Excellence in youngstock

Jim, a professor of large animal medicine and welfare at Western University of Health Sciences in California, was the key speaker at our recent strategic farm meeting on youngstock welfare, held at Hillhead of Covington.

The event included a tour of the farm, during which Jim discussed the science behind calving, calf management and the transition phase, linking this with the host farmers’, Willie Baillie's, management systems.

For Jim, it is important to treat animals with compassion, dignity and respect. He explained how welfare can be maximised by understanding and making use of natural behaviours.

“A cow’s instinct is to hide her calf somewhere quiet and secluded so she can go and eat, while the calf safely sleeps.

“We can take advantage of this by managing the separation of cow and calf during this window to minimise stress and anxiety, improving welfare,” he said.