Calving pen management

Abstract

Calving is one of the most stressful events to occur during the production cycle in dairy cows, and the environment in which this occurs can significantly impact the health of the neonatal calf. The incidence of enteric and respiratory disease in young calves can be reduced by managing this environment better, limiting contamination and resultant infection pressure. The environment in which calves were managed from birth onwards was observed and scored on 66 dairy farms in Northern Ireland over a 3 week period. Assessments were made on hygiene factors such as stocking density, presence of sick cows, bedding frequency, cleaning frequency, ease of cleaning and hygiene scoring. This study highlights that, despite the clear need for managing hygiene around the time of birth, hygiene in the calving pen is often an area that producers do not focus on improving in order to efficiently rear a healthy, productive and robust dairy cow.