Crossbred calf rearing method, pre-weaning morbidity and mortality in urban and periurban dairy production systems of Dangila district, Ethiopia

Abstract

The study was conducted to investigate the crossbred calf rearing method, pre-weaning morbidity and mortality in urban and peri-urban dairy production systems of Dangila district, Ethiopia. A total of 160 households were purposefully chosen from urban and peri-urban areas and interviewed using a pre-tested semi-structured questionnaire. For the monitoring study, 20 peri-urban households were purposefully chosen from a pool of 100 peri- urban households, and similarly, 10 urban households were chosen purposefully from a pool of 60 urban households. The findings revealed that the majority of dairy farmers in both urban and peri-urban dairy productions used colostrum feeding. In the study area, the most common methods of calf milk feeding were restricted suckling (49.4%) and bucket feeding (50.6%). Among the dairy farms monitored, 33.3% used separate houses, but during the survey, it was discovered that 59.4% used separate calf houses. According to the monitoring study, 36.67% of farms were found to have health problems in calves, which was similar to the survey result (41%). The major constraints for crossbred calf rearing were feed shortage and high cost, disease and parasite, water shortage, and lack of access to veterinary services. In this study, the overall incidences of crossbred calf morbidity and mortality rates were 19.4% and 0%, respectively. Therefore, improved calf management practices such as colostrum and other ration feeding, adequate housing, house hygiene, and proper waste disposal are strongly advised to prevent preweaning crossbred calf morbidity.