Housing, Feeding and Management of Calves and Replacement Heifers in Swedish Dairy Herds

Pettersson, K; Svensson, C.; Liberg, Per

doi:10.1186/1751-0147-42-465

Cited by 33 publications

(12 citation statements)

References 41 publications

(41 reference statements)

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“…Despite this, the results indicate that fewer farms in North America compared to Sweden and the UK feed waste milk that may contain antimicrobial residues to calves. In the US, milk replacer is the main type of liquid diet fed to calves and thus, waste milk or whole milk in general seems to be fed on fewer farms than in the UK or Sweden [16,19,20]. Rather than being due to a wish to reduce the risk of exposing calves to antimicrobial residues in milk, it is more likely that this difference reflects an attempt to reduce the transmission of pathogens such as Mycobacterium avium, subsp.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Farming practices in Sweden related to feeding milk and colostrum from cows treated with antimicrobials to dairy calves

et al. 2013

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BackgroundMilk produced by cows in receipt of antimicrobial therapy may contain antimicrobial residues. Such antimicrobial-containing waste milk must be withdrawn from human consumption and is therefore sometimes used as calf feed. Unfortunately, this approach might promote selection of antimicrobial resistant bacteria in the calves’ intestinal microbiota. The objectives of this study were therefore to obtain an overview of waste milk feeding practices on Swedish dairy farms and to investigate if these practices were associated with certain farm characteristics. A representative group of 457 Swedish dairy farmers participated in a web-based survey with questions about the use of colostrum and milk from cows treated with antimicrobials at dry off or during lactation, respectively, as calf feed.ResultsColostrum (milk from the first milking after calving) and transition milk (milk from the second milking to the fourth day after calving) from cows treated with antimicrobials at dry off was fed to calves on 89% and 85% of the farms in the study, respectively. When antimicrobial therapy was given to cows during lactation, 56% of the farms fed milk that was produced during the course of treatment to calves, whereas milk that was produced during the subsequent withdrawal period was fed to calves on 79% of the farms. Surveyed farmers were less prone to feed such milk if the antimicrobial therapy was due to mastitis than other infections. In Sweden, a majority of antimicrobial treatments during lactation are systemic administration of benzylpenicillin and thus, the bulk of waste milk in Sweden is likely to contain residues of this drug. Feeding waste milk to calves was more common on non-organic farms, and on farms located in Southern Sweden, and was less common on farms with cows housed in cold free stalls barns.ConclusionsWaste milk that may contain antimicrobial residues is, at least occasionally, used as feed for calves on a majority of surveyed Swedish dairy farms. Future work should focus on the effect of waste milk feeding on the occurrence of antimicrobial resistant bacteria in the calves’ intestinal microbiota.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Farming practices in Sweden related to feeding milk and colostrum from cows treated with antimicrobials to dairy calves

et al. 2013

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“…Most preweaning calves are housed individually in farms in the United States [34] , Canada [35] , and Europe [36] . Group housing may improve postweaning growth [37] , [38] and the development of cognitive and social skills [39] – [41] .…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Scientific information gathered in on-farm surveys can be valuable to guide public policy, and research and extension programs aiming to support on-farm adoption of best practices to improve animal welfare and productivity. Surveys of dairy calf rearing practices conducted in North America [34] , [35] , [42] and European farms [30] , [36] , [43] , [44] have identified the main practices that need to be improved in order to achieve productive and animal welfare goals. Similar information on dairy calf rearing practices used by Brazilian family farmers is not available.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

