A survey of management practices that influence calf welfare and an estimation of the annual calf mortality risk in pastured dairy herds in Uruguay

Abstract

Despite the importance of dairy farming in Uruguay, little information on dairy systems in this country is available in the scientific literature, and management practices that influence calf welfare at the herd level have not been explored. The aims of this study were to (1) describe the prepartum and calf-rearing systems, as well as the management practices that may influence calf welfare in pastured dairy herds in Uruguay, (2) estimate the annual calf mortality risk from birth to weaning, and (3) identify the primary clinical disease syndromes shown by the calves before death. A survey comprising a farm visit and a questionnaire was conducted on 225 randomly selected dairies with >30 milking cows, in 3 strata (31-99, 100-299, and ≥300 milking cows) of 6 Uruguayan departments where dairies are concentrated. Retrospective information from July 2013 to June 2014 was collected. A descriptive analysis was performed and results were inferred into the national dairy cattle population. Several management practices that could contribute to poor calf welfare were identified in a large proportion of farms. The annual calf mortality risk (calves that died between birth and weaning/calves born death or alive × 100, n = 149 farms) was 15.2%. Age at weaning averaged 75 d. Farmers reported that the most common clinical syndromes were diarrhea and respiratory disease in 85.2% and 47.5% of the farms, respectively. There was no continuous veterinary advice in 61.3% of the farms, 20.0% lacked data records, 38.5% had poor drainage in the prepartum area with waterlogging after rainfall, 52.1% monitored the prepartum area ≤2 times per day during the calving season, 65.1% did not perform navel antisepsis on newborns, 62.3% separated the calves from their dams at >24 h postpartum, 95.2% did not have a colostrum management program, 72.4% did not rotate the calf-rearing areas, 59.0% did not disinfect the calf feeders, 85.7% did not have staff dedicated exclusively to calf rearing, and 39.8% did not separate sick from healthy calves. The average volume of milk or milk replacer offered per calf was 4.5 L/day. Several of the identified management practices that affect calf welfare in the prepartum and calf-rearing periods could explain the high mortality risk. An effort should be made to conduct extension work focusing on the dissemination of good management practices to improve calf welfare and reduce calf mortality in Uruguayan dairy farms.