test milkings. those significant in a likelihood ratio test at P ≤ 0.05.
To check for multicollinearity, each eligible predictor Finally, additional adjustments were considered by
was regressed on all the other eligible predictors to- testing each eligible predictor as a fixed effect once
gether. Unless substantially correlated (R > 0.5), pre- again.
dictors were subjected to further multivariable analy- The proportion of outcome variation residing at the
sis. The final models were built by a manual stepwise herd level (variance partition coefficient) was calculated
procedure, in each step excluding the least or including from simple variance component models (with random
the most statistically significant eligible predictor as a intercept herd as the only effect included). The overall
fixed effect. All eligible predictors were put into the model fit was assessed by examining residuals graphi-
models from the start, and each set was reduced succes- cally and by the Shapiro-Wilk W test, looking for outli-
sively. The model-building continued until all fixed ef- ers and checking for homoscedasticity and normality.
fects were significant at PF ≤ 0.01 in the type 3 test.
The α level was chosen to keep the models reasonably RESULTS
parsimonious and prevent falsely significant associa-
tions due to the large number of tests. Thereafter, all The ECM1 ranged from 7.9 to 48.0 [median = 27.1;
first-order interactions were tested through similar interquartile range (IQR) = 23.6 to 30.5] kg, and
backward elimination and retained when PF ≤ 0.01. No ECM305 ranged from 3,764 to 12,136 (median = 8,006;

Journal of Dairy Science Vol. 91 No. 4, 2008

1514 SVENSSON AND HULTGREN

Table 2. Description of included variables and results of final multivariable model of 305-d milk yield (kg of ECM) in 1,562 Swedish dairy
cows born during 1998 in 105 herds
Variable Category b SE(b) P1 99% CI2 (b)

Intercept 7.28 400 <0.0001 6.24 to 8.31

Age at first calving <0.0001
≤783 d 0 — — —
784 to 839 d 166 68.6 0.016 −11.1 to 343
840 to 930 d 544 77.3 <0.0001 345 to 743
>930 d 875 96.9 <0.0001 625 to 1.12
BCS at first service 0.0033
≤2.9 0 — — —
3.0 to 3.1 −203 89.6 0.024 −434 to 28.5
3.2 to 3.5 −337 93.5 0.0003 −578 to −95.6
>3.5 −256 105 0.015 −528 to 16.1
Breed 0.017
Swedish Red 0 — — —
Swedish Holstein 184 73.4 0.012 −5.39 to 374
Crossbreed or other breed −177 218 0.42 −738 to 385
Calving season 0.016
May to September 163 66.8 0.016 −12.4 to 339
October to April 0 — — —
Calving year 0.14
1999 −219 597 0.71 −1,786 to 1,348
2000 141 316 0.66 −690 to 971
2001 −40.0 314 0.90 −866 to 786
2002 0 — — —
Daily weight gain from weaning to first service <0.0001
≤598.3 g 0 — — —
598.4 to 665.1 g 242 78.1 0.0020 40.1 to 443
665.2 to 737.9 g 396 83.9 <0.0001 179 to 612
>737.9 g 539 94.9 <0.0001 294 to 784
Diarrhea before 91 d of age 0.0066
No 0 — — —
Mild −344 118 0.0036 −648 to −39.7
Severe 206 183 0.26 −266 to 677
Housing system after calving3 0.0002
Cubicle system −680 166 <0.0001 −1.12 to −244
Long stalls 14.0 147 0.925 −373 to 401
Short stalls 0 — — —
Increase in concentrate ration around calving <0.0001
≤9.5 kg 0 — — —
9.6 to 11.5 kg 479 171 0.0061 29.9 to 928
11.6 to 13.2 kg 399 164 0.017 −32.7 to 830
>13.2 kg 876 178 <0.0001 407 to 1.34
1
For effects, Wald test; for comparisons of categories, χ2 test (1 df).
2
CI = confidence interval.
3
Cubicle system = loose-housing system with concrete (scraped solid surface or slats) alleys and freestalls for lying; long stalls = housing
system for tied cattle equipped with lockable feeding barriers with stalls long enough to allow for rising and lying down behaviors when
feeding barriers are closed and cows do not have access to the feeding tables; short stalls = housing system for tied cattle, in which cows
have unlimited access to the feeding table and space above feeding table is needed for unrestricted rising and lying down behaviors.

