Mortality and Morbidity of Beef Calves in Free-Range Farms in Alentejo, Portugal—A Preliminary Study

Abstract

Extensive cow-calf beef cattle farms play a significant role in Portuguese livestock production, but records of important production variables, such as calf mortality, are scarce. To assess herd-level calf mortality and its potential economic impact, farmers from the Alentejo region were asked to fill a questionnaire regarding herd size, feeding and reproductive management practices, calf mortality (from birth to weaning), and detection of the main morbidity causes, as well as of sudden, unexplained deaths during the previous 12 months. Farmers were also requested to quantitatively assess the economic impact of calf mortality on their annual revenue. In the majority of farms, the herd size was larger than 100 animals. The median stocking rate was 0.41 adult animals/hectare, and 70% of farmers stated their farm was self-sufficient in forage. The percent of live births that resulted in weaned calves averaged 94.3%, which led to the assumption of a 5.7% calf mortality rate from birth to weaning. In the previous 12 months, 78.8% of the farms identified at least one case of calf diarrhea, 60.7% identified at least one case of respiratory disease, and 82.1% had at least one sudden, unexplained calf death. As expected, farmers that assessed a higher impact of calf losses on their annual economic revenue were also those who reported higher incidences of calf diarrhea, respiratory disease, and sudden, unexplained deaths. One-quarter of the farmers were unable to assess the economic impact of calf mortality on the farm's revenue. Herd size appears to have a predictive value on calf mortality in the first month of life, and from 30 days to weaning. The number of sudden, unexplained calf deaths seems to have a predictive value on overall calf mortality (from birth to weaning), suggesting that the farms' management practices probably play an important role in calf mortality throughout the suckling period. Further studies are needed to fully understand calf mortality in Portuguese extensive rearing systems.

Incidence and Predictors of Calf Morbidity and Mortality From Birth to 6-Months of Age in Dairy Farms of Northwestern Ethiopia

“…The hazard for mortality was higher in relatively large-sized dairy herds when compared to smaller herd sizes. This finding was supported by Santos et al ( 52 ), who reported that herd size has a predictive value on calf mortality from birth to weaning.…”

Simulations of feed intake, production output, and economic result within extensive and intensive suckler cow beef production systems

“…Raboisson et al (2016) estimated that the costs of low colostrum intake causing increased calf mortality was 80 EUR per calf in beef herds. Furthermore, Santos et al (2019) concluded that calf diarrhoea, respiratory disease, and sudden, unexplained deaths are common causes of calf mortality and have a large impact on the farm economy. Several other studies have also confirmed that calf survival has high economic importance (Koots and Gibson, 1998;Phocas et al, 1998;Wolfová et al, 2005a).…”

Assessing Reproductive Performance to Establish Benchmarks for Small-Holder Beef Cattle Herds in South Africa

“…This amplifies no improvement within the past decade and a half. South Africa is reporting annually higher losses than countries such as Brazil 4.1% and Portugal 5.7% [ 45 , 46 ]. Records in these countries may be influenced by openness to adoption of developmental programs such as the Welfare Assessment Protocol applied in New Zealand and Namibia.…”