A Survey of Management Practices That Influence Performance and Welfare of Dairy Calves Reared in Southern Brazil

et al. 2014

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Here we report dairy calf management practices used by 242 smallholder family farmers in the South of Brazil. Data were collected via a semi-structured questionnaire with farmers, inspection of the production environment and an in-depth interview with a sample of 26 farmers. Herds had an average of 22.3 lactating cows and an average milk production of 12.7 L/cow/day. Calves were dehorned in 98% of the farms, with a hot iron in 95%. Male calves were castrated in 71% of the farms; methods were surgery (68%), emasculator (29%), or rubber rings (3%). No pain control was used for these interventions. In 51% of the farms all newborn male calves were reared, sold or donated to others; in 35% all newborn males were killed on the farm. Calves were separated from the dam up to 12 h after birth in 78% of the farms, and left to nurse colostrum from the dam without intervention in 55% of the farms. The typical amount of milk fed to calves was 4 L/day until a median age of 75 days. In 40% of the farms milk was provided in a bucket, in 49% with bottles, and in 11% calves suckled from a cow. Solid feeding in the milk-feeding period started at a median age of 10 days. Calves were housed individually in 70% of the farms; in 81% of the farms calves were housed in indoor pens, in 6% in outdoor hutches and in 13% they were kept on pasture. Diarrhoea was reported as the main cause of calf mortality in 71% of the farms. Farmers kept no records of calf disease, mortality, or use of medicines. Changing the scenario identified in this survey is essential to support the sustainable development of dairy production, an activity of great economic and social relevance for the region.

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“…Systemic antibiotics administered to heifers were not effective in reducing the prevalence of mastitis [30]. Knowledge is required in order to become more pro-active in heifer rearing to ensure udder health in heifers [31]. …”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Host adapted intramammary infections in pregnant heifers which were co-housed and reared on fresh milk as calves

et al. 2013

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BackgroundHeifers can calve down with intramammary infections (IMI) and udder damage. This will have a negative impact on their longevity, future milk yield and financial return. Co-housed pre-weaned calves that are fed fresh milk have the opportunity to suckle each other’s teats and may infect udders of fellow heifer calves with pathogens present in milk. The prevalence of IMI in pregnant heifers in South Africa (SA) which were co-housed and reared on fresh milk as calves, is not known. Quarter secretion samples from both pregnant heifers (n = 2065) and dry cows (n = 5365) were collected for microbiological analysis from eight SA dairy herds. All heifers tested in this study were co-housed pre-weaning and were fed fresh milk as calves.ResultsThe prevalence of coagulase negative staphylococci, Staphylococcus aureus, Streptococcus agalactiae, environmental streptococci, coliforms and samples with no bacterial growth in heifers was 26%, 0.9%, 0.08%, 1.4%, 0.4% and 66%, respectively. The overall prevalence ratio between heifers and cows for Staphylococcus aureus IMI was 0.76 (95% CI: 0.59, 0.98). Four of the individual herds had prevalence ratios of less than one (p < 0.05), one herd had a prevalence ratio of 3.15 (95% CI: 1.52, 6.32), and the remaining 3 herds had a prevalence ratio not significantly different from 1.0. Marginally significant differences were found between Staphylococcus aureus IMI in pregnant heifers compared to cows in their second and later lactations (p = 0.06, p = 0.05, respectively) but no significant differences between heifers and cows in their first lactation.ConclusionsThe presence of Streptococcus agalactiae IMI in heifers came as a surprise, especially as herd infection rates were low. The high prevalence ratio of Staphylococcus aureus between heifers and cows in one herd warrants further investigation due to the potential danger of udder damage in a young cow at the start of her productive life. The IMI in heifers with host adapted pathogens can also act as a source of new IMI for lactating dairy cows.

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Housing, Feeding and Management of Calves and Replacement Heifers in Swedish Dairy Herds

Cited by 33 publications

References 41 publications

Farming practices in Sweden related to feeding milk and colostrum from cows treated with antimicrobials to dairy calves

Farming practices in Sweden related to feeding milk and colostrum from cows treated with antimicrobials to dairy calves

A Survey of Management Practices That Influence Performance and Welfare of Dairy Calves Reared in Southern Brazil

Host adapted intramammary infections in pregnant heifers which were co-housed and reared on fresh milk as calves

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