IQR = 7,187 to 8,829) kg. Of the total variation in ECM1 successively with higher daily weight gains from wean-
and ECM305, 18 and 38%, respectively, resided at the ing to first service; at >738 g, cows had 1.7 kg higher
herd level, and the remaining variation was at the ECM1 than at ≤598 g. Cows housed in short stalls had
cow level. 2.6 kg higher ECM1 than those in cubicles. No signifi-
The final model of ECM1 is shown in Table 1. Higher cant difference between short stalls and long stalls was
ages at calving resulted in successively higher produc- found. A SCC >1 million cells per milliliter at first test
tion; calving at >930 d gave 2.1 kg higher ECM1 than day was associated with 1.5 kg less milk on the same
calving at ≤783 d. Swedish Holsteins had 0.8 kg higher day.
ECM1 than Swedish Reds, and calving in May to Sep- All predictors significantly associated with ECM1,
tember resulted in a 1.5 kg higher production than except SCC, were also associated with ECM305. In ad-
calving during remaining months. Differences between dition, ECM305 was associated with BCS at first ser-
calving years were nonsignificant. Production increased vice, diarrhea before 91 d of age, and increase in concen-

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 HOUSING, MANAGEMENT, AND MORBIDITY DURING REARING 1515

trate feeding around calving (Table 2). Cows calving at Sejrsen (1991), who reported that high prepubertal
>930 d produced 975 kg more than those calving at weight gain was associated with decreased first-lacta-
≤783 d, and cows with a BCS ≥3.2 at first service pro- tion milk production, presumably related to impaired
duced 256 to 337 kg less than those with a score ≤2.9. mammary development (Sejrsen et al., 1982). A nega-
The differences in ECM305 between the 2 main breeds tive correlation between BCS at breeding and milk yield
and the 2 main calving seasons were 184 and 166 kg, was previously reported by Silva et al. (2002). They
respectively. High-gaining animals (>738 g/d) had a 539 suggested, in fact, that increased body fatness is a bet-
kg higher ECM305 than those gaining the least. Cows ter predictor of impaired mammary development than
that had contracted mild diarrhea during their first 3 prepubertal growth rate. When analyzing effects of
mo of life had 344 kg lower ECM305 than those without weight gains within dietary treatment, they found that
diarrhea. The difference in milk production between heifers that grew faster did not have impaired mam-
cows housed in short stalls and those housed in cubicles mary development, and the authors therefore claimed
was 680 kg, the latter producing less. A large increase that the high growth rate per se is not the cause of poor
in concentrate fed around calving (2 mo precalving to udder development in high-gaining animals.
maximum level postcalving) was associated with a high Beside differences in feeding levels, different study
production (at >13.2 kg increase, 876 kg higher ECM305 periods could explain the conflicting results regarding
than at ≤9.5 kg increase). the effect of high weight gains in the literature. The
In addition to these variables, housing in single pens most critical period for nutritional influence on mam-
until 90 d of age and litter pens from 90 d to conception mary gland growth is likely to be before puberty, at 3 to
was associated with a higher production (+3.49 kg of 9 mo of age (Waldo et al., 1989). In the present material,
ECM1, +1,011 kg of ECM305) compared with housing start of puberty was not recorded, and heifers were not
in single pens until 90 d and slatted pens from 90 d to systematically weighed at 9 mo of age, but BW was
conception (0.05 ≥ P > 0.01) in the univariable analyses extrapolated from heart girth at turn-outs to and hous-
with calving year, calving season, housing, breed, and ings from pasture (or, if not grazed, at corresponding
a random effect of herd forced into the model. time points) and at insemination. The median age and
BW at first insemination was 531 (IQR = 488 to 605)
DISCUSSION d and 387 (IQR = 357 to 430) kg, respectively. Although
weight gain from weaning to first insemination in-
In agreement with Hoffman et al. (1996) and Mänty- cluded also a postpubertal period, it was probably the
saari et al. (2002), we found increasing production with most suitable estimate of prepubertal growth in the
increasing age at calving, which is presumably due to present data set.
a lower energy requirement for growth in older animals. Conflicting results in the literature might also be
Calving at 32 compared with ≤26 mo of age resulted in due to different ranges of weight gains in the study
nearly 1,000 kg more milk during the first lactation. materials, because the relationship with milk produc-
However, a high calving age is also known to be associ- tion has been reported to be curvilinear (Sejrsen et
ated with a shorter productive life and lower total life- al., 2000). In a meta-analysis of 8 studies on Holstein
time milk yield (Lin et al., 1988; Nilsforooshan and heifers, Zanton and Heinrichs (2005) concluded that
Edriss, 2004). Furthermore, it means that more heifers there was a quadratic relationship between average
need to be raised on the farm and that the total feed daily weight gain and subsequent first-lactation milk
cost per heifer is higher (Tozer and Heinrichs, 2001). production. Production increased as prepubertal gains
Dairy producers have therefore for long been recom- increased up to 799 g/d, whereas further increases were
mended to breed their heifers for early calving in spite associated with lowered milk production. These results
of its negative effects on first-lactation milk production. are hence consistent with the findings of Pirlo et al.
The association of calving age with lifetime milk yield (1997) that Italian Friesian heifers tolerated an average
in the currently studied animals remains to be eluci- daily gain of approximately 800 g from 100 to 300 kg
dated. A higher production in Holsteins compared with of BW without any detrimental effect on future milk
Reds or Ayrshires, as reported here, is well established production. The negative effects of high prepubertal
from previous studies (Danell, 1982; Moore et al., 1991; weight gain on mammary development have been re-
Mäntysaari et al., 2002). ported to start at different levels depending on breed;
In the present study, heifers overconditioned at first start at lower daily gains in Jerseys and Danish Reds
insemination had lower milk production, but increasing than in Danish Friesians, resembling Holsteins, was
daily weight gains from weaning to first insemination reported by Sejrsen et al. (2000). In the present material
was associated with successively higher milk produc- consisting of approximately half Holstein and half
tion. The latter contrasts to results by Foldager and Swedish Reds, the median growth rate from weaning

