A survey of calf management practices and farmer perceptions of calf housing in UK dairy herds
ABSTRACT: Adoption of optimal management techniques for rearing dairy calves has significant effects on their health, welfare, and productivity. Despite much published literature on best practice, calf morbidity and mortality rates remain high. This survey aimed to establish current calf management...
| Main Authors: | , , , |
|---|---|
| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
Elsevier
2022-01-01
|
| Series: | Journal of Dairy Science |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0022030221009917 |
| _version_ | 1811337156936859648 |
|---|---|
| author | S.A. Mahendran D.C. Wathes R.E. Booth N. Blackie |
| author_facet | S.A. Mahendran D.C. Wathes R.E. Booth N. Blackie |
| author_sort | S.A. Mahendran |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | ABSTRACT: Adoption of optimal management techniques for rearing dairy calves has significant effects on their health, welfare, and productivity. Despite much published literature on best practice, calf morbidity and mortality rates remain high. This survey aimed to establish current calf management practices in the United Kingdom, along with farmer perceptions surrounding different housing types. A survey containing 48 questions was distributed online to UK farmers via social media, online forums, and a convenience sample of veterinary practices and was completed by 216 participants. A descriptive analysis with frequency distributions was calculated, with chi-squared tests, linear regression and multinomial regression performed to assess associations between variables. There was a low level of regular veterinary involvement in day-to-day health decision making for calves (3/216, 1.4%), highlighting the need for appropriate staff training and standard operating procedures to ensure prudent antimicrobial usage. Restricted calf milk feeding remains highly prevalent in the United Kingdom, with most calves fed milk replacer (114/216, 52.8%), twice daily (189/216, 87.5%), initially given milk at 4 L/d (66/216, 30.6%) or 6 L/d (47/216, 21.8%). There was, however, a small number of farmers initially feeding only 2 to 3 L/d (28/216, 13.0%). Euthanasia of bull calves (5/216, 2.3%) and feeding antimicrobial waste milk to calves (8/216, 3.7%) both occurred on some farms. With regard to housing, use of individual calf pens has reduced from around 60% in 2010 to 38.4% in this study (83/216), with this reduction being partly driven by the policy of UK milk buyers. Farmer perceptions indicated that individual housing was thought to help to improve calf health and feed monitoring of calves, suggesting that successful use of group housing requires a higher level of stockmanship. The majority of farmers did not provide fresh bedding to calves on a daily basis (141/216, 65.3%), and relatively few disinfected both the calf housing (38.0%) and ground (47.7%) between calves, suggesting that hygiene practices may require additional attention in farm management protocols. |
| first_indexed | 2024-04-13T17:50:49Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-c68322b0dd1341f78295cd81d6bfe370 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 0022-0302 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-04-13T17:50:49Z |
| publishDate | 2022-01-01 |
| publisher | Elsevier |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Journal of Dairy Science |
| spelling | doaj.art-c68322b0dd1341f78295cd81d6bfe3702022-12-22T02:36:44ZengElsevierJournal of Dairy Science0022-03022022-01-011051409423A survey of calf management practices and farmer perceptions of calf housing in UK dairy herdsS.A. Mahendran0D.C. Wathes1R.E. Booth2N. Blackie3Corresponding author; Royal Veterinary College, Department of Pathobiology and Population Sciences, Hawkshead Lane, Hatfield, Hertfordshire AL9 7TA, United KingdomRoyal Veterinary College, Department of Pathobiology and Population Sciences, Hawkshead Lane, Hatfield, Hertfordshire AL9 7TA, United KingdomRoyal Veterinary College, Department of Pathobiology and Population Sciences, Hawkshead Lane, Hatfield, Hertfordshire AL9 7TA, United KingdomRoyal Veterinary College, Department of Pathobiology and Population Sciences, Hawkshead Lane, Hatfield, Hertfordshire AL9 7TA, United KingdomABSTRACT: Adoption of optimal management techniques for rearing dairy calves has significant effects on their health, welfare, and productivity. Despite much published literature on best practice, calf morbidity and mortality rates remain high. This survey aimed to establish current calf management practices in the United Kingdom, along with farmer perceptions surrounding different housing types. A survey containing 48 questions was distributed online to UK farmers via social media, online forums, and a convenience sample of veterinary practices and was completed by 216 participants. A descriptive analysis with frequency distributions was calculated, with chi-squared tests, linear regression and multinomial regression performed to assess associations between variables. There was a low level of regular veterinary involvement in day-to-day health decision making for calves (3/216, 1.4%), highlighting the need for appropriate staff training and standard operating procedures to ensure prudent antimicrobial usage. Restricted calf milk feeding remains highly prevalent in the United Kingdom, with most calves fed milk replacer (114/216, 52.8%), twice daily (189/216, 87.5%), initially given milk at 4 L/d (66/216, 30.6%) or 6 L/d (47/216, 21.8%). There was, however, a small number of farmers initially feeding only 2 to 3 L/d (28/216, 13.0%). Euthanasia of bull calves (5/216, 2.3%) and feeding antimicrobial waste milk to calves (8/216, 3.7%) both occurred on some farms. With regard to housing, use of individual calf pens has reduced from around 60% in 2010 to 38.4% in this study (83/216), with this reduction being partly driven by the policy of UK milk buyers. Farmer perceptions indicated that individual housing was thought to help to improve calf health and feed monitoring of calves, suggesting that successful use of group housing requires a higher level of stockmanship. The majority of farmers did not provide fresh bedding to calves on a daily basis (141/216, 65.3%), and relatively few disinfected both the calf housing (38.0%) and ground (47.7%) between calves, suggesting that hygiene practices may require additional attention in farm management protocols.http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0022030221009917calf managementcalf housingdairy farmingsurveyUnited Kingdom |
| spellingShingle | S.A. Mahendran D.C. Wathes R.E. Booth N. Blackie A survey of calf management practices and farmer perceptions of calf housing in UK dairy herds Journal of Dairy Science calf management calf housing dairy farming survey United Kingdom |
| title | A survey of calf management practices and farmer perceptions of calf housing in UK dairy herds |
| title_full | A survey of calf management practices and farmer perceptions of calf housing in UK dairy herds |
| title_fullStr | A survey of calf management practices and farmer perceptions of calf housing in UK dairy herds |
| title_full_unstemmed | A survey of calf management practices and farmer perceptions of calf housing in UK dairy herds |
| title_short | A survey of calf management practices and farmer perceptions of calf housing in UK dairy herds |
| title_sort | survey of calf management practices and farmer perceptions of calf housing in uk dairy herds |
| topic | calf management calf housing dairy farming survey United Kingdom |
| url | http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0022030221009917 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT samahendran asurveyofcalfmanagementpracticesandfarmerperceptionsofcalfhousinginukdairyherds AT dcwathes asurveyofcalfmanagementpracticesandfarmerperceptionsofcalfhousinginukdairyherds AT rebooth asurveyofcalfmanagementpracticesandfarmerperceptionsofcalfhousinginukdairyherds AT nblackie asurveyofcalfmanagementpracticesandfarmerperceptionsofcalfhousinginukdairyherds AT samahendran surveyofcalfmanagementpracticesandfarmerperceptionsofcalfhousinginukdairyherds AT dcwathes surveyofcalfmanagementpracticesandfarmerperceptionsofcalfhousinginukdairyherds AT rebooth surveyofcalfmanagementpracticesandfarmerperceptionsofcalfhousinginukdairyherds AT nblackie surveyofcalfmanagementpracticesandfarmerperceptionsofcalfhousinginukdairyherds |