Short communication: Association of lying behavior and subclinical ketosis in transition dairy cows

The objective of this study was to characterize the association of lying behavior and subclinical ketosis (SCK) in transition dairy cows. A total of 339 dairy cows (107 primiparous and 232 multiparous) on 4 commercial dairy farms were monitored for lying behavior and SCK from 14 d before calving until 28 d after calving. Lying time, frequency of lying bouts, and average lying bout length were measured using automated data loggers 24 h/d. Cows were tested for SCK 1 x/wk by taking a blood sample and analyzing for beta-hydroxybutyrate; cows with beta-hydroxybutyrate >= 1.2 mmol/L postpartum were considered to have SCK. Cases of retained placenta, metritis, milk fever, or mastitis during the study period were recorded and cows were categorized into 1 of 4 groups: healthy (HLT) cows had no SCK or any other health problem (n = 139); cows treated for at least 1 health issue other than SCK (n = 50); SCK (HYK) cows with no other health problems during transition (n = 97); or sub clinically ketotic plus (HYK+) cows that had SCK and 1 or more other health problems (n = 53). Daily lying time was summarized by week and comparisons were made between HLT, HYK, and HYK+, respectively. We found no difference among health categories in lying time, bout frequency, or bout length from wk -2 to wk +4 relative to calving for first-lactation cows. Differences in lying time for multiparous cows were seen in wk +1, when HYK+ cows spent 92 +/- 24.0 min/d more time lying down than HLT cows, and during wk +3 and +4 when HYK cows spent 44 +/- 16.7 and 41 +/- 18.9 min/d, respectively, more time lying down than HLT cows. Increased odds of HYK+ were found to be associated with higher parity, longer dry period, and greater stall stocking density in wk -1 and longer lying time during wk +1. When comparing HYK to HLT cows, the same variables were associated with odds of SCK; however, lying time was not retained in the final model. These results suggest that monitoring lying time may contribute to identifying multiparous cows experiencing SCK with another health problem after calving, but may not be useful in the early detection of SCK.