Blood parameters of young calves at abattoirs are related to distance transported and farm of origin

Abstract

Nonreplacement dairy calves, or bobby calves, are fasted and transported to abattoirs from as young as 5 d of age in Australia. The aims of this cross-sectional observational study were (1) to assess the welfare status, as measured by blood parameters, of bobby calves in the commercial supply chain after transport and lairage, and (2) to assess whether distance and duration of transport are risk factors for poor bobby calf welfare, as measured by blood parameters. We hypothesized that bobby calves transported greater distances would be more likely to show evidence of compromised welfare, as measured by blood indicators of hydration, energy status, and muscle fatigue or damage. We also hypothesized that there would be a large amount of variability in indicators of energy status between calves from different farms. We analyzed blood samples collected at slaughter over a spring and an autumn calving period from 4,484 Australian bobby calves aged approximately 5 to 14 d old from 3 different states, after transport, fasting, and lairage. Packed cell volume (PCV), plasma glucose, and serum urea, total protein, β-hydroxybutyrate (BHB), and creatine kinase (CK) were measured. Radio frequency identification ear tag data were used to estimate the distance that the calves were transported and to identify the farm of origin. Data were analyzed using linear mixed models, except for BHB, which was analyzed using a Goodman-Kruskal gamma test due to left censoring of the data. Twelve percent of calves showed evidence of anemia (PCV less than 0.23 L/L), and 11% had urea concentrations consistent with dehydration (urea more than 7.7 mmol/L). Thirty-six percent of calves had CK activity above normal resting values, and 1% of calves had CK >2,000 U/L, indicating muscle fatigue or damage. Distance transported had significant effects on all blood variables except urea and BHB. With increasing distance transported, calves were more likely to show evidence of a negative energy balance (low plasma glucose) or dehydration (high PCV or total protein). The estimated effect of distance overall was small, but for calves transported more than 500 km, plasma glucose concentration declined more per kilometer. The calves' farm of origin accounted for a reasonable amount of the random variation between calves for plasma glucose (20%). Our results suggest that longer transport distances may increase the risk of poor calf welfare (dehydration, negative energy balance) after transport, and on-farm calf management (e.g., nutrition, timing of feeding before transport) may affect transported calves' energy status; improving this area could result in better energy availability during fasting.

Additive prognostic value of preoperative plasma glucose concentrations in calves undergoing abdominal surgery

“…Decreased GLUC is a well-known feature of calves that experience fasting or the feeding of diets that do not meet energy demands (Kinsbergen et al, 1994b;Marcato et al, 2020;Roadknight et al, 2021). Severity and duration of illness and a concomitant alteration of milk intake provide an obvious explanation for the association between hypoglycemia and NO in calves of the present study.…”

Evaluation of carcass quality, body and pulmonary lesions detected at the abattoir in heavy pigs subjected or not to tail docking

“…The transport to the abattoir is a dangerous situation for the health of the animals, in particular when the driving condition, driving style and suspension are not optimal and can cause vibration and loss of balance in the animals [ 11 , 12 ]. Some studies reported that the length of the journey can influence blood parameters and the mortality of animals [ 13 , 14 ]. Both respiratory diseases and tail injuries are associated with the reduction of performance in pigs [ 15 ].…”

Fitness of calves born from in vitro-produced fresh and cryopreserved embryos

“…CRT ≥ 3 s reflects a 4.3% reduction in hydration in dairy calves compared with lower refill times ( 91 ). PCV is also typically elevated in dehydration ( 92 ), as shown in calves from V/W embryos compared with calves from F/T embryos but not within calves from not cryopreserved embryos. Rectal temperature and respiration rates decrease by dehydration ( 91 ), but such parameters did not change between calf types.…”