Journal of Dairy Science Vol. 91 No. 4, 2008

1516 SVENSSON AND HULTGREN

to 6 to 9 mo was 726 (IQR = 619 to 824; minimum– found in the present study, calf morbidity probably ac-
maximum = 90 to 1,253 g/d), whereas the corresponding counts for an even higher proportion of health-related
rate from 6 to 9 mo until first service was 625 (IQR = losses than the 10% reported by Fourichon et al. (2001).
539 to 727; minimum–maximum = 241 to 1,254 g/d). Economic arguments are important to persuade dairy
Weight gains exceeding 738 g/d were the ones associ- farmers to allocate more of their resources to calf and
ated with the highest production levels. We found no young stock management.
interaction between daily weight gain and breed. Brown et al. (2005) found that calves on higher feed-
Most reports on negative effects of high prepubertal ing levels from 2 to 14 wk of age had increased udder
growth rates on production are based on results from parenchymal mass and parenchymal DNA and RNA in
experimental studies on a limited number of animals. mammary glands compared with calves on low-inten-
Results achieved under experimental conditions might sity feeding. One explanation for the association be-
not always be applicable to field conditions, and obser- tween calf morbidity and subsequent milk production
vational studies might improve our understanding. found in the present study might therefore be poor feed
Mäntysaari et al. (2002), using a field material of 4,058 intake, feed conversion, or both, in diseased calves. Be-
(mostly Ayrshire) heifers, indeed reported a positive cause most cases of diarrhea were mild and diseased
correlation between growth rate before breeding and calves soon recovered, it seems unlikely that the diar-
subsequent first-lactation milk production. However, rhea per se caused such effects. Occurrence of diarrhea
their study period also included time preweaning; their is, however, strongly associated with respiratory dis-
analysis did not allow adjustment for the herd effect ease, which is known to generally have longer convales-
and hence different feed levels, and only 7.6% of the cence and more profound effects on growth rate (Lundb-
Ayrshire heifers in their material grew faster than 800 org et al., 2003). Svensson et al. (2003), based on the
g/d before breeding. Our material was also from com- full data set of 0- to 90-d calf morbidity from the present
mercial herds but included animals with somewhat study (3,081 animals from 122 herds), found that 96%
higher average prepubertal growth rates. Prepubertal of the calves that had diarrhea before 90 d of age later
weight gains were estimated based on growth from developed respiratory disease. The link between diar-
weaning, which is more comparable to the start of allo- rhea and respiratory disease might be related to immu-
metric mammary development. Furthermore, in the nosuppression by gastrointestinal infections or to man-
analyses, herd was adjusted for by incorporating a ran- agement factors (e.g., poor colostral immunity) predis-
dom intercept and random slope effect of herd. Our posing for both diarrhea and respiratory disease in
results thus indicate that high prepubertal weight these animals. In the final model of ECM305, we in-
gains are compatible with high first-lactation milk pro- cluded both diarrhea status and daily growth rate. How-
duction under practical Swedish conditions. ever, in a preliminary analysis of the present material
To our knowledge, the present study is the first to without daily weight gain in the model (Svensson and
