Association of Herd Size with Stillbirth and Dystocia Rates in Japanese Black Cattle

SIMPLE SUMMARY: Stillbirth and dystocia have a substantial impact on productivity and animal welfare in the beef industry. We previously elucidated risk factors for stillbirth and dystocia in the Japanese Black, the most common breed of beef cattle in Japan and known as Wagyu. Large variations in calving and calving management among different herd sizes were reported for beef cattle worldwide, but no published literature reported on the association between herd size and the stillbirth and dystocia rates in Japanese Black cattle. Here, we examined the effect of herd size on stillbirth and dystocia rates in Japanese Black cows. We found that the stillbirth rate was not associated with herd size, and the effect of herd size on stillbirth was independent of season, parity, and stage. In contrast, large farms had a lower dystocia rate than small and medium-sized farms, and higher dystocia on small farms compared to medium and large farms was found only in pregnancy of normal duration. This knowledge could contribute to designing and implementing an effective calving management system and finally decrease the burden on labor and clinical veterinarians. ABSTRACT: The objective of this study was to investigate the effect of herd size on stillbirth and dystocia rates; the relationships between herd size, calving season, parity, and gestation length in Japanese Black cattle were also explored. Data were collected for 41,184 calvings from 15,512 animals on 905 farms between 2006 and 2010. In this study, herds were classified into three groups based on size: small (1–10 cows), medium (11–50 cows), and large (≥51 cows). Herd size had an effect on the dystocia rate (p < 0.05) but not the stillbirth rate. Additionally, interactions between herd size and gestation length were associated with the dystocia rate (p < 0.05), and the dystocia rate was the highest in small herds, followed by medium and large herds for cows with a gestation length of 281–300 days, which is considered a pregnancy of normal duration. In summary, in Japanese Black cattle, there were different effects of herd size on the stillbirth rate and dystocia rates, as herd size was associated with the dystocia rate but not with the stillbirth rate.