Stephen LeBlanc

IntroductionDairy cows experience massive metabolic demands to support lactation. They adapt their metabolism to do so, including uncoupling of the somatotropic axis (Baumgard et al., 2017) with peripheral insulin resistance and increased lipolysis to fuel milk production. However, cows are challenged by a transient decrease in feed intake resulting in negative energy and protein ba ...

INTRODUCTION Adequate rest has been positively associated with productivity, health, and welfare of dairy cattle. When access to stalls is restricted, cows prioritize lying down over feeding (Munksgaard et al., 2005), and preventing cows from lying down induces stress (Cooper et al., 2008). As a consequence, measures of lying behavior, such as the daily duration and the frequency and duration of l ...

INTRODUCTIONLameness is one of the most important welfare, health, and productivity problems in intensive dairy farming worldwide. Furthermore, it causes pain (Whay et al., 1998; Rushen et al., 2007), reduces longevity (Booth et al., 2004; Canadian Dairy Information Centre, 2014), milk production (Warnick et al., 2001; Green et al., 2002), and reproductive performance (Hernandez et al., 2001; Garb ...

INTRODUCTIONLameness is a severe welfare problem in cattle and has a detrimental effect on longevity (Cramer et al., 2009a), productivity (Green et al., 2002), and reproductive performance (Barkema et al., 1994; Garbarino et al., 2004). Consequently, it is among disorders causing the largest economic losses in the dairy industry (Ettema and Ostergaard, 2006). Approximately 90% of the causes of lam ...