Ergebnisse der Integrierten Tierärztlichen Bestandesbetreuung in der Kälbermast

Abstract

The aim of this study was to document experience gained with herd health management in veal calf production and to describe the calves' most frequent health problems. Fifteen farms with an 'all-in-all-out' animal flow system and 20 farms with a continuous animal flow system were investigated and data on animal movements, housing, feeding, medical treatments, and management were collected. Cadavers underwent pathological examination, and data were recorded from the carcasses of slaughtered calves. On the 15 'all-in-all-out'-farms, 2'747 calves were clinically examined by the contract-veterinarian upon arrival at the farm, and 71,1 % of the calves showed at least one sign of illness. The main causes of death were with 54,9 % digestive disorders (a perforating abomasal ulcer being the most frequent diagnosis), followed by respiratory diseases (29,6 %, mainly pneumonia). The meat color of 25 % of the carcasses was red. Calves from farms with the continuous animal flow system, which recruit mainly animals originating from the same farm, showed significantly better results regarding antibiotic use, performance and carcass quality than those calves from farms with the 'all-in-all-out'-system.

Welfare Assessment in Calves Fattened According to the “Outdoor Veal Calf” Concept and in Conventional Veal Fattening Operations in Switzerland

“…While the main objective of the overall "outdoor veal calf" project was to test the hypothesis that antimicrobial use can be reduced by at least 50% through the implementation of a novel management and housing concept, ensuring that decreased treatment intensity would not be associated with reduced animal welfare was a central point of its evaluation. The present results confirm that the reduction of antimicrobial treatments in "outdoor veal calf" farms was not achieved at the cost of animal welfare, i.e., as a consequence of inadequate therapy for BRD, the main indication for antimicrobial treatments in veal calves [7,19]. Indeed, significantly fewer signs of BRD in live animals and fewer lung lesions at slaughter were observed in IF than in CF calves.…”

“…Even though the facilities were not disinfected in all farms after use, as intended in the “outdoor veal calf” system, the used bedding was completely removed and the facilities cleaned in all IF. A positive effect on the prevalence of diarrhea of all-in all-out systems and subsequent cleaning of the facilities after the departure of the animals is well established [ 19 , 40 ].…”

Evaluation of candidate data-based welfare indicators for veal calves in Switzerland

“…On the other hand, calves estimated to be at risk of disease often undergo metaphylactic antimicrobial group treatments in Swiss veal operations ( 6 , 22 , 84 ). This way, healthy individuals receive antimicrobials in a group alongside diseased individuals, therefore the amount of drug used may be only weakly, or not at all, correlated with disease incidence.…”

Laboratory diagnostic examinations as part of «Pathocalf» in case of herd problems on Swiss calf rearing and fattening farms

“…8,16,33 Erwähnenswert erscheint zudem die hohe Prävalenz von Clostridium perfringens, obwohl der Nachweis im Kot keinesfalls überinterpretiert werden darf. 11 Bei neonataler Diarrhoe werden viele Erreger auch bei klinisch gesunden Kälbern gefunden; 16,22 dies unterstreicht die Bedeutung des Zusammenwirkens von belebten und unbelebten Einflussfaktoren. 18,20 Auch auf Mastbetrieben wurden in den ersten Wochen nach der Aufstallung häufig Untersuchungen aufgrund von Durchfallerkrankungen eingeleitet.…”