Optimising the health and welfare of dairy and dairy cross-bred calves (PhD)

Summary

Summary/Key Findings

Calf mortality is associated with breed type, sex, month of birth and environmental temperature, according to national data analysis.
Factors were identified as being associated with health and production outcomes in calves on dairy farms, include stocking demographics, milk/colostrum feeding practices, and both environmental hygiene and temperature; from analysis of the calf management practices of 60 dairy farms.
These factors were tested in a randomised controlled trial, by implementing an evidence-based calf health plan. Interventions from the plan were demonstrated to improve growth, mortality and diarrhoea rates.
As these studies suggested that environmental temperatures appear to be associated both with mortality and growth rates, 1kW heat lamps and calf jackets were tested in a randomised controlled trial. Whilst calf jackets had no significant effect on growth rates, the use of 1kW heat lamps was associated with improved growth rates in young calves.

For further information the full report is available to download.

You can find out more information on this topic by clicking here https://ahdb.org.uk/events/dairy-research-conference-online

Results/Key messages

Analysis of national data suggests calf mortality is associated with breed type, sex, month of birth and environmental temperature.
From analysis of the calf management practices of 60 dairy farms, several factors were identified as being associated with health and production outcomes in calves on dairy farms, including stocking demographics, milk/colostrum feeding practices, and both environmental hygiene and temperature.
These factors were tested in a randomised controlled trial, by implementing an evidence-based calf health plan. Interventions from the plan were demonstrated to improve growth, mortality and diarrhoea rates.
As these studies suggested that environmental temperatures appear to be associated both with mortality and growth rates, 1kW heat lamps and calf jackets were tested in a randomised controlled trial. Whilst calf jackets had no significant effect on growth rates, the use of 1kW heat lamps was associated with improved growth rates in young calves.

To provide farmers and veterinarians with access to the calf health findings of the thesis in interactive form, the University of Nottingham Herd Health Toolkit (www.nottingham.ac.uk/herdhealthtoolkit) was created, including tools relating to the management of colostrum, prediction of mortality rates and ultimately a bespoke calf health plan based on user inputs.

Sector:

Beef & Lamb,Dairy

Project code:

91110072

Date:

01 October 2018 - 30 September 2021

Funders:

AHDB Beef & Lamb, AHDB Dairy, AFCP

AHDB sector cost:

£35,700

Total project value:

£106,000

Project leader:

University of Nottingham

Downloads

About this project

The Problem

The study aims are:

To design and validate a ‘best practice programme’ that informs the cattle industry of practical approaches to minimise disease morbidity and mortality in dairy and dairy-cross calves, and
To explore whether non-antibiotic approaches could be used as a substitute for antimicrobial treatments

To achieve this, the project has four objectives:

To identify management practices that maximise calf health on UK dairy farms; the PhD student will visit 60 dairy herds and collect information related to all aspects of calf management, husbandry and morbidity/mortality. Population attributable risks will be used to estimate the relative importance of different management practices on the risk of developing disease
To undertake a controlled intervention study to evaluate the impact of a dairy-bred calf health programme; a calf health programme will be designed based on management practices found to have the greatest impact on the risk of developing disease and tested in a randomised controlled trial
To investigate the role of non-antibiotic based treatment options for dairy-bred young stock; a clinical trial will be performed on up to 3 dairy farms to investigate whether non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) could be used to successfully treat calves showing early signs of bovine respiratory disease (BRD), thereby reducing the need for antimicrobials
To design a comprehensive ‘Healthy Calf Programme’

The Project

The purpose of this research is to develop a farmer-friendly “best practice” programme to minimise disease morbidity and mortality in calves born on dairy farms. We will identify management practices that minimise the occurrence of key diseases in UK calves and validate them in an on-farm clinical (intervention) trial. No such studies have been done using this approach. The relative benefits of different interventions will be evaluated and we will provide the industry with recommendations that are the most cost- and health-beneficial. An additional study will be conducted to improve the understanding of the potential usefulness of non-antibiotic treatments for calf respiratory disease, and hence reduce use of antimicrobials.

Student

Robert Hyde, University of Nottingham