Overføring av smittestoffer fra ku til kalv i melkefôringsperioden - en litteraturstudie

The purpose of this literature review was to evaluate if it should be avoided to keep the cow and calf together after birth because of the risk of transmission of infectious pathogens from the cow to the preweaning calf. The sources of transmission of common infections in newborn calves are described. E.coli, rotavirus, bovine coronavirus, Clostridium spp., Cryptosporidium spp., Giardia and Eimeria spp. are ubiquitous, and infected calves can excrete extreme numbers of microorganisms and cause contamination of the environment. According to the literature, microorganisms in the environment represent a higher risk than adults for transmission to the newborn, and hygienic measures and good passive immune status of the newborn are important prophylaxes. Transplacental transmission of bovine virus diarrhea virus may cause persistently infected individuals, which represent the most important route of viral shedding. Mycoplasma bovis usually cause infection in newborn calves with the pathogen often transmitted from the environment. The importance of the cow for direct transmission to the calf is dubious. Resent research has demonstrated that Mycobacterium avium subsp. paratuberculosis can be spread by bio-aerosols, and that intrauterine infection is quite common. Some authors suggest that separation of the dam and calf might be less effective in preventing the spread of this infection than previously anticipated. The authors’ conclusion is that cows in Norway do not represent a greater risk of transmission of pathogens to the newborn calf than the other calves and young animals in the herd

Gi kalven mer melk!

Fôring av spedkalv i melkeproduksjon har fått stor oppmerksomhet det siste tiåret. Mange forskningsmiljøer har bidratt med mye ny kunnskap. Høgskolen i Nord-Trøndelag har i år utgitt nye anbefalinger for melkefôring av kalv, og temaet fikk også stor oppmerksomhet under årets husdyrforsøksmøte. I det følgende gjengis kort noen av de nyeste anbefalingene og forskningsresultatene innen fagfeltet

Calf rearing in organic dairy production

Organic farmers utilize a wide variety of practices for suckling and separation of cows and calves, and experiences vary. This constitutes an important resource for finding and testing management practices that may improve animal welfare and diminish stress at separation. Farmers’ increased awareness of their animals’ behaviours may provide improvements in welfare and production in the years to come

Improving welfare for dairy cows and calves at separation.

The results indicate that both the intensity and extent of the behavioural reaction to separation is alleviated when cow and calf are separated with physical contact. In dairy herds practicing suckling systems, fence-line separation may increase cow and calf welfare compared to separation into pens allowing merely auditory contact

Velferd hos storfe

Tidligere ble god fysisk helse, høy tilvekst/ytelse og god fruktbarhet ansett å være ensbetydende med at dyret hadde det bra. I dag regnes ikke dette som tilstrekkelige indikatorer. Atferd, stressmestring og ulike uttrykk for dyrs mentale tilstand står sentralt. Negative indikatorer som sjukdom og atferdsforstyrrelser må vurderes, sammen med tilstedeværelse av positive indikatorer som lek og annen trivselsatferd. Denne artikkelen omhandler i hovedsak de delene av velferdsbegrepet som omfatter trivsel og mulighet for naturlig atferd

Effekt av forskjellige separasjonsmetoder på atferden til melkekyr og kalver - foreløpige resultater.

Det er foreløpig undersøkt 4 par i hver gruppe. FK førte til signifikant mindre rauting blant kalvene, (p = 0,001) og videre til at kalver lå signifikant mer i dagene etter separasjonen (p = 0,006) sammenlignet med HK. Generelt ble det observert mindre alert adferd ved denne separasjonsmetoden hos kalvene (p < 0,0001). FK-kalver viste også sjeldnere adferden urolig/vandring sammenlignet med HK kalvene (p < 0,0001). Dette samsvarer med funn av andre som har vist at separasjon med fortsatt mulighet til fysisk kontakt minsker kalvenes rauting og vandring (Haley, 2006; Price et al., 2003; Stookey et al., 1997). Rauting og bevegelse kan gjenspeile motivasjon til gjenforening, noe som ved FK fortsatt var mulig. For kalven kan FK separasjon uten avvenning ligne den første delen av avvenningen slik den foregår i naturen: kalven får ikke die, men har fortsatt mulighet til fysisk kontakt med mor (Haley, 2006). Det var ingen effekt på antall ganger kuene rautet mellom FK og HK Rauting med lukket munn ble hyppigere observert ved FK. Resultatene er gjengitt i tabell . FK-kuer sto mer og hvilte enn HK-kuer (p = 0,017,), og viste mer ”avslappet ” adferd (sove/hvile liggende og stående samt drøvtygging liggende/stående) (p < 0,0001)

