Assessment of Herd, Calf, and Colostrum Management Practices on Austrian Dairy Farms Using a Scoring System

Abstract

The objectives of the study were to describe colostrum management on Austrian dairy farms and to explore differences between regions (alpine/flatlands), organic and conventional producing farms, and full-time or part-time operated farms. An online survey (24 questions) on general farm characteristics and herd and calf management was sent to 16,246 farmers. In total, 2328 farmers (response rate 14.3%) answered the questionnaire. To allow an objective comparison, a scoring system was implemented. Farm size is, on average, smaller in the alpine regions than in the foothills/flatlands regions of Austria. Small farms were more often organic-producing farms (81.6%) and operated part-time (93.8%). In foothills/flatland regions, 70.0% of farms have a separate calving area, and in the alpine regions, it is solely 42.8%. Colostrum testing is still mostly done by visual appraisal (63.7%); only a few farmers use a colostrometer (8.8%), brix-refractometer (18.3%), or ColostroCheck® (9.2%, a cone-shaped device to rate the flow velocity of colostrum). The results of the present study using the scoring system showed differences in herd and calf management practices in all sectors. In the future, the findings and especially the scoring system can support Austrian dairy farmers or veterinarians to better assess areas of improvement on farms in order to prevent calves from suffering from Failure of Transfer of Passive Immunity.

Evaluation of an immunochromatographic point-of-care test for the detection of failure of transfer of passive immunity in calves

“…Seven farms already participated actively in a previous project by the Austrian Animal Health Service on the evaluation of colostrum management in dairy farms. A part of this larger investigation has been published previously [ 14 ]. The remaining 4 farms joined the study on their own intention as they could provide additional samples conveniently.…”

“…It has been reported that the probability of a low serum immunoglobulin concentration in calves increases significantly (odds ratio = 10.7), if the colostrum contains less than 50 g/L IgG [ 13 ]. Preliminary results from a project by the Austrian Animal Health Service on the evaluation of colostrum management on dairy farms show that 49.8% of the investigated colostrum samples showed Brix values of less than 22% [ 14 ]. Besides high colostrum quality the time between parturition and colostrum delivery to the neonatal calf plays an essential role, since the absorption of immunoglobulins in the intestine decreases within the first 24 h of life and completely ceases at 24 to 36 h. In summary, timing of colostrum feeding after parturition (within 2 h), colostrum quality (≥ 50 g/L IgG) and the amount of colostrum fed to the calf (> 4 L) within the first hours of life are the most important factors to prevent FTPI [ 1 , 3 , 15 – 17 ].…”