Fourteen calves were used to investigate the changes from birth to 83 days of age in the concentrations of serum albumin, alkaline phosphatase, beta-hydroxybutyrate, plasma cortisol, serum creatine kinase, creatinine, iron, plasma fibrinogen, serum gamma-glutamyl transferase, plasma glucose, haptoglobin, serum non-esterified fatty acids, total protein, transferrin, triglycerides, urea and gamma globulin; the haematological variables measured were: basophils, eosinophils, haematocrit, haemoglobin, lymphocytes, mean cell haemoglobin, mean cell haemoglobin concentration, mean cell volume, monocytes, band neutrophils, neutrophils, platelets, red blood cells and white blood cells. The changes are presented as a series of graphs and the values are discussed in relation to the published reference ranges for adult cattle. Two populations of calves were identified which gave rise to a bimodal distribution for some of the variables. Differences in haematocrit, haemoglobin and red blood cell counts were apparent at birth, with raised values for these measurements being associated with an increased white blood cell and neutrophil count between three and 27 days of age.

The preliminary findings from an investigation into the health and welfare of goats on commercial dairy goat farms in the UK are described. An assessment protocol involving direct observations of the goats was developed in order to assess their welfare. Twenty-four dairy goat farms in England and Wales were visited and assessed during the period autumn 2004 to summer 2005. The main welfare issues identified were lameness and claw overgrowth, udder and teat lesions, skin lesions and pruritus.

DIARRHOEA is very common in the calf and can have an impact both economically and in terms of animal welfare. Losses are due to death, treatment costs and time spent on care, as well as subsequent chronic illthrift and poor growth. While it may be convenient to focus on the principal infectious causes of calf diarrhoea, it is important to remember that it is generally the result of interaction between a number of related risk factors. Mixed infections are frequently seen and clinical signs are usually more severe where more than one pathogen is involved. This article discusses the causative agents and risk factors associated with the development of diarrhoea in the calf and describes an approach to the investigation of clinical disease.

Sub-optimal heifer growth is associated with higher disease rates and reduced future performance and longevity in the dairy herd. This manuscript describes a system for measuring heifer growth from birth to first calving used on commercial dairy farms in South West England, in order to gather benchmarking data to feed back to farmers. Weights (n = 8443) were collected from 20 farms. There was marked variation in individual and herd mean growth rates. Overall, calves gained no weight in the first eight days after birth and had a very low growth rate (median 0.12 kg/day) to 30 days, a period when feed conversion efficiency is high and calves are vulnerable to disease. Heifers whose growth rate up to 180 days was low were significantly less likely to achieve target service weight (374 kg) by 420 days. Monitoring heifer growth during the rearing period enables farmers to improve heifer growth rates and thus impact both the efficiency of heifer rearing and, potentially, the productivity and performance of the adult herd.

Escherichia coli O26:K60, with genetic attributes consistent with a potentially human enterohaemorrhagic E. coli was isolated from the faeces of an eight-month-old heifer with dysentery. Attaching and effacing lesions were identified in the colon of a similarly affected heifer examined postmortem, and shown to be associated with E. coli O26 by specific immunolabelling.