Growth rate, health and welfare in a dairy herd with natural suckling until 6–8 weeks of age: a case report

Over a period of two years, growth rate and health were measured for dairy calves allowed to suckle their mothers up to 6–8 weeks of age. Thirty-one calves were weighted weekly, and the mean daily growth rate was 1.2 ± 0.03 kg from birth up to 13 weeks of age. Illness in calves and young stock was not observed. In the cows, the mean incidences of ketosis, displaced abomasum, puerperal paresis, mastitis, teat injury and retained placenta were 0, 0, 8, 22, 1 and 1%, respectively, during a 6-year period. The mean daily gain of 56 growing bulls was 1.4 kg when slaughtered at 15 months of age, which is higher than the mean daily gain of 0.95 kg in the population. Probiotics, hormones and vaccines were not used, and antibiotics were only used for treating illness. The present study indicates many advantages and few problems when dairy calves are penned together with the cows and allowed natural feeding up to 6–8 weeks of age. This production system was easy to manage, preferred by the farmer, and may satisfy the public concern regarding the practice of immediate separation of cow and calf in commercial milk production

The economic effects of suckling and milk feeding to calves in dual purpose dairy and beef farming

The study examines the economics of different calf rearing systems and considers effects of suckling and milk feeding on production, health and welfare of dairy cows and growth, milk and feed use, health and welfare of calves. The economics of (i) no suckling, (ii) suckling for 3 days, (iii) suckling for 7 weeks, all assuming milk or milk replacer fed until weaning at 13 weeks, was compared with (iv) suckling for 13 weeks and no milk feeding. A linear programming (LP) model, maximizing profit on a dual purpose dairy-beef farm in lowland eastern Norway, was used for the comparison. Details on calf rearing methods, labor, weaning age, intake of milk, and solid feed were gathered for a sample of organic farms and grouped according to the length of the suckling period. The data were coupled with the National Dairy Herd Recording System (NDHRS) using cross-sectional data for the years 2008–2013. The results of the model study showed that suckling up to at least 7 weeks and longer than on most farms in the survey, had a positive influence on the farm economics. This was due to the positive influence on calf growth and health as well as lowered costs. Consequently, dual purpose dairy-beef farmers should be careful to sacrifice calf suckling and restrict calf milk feeding. Long suckling until weaning at 13 weeks was, however, unprofitable

A cross-sectional study of suckling calves' passive immunity and associations with management routines to ensure colostrum intake on organic dairy farms

Abstract Background: For suckling dairy calves, different management routines to ensure sufficient colostrum intake are applied: visual assessment, hand feeding supplemental colostrum or assistance. However, knowledge on the efficacy of these methods to prevent failure of passive transfer [FPT: serum immunoglobulin (IgG) 50 g/L. Colostrum IgG was significantly higher in samples collected during spring, compared to samples collected during winter, and lower in 2nd parity cows. Conclusions: The results indicate that for calves capable of finding the udder and suckling independently, there is no direct benefit of routinely hand feeding colostrum although herd level factors (e.g. feeding, management etc.) may play an important role. FPT prevalence in this study was high, and comparable to that of calves in conventional herds, separating cow and calf at birth. Still, the findings of a high FPT prevalence and inferior colostrum quality indicates a need for improved awareness among dairy producers practicing cow-calf suckling