The annual Animal Science Department's Research Day was held on May 24th at the Macdonald Campus of McGill University. Department chair Dr. Raj Duggavathi kicked off the day with the welcoming remarks and was followed by oral presentations from students and two guest speakers, as well as a student poster session and a South American-style BBQ at the farm. Three members of CowLife McGill presented some of their exciting results at the Research Day.
M.Sc. candidate Sarah McPherson's presentation was entitled "Making stall beds more comfortable: The effect of longitudinal space on lying behaviour and leg injuries on dairy cows housed in deep-bedded tie-stall". Her study shows that immediately after the application of 3 inches (7.62 cm) of straw bedding, body injuries will start to heal and cows will lie down for about 2 h longer than in our previous studies at the same barn.
M.Sc. candidate Maria Antonieta Puerto's presentation was entitled "Could the first time be the last time? Implications of the first incident of mastitis or lameness on gross profit in first-lactation cows". Her presentation gave an overview of the negative impact of lameness and mastitis on milk production and the revenue of a dairy farm. Her study indicates that the first incidence of mastitis and lameness reduces the gross profit in $600 and $400, respectively, for animals in their first lactation.
Ph.D. candidate, Elise Shepley, presented a poster on some of the results from her Ph.D. project titled "Creatures of Comfort: L’impact du logement lors de la période de tarissement sur les comportements de repos des vaches laitières". Her poster outlined the benefits of providing a larger, more comfortable space in the form of a deep-bedded loose-pen on the lying time, lying postures, and rising and lying ability of dry dairy cows. Keep an eye on our blog for Elise's upcoming post that will detail the full results of her study!!
Keep posted for new updates about the CowLife McGill :)