Relationships Between Milk Yield Losses and Locomotion Score in Anatolian Buffalo Cows

Abstract

Managemental factors related to productivity levels of dairy animals have been regarded by farm owners in many countries. This study was conducted to reveal the associations of milk yield losses with locomotion score (LcS) in Anatolian buffalo cows. Buffalo cows (n=61) raised at a private buffalo farm enrolled to the Buffalo Breeders Association (BBA) of Bafra district of Samsun province in Turkey were scored by LcS. To determine the effect of environmental factors, two parity (P; 1=1-2; 2=>= 3), stage of lactation (SL; 1=<= 118d; 2=>= 119d), flank and leg hygiene score (FLHS; 1=1-2; 2=>= 3) and body condition score (BCS; 1=1-2; 2=>= 3) subgroups were obtained by the group means. To record LcS values, a chart with 1 to 5 points (1=normal, 2=mildly lame, 3=moderately lame, 4=lame and, 5=severely lame) was used. A significant difference (P<0.05) was found in the loss of daily milk yield (dMYL) of cows with 2 or 2.5 LcS and cows with 3 LcS. Besides, a high correlation (r=0.789; R2=0.791) was estimated between dMYL and LcS. Finally, preventing LcS increment in the herd base was suggested to herd owners to prohibit milk losses.