Occurrence of neonatal diarrhea in calves with iron-deficiency anemia

Prodanović, Radivoje; Nedić, Sreten; Radanović, Oliver; Milićević, Vesna; Vujanac, Ivan; Bojkovski, Jovan; Kureljušić, Branislav; Arsić, Sveta; Jovanović, Ljubomir; Kirovski, Danijela

doi:10.2298/vetgl181210011p

Cited by 4 publications

(4 citation statements)

References 19 publications

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“…An interesting finding was the observed association between an increased calf diarrhea risk and the supplementation of iron after birth. In contrast to findings of the present study, there are studies indicating a higher risk of calf diarrhea in calves with low iron levels [ 26 ] or an increased risk of iron deficiency anemia in calves with diarrhea [ 27 ]. It is therefore possible, that on farms with diarrhea problems farmers are more likely to supplement iron as a preventive measure, however, if that was the case it could also be expected that other preventive measures (e.g., supplementation of selenium and vaccination of the dam) would also be performed more often, which was not the case.…”

Section: Discussioncontrasting

confidence: 99%

A High Plane of Nutrition Is Associated with a Lower Risk for Neonatal Calf Diarrhea on Bavarian Dairy Farms

Lorenz¹,

Huber²,

Trefz

2021

Animals

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In all bovine production systems, neonatal calf diarrhea remains worldwide an important issue of economic losses and animal welfare. The aim of the present study was to identify risk factors for neonatal calf diarrhea as a herd health problem on Bavarian dairy farms. For the purpose of this study, management factors related to calf health were retrospectively compared between 59 dairy farms with calf diarrhea as a herd problem with those of 18 control farms, where no veterinary treatment of calves for neonatal calf diarrhea took place for at least one year prior to the farm visit. A multivariable binary logistic regression analysis of management factors indicated that administration of 3 L or more of colostrum at the second feeding after birth (Odds ration [OR] = 0.21, 95% confidence interval [95% CI] = 0.05–0.89), ad libitum feeding of milk during the first week of life (OR = 0.06, 95% CI = 0.006–0.60), and administration of an iron containing preparation after birth (OR = 10.9, 95% CI = 1.25–95.6) were independently associated with the presence of a herd problem with neonatal diarrhea. Results of this study therefore suggest that a higher plane of nutrition is a protective factor with regard to the occurrence of neonatal diarrhea on Bavarian dairy farms. These findings support the establishment of ad libitum feeding programs in dairy calf rearing.

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Section: Discussioncontrasting

confidence: 99%

A High Plane of Nutrition Is Associated with a Lower Risk for Neonatal Calf Diarrhea on Bavarian Dairy Farms

Lorenz¹,

Huber²,

Trefz

2021

Animals

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“…But 12% of calves had PCV results consistent with mild to moderate anemia, so the effects of dehydration could be masked due to this tendency toward anemia. The cause and the importance of the anemia in the present study is unknown; previous research in young calves has suggested correlations between anemia and diarrhea (Prodanović et al, 2019), and iron deficiency has been theorized to be involved in the etiology of anemia in other studies (Hibbs et al, 1963;Benesi et al, 2019). Therefore, the tendency toward anemia is suggestive of underlying pathology or deficiency, either of which could affect calf welfare.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 63%

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

Roadknight

Courtman

McGill

et al. 2021

Journal of Dairy Science

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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.

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“…A higher prevalence of diarrhoea and a higher faecal pH in neonatal calves with Hb concentration of 3.49 mmol/L compared with 5.71 mmol/L was reported by (Prodanovi ć et al, 2019). In this study, iron deficiency has been hypothesised to cause lower gastric secretion and impaired gut function, but these hypotheses have not been further investigated.…”

Section: Effects On Immune Functions and Susceptibility To Infectionsmentioning

confidence: 74%

Welfare of calves

Nielsen¹,

Álvarez²,

Bicout³

et al. 2023

EFS2

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This Scientific Opinion addresses a European Commission request on the welfare of calves as part of the Farm to Fork strategy. EFSA was asked to provide a description of common husbandry systems and related welfare consequences, as well as measures to prevent or mitigate the hazards leading to them. In addition, recommendations on three specific issues were requested: welfare of calves reared for white veal (space, group housing, requirements of iron and fibre); risk of limited cow-calf contact; and animal-based measures (ABMs) to monitor on-farm welfare in slaughterhouses. The methodology developed by EFSA to address similar requests was followed. Fifteen highly relevant welfare consequences were identified, with respiratory disorders, inability to perform exploratory or foraging behaviour, gastroenteric disorders and group stress being the most frequent across husbandry systems. Recommendations to improve the welfare of calves include increasing space allowance, keeping calves in stable groups from an early age, ensuring good colostrum management and increasing the amounts of milk fed to dairy calves. In addition, calves should be provided with deformable lying surfaces, water via an open surface and long-cut roughage in racks. Regarding specific recommendations for veal systems, calves should be kept in small groups (2-7 animals) within the first week of life, provided with ~20 m 2 /calf and fed on average 1 kg neutral detergent fibre (NDF) per day, preferably using long-cut hay. Recommendations on cow-calf contact include keeping the calf with the dam for a minimum of 1 day post-partum. Longer contact should progressively be implemented, but research is needed to guide this implementation in practice. The ABMs body condition, carcass condemnations, abomasal lesions, lung lesions, carcass colour and bursa swelling may be collected in slaughterhouses to monitor on-farm welfare but should be complemented with behavioural ABMs collected on farm.

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Occurrence of neonatal diarrhea in calves with iron-deficiency anemia

Cited by 4 publications

References 19 publications

A High Plane of Nutrition Is Associated with a Lower Risk for Neonatal Calf Diarrhea on Bavarian Dairy Farms

A High Plane of Nutrition Is Associated with a Lower Risk for Neonatal Calf Diarrhea on Bavarian Dairy Farms

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

Welfare of calves

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