report a significant association between calfhood mor- Hultgren, 2006), an association between occurrence of
bidity and first-lactation milk production. Previous respiratory disease and milk production was instead
studies have included far less animals and have hence demonstrated. The lack of a significant association be-
provided lower statistical power. In the study by War- tween severe diarrhea and milk production is not sur-
nick et al. (1995), calculations revealed a power of ≥0.70 prising, because severe cases were rare. Although non-
to detect a reduction of 500 kg in 305-d milk yield using significant, it is, however, difficult to explain the nega-
728 animals from 25 commercial herds. Diagnoses were tive estimate.
made by farmers. The present study, including over No significant associations between milk yield and
2,000 animals from 107 commercial dairy farms and housing during the rearing period were found in the
with farmer diagnoses supplemented with veterinary multivariable analyses. However, in the univariable
examinations every second month, detected a reduction analyses, heifers housed in single pens preweaning and
of 344 kg, corresponding to losses of approximately 100 in group pens with slatted floors thereafter had lower
euros, per cow. Fourichon et al. (2001), adopting a par- production than those kept first in single pens and then
tial budgeting model and calculating economic losses in litter pens. This is in agreement with experimental
due to 21 health and reproduction disorders compared findings by Mogensen et al. (1999) that access to bed-
with a low-incidence situation, reported that calf dis- ding during rearing tended to increase milk production
eases contributed to 10% of the overall losses due to 84 d postpartum compared with housing on a fully slat-
health disorders in dairy farms in the Loire Valley, ted floor.
France. Calculations did not consider long-term effects We found that housing in cubicle systems after calv-
of calf disorders and no effects on subsequent milk pro- ing was associated with a reduced 305-d production
duction. Given the effect on subsequent milk production compared with short stalls. In cubicle systems, primipa-

Journal of Dairy Science Vol. 91 No. 4, 2008

 HOUSING, MANAGEMENT, AND MORBIDITY DURING REARING 1517

rous cows sometimes have to compete for roughage with pating farmers for their interest and support. Lotta
older and generally higher-ranked cows, which can Andersson, Karin Lundborg, and Jonica Östlund (SLU)
limit their feed intake. and staff from Skara Semin livestock cooperative are
Large increases in concentrate fed around calving acknowledged for their help in data collection. We are
(2 mo precalving to maximum level postcalving) were grateful to Gunilla Jacobsson (SLU) and Ulf Rundström
associated with high milk production. Most animals (Swedish Dairy Association) for help in data processing
(73%) received increasing amount of concentrates start- and to Sven-Ove Olsson (Swedish Dairy Association)
ing ≥3 wk before calving. The effects of an adaptation and Ulf Emanuelson (formerly Swedish Dairy Associa-
to lactation feeding ration starting 3 wk before calving tion, presently SLU) for help in initiating the project.
was evaluated in multiparous cows by Olsson et al. Mats Pehrsson (Swedish Dairy Association) is acknowl-
(1998), who found little effect on subsequent milk pro- edged for his contribution in planning the study and
duction. However, it resulted in significantly higher evaluating its results.
yields in the first month postpartum. The effects of
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