Disease, production and culling in Holstein-Friesian cows. I. The data

A two-and-a-half-year study was undertaken in 32 commercial diary herds within a 50-mile radius of Guelph, Ontario, to evaluate relationships amongst diseases, production parameters and risks of removal in Holstein-Friesian cows. Diseases consisted of common clinical diseases as well as two subclinical diseases (mastitis and ketosis). The data set consisted of a total of 2875 lactation records from 2008 cows. The means and standard deviations of some of the production parameters were: age 4.9 +or- 2.5 year, breed class average for milk 140 +or- 26 BCM units, milk production per day of life 18.0 +or- 3.8 kg and days to conception 118 +or- 60 days. Lactational incidence rates of the more common diseases were: reproductive tract infections 0.182, mastitis 0.168, cystic ovaries 0.104, subclinical ketosis 0.096, retained placenta 0.086 and ketosis 0.074. The average lactation mean log somatic cell count was 179 000 cells/ml. The times postpartum to the first diagnosis of all disease conditions are presented..