Pre-Weaned Calf Rearing on Northern Irish Dairy Farms: Part 1. A Description of Calf Management and Housing Design

Abstract

The first few months of life are of great importance to the longevity and lifetime performance of dairy cows. The nutrition, environment and healthcare management of heifer calves must be sufficient to minimise exposure to stress and disease and enable them to perform to their genetic potential. Lack of reporting of farm management practices in Northern Ireland (NI) makes it difficult to understand where issues impacting health, welfare and performance may occur in the rearing process. The objective of this study was to investigate housing design and management practices of calves on 66 dairy farms across NI over a 3-month period and also identify areas that may cause high risk of poor health and performance in dairy calves. An initial survey was used to detail housing and management practices, with two subsequent visits to each farm used to collect animal and housing-based measurements linked to hygiene management, animal health and performance. Large variations in key elements such as weaning criteria and method, calf grouping method used, nutritional feed plane, and routine hygiene management were identified. The specification of housing, in particular ventilation and stocking density, was highlighted as a potential limiting factor for calf health and performance. Lack of measurement of nutritional inputs, hygiene management practices and calf performance was observed. This poses a risk to farmers’ ability to ensure the effectiveness of key management strategies and recognise poor calf performance and health.

Pre-Weaned Calf Rearing on Northern Irish Dairy Farms—Part 2: The Impact of Hygiene Practice on Bacterial Levels in Dairy Calf Rearing Environments

“…A greater overview of the dairy farms used in the survey is provided in Brown et al [ 11 ]. Drinking water for calves was supplied from either a mains supply (47.0%, n = 31 farms) or from a bore well located on the farm (53.0%, n = 35 farms).…”

“…Sixty-six dairy farms were visited as part of a survey on pre-weaned calf housing and management. Details pertaining to the selection and enrolment of farms are reported by Brown et al [ 11 ]. Farms were visited on three pre-arranged occasions between 18 January 2019 and 2 May 2019.…”

“…Details about the hygiene management of calf pens and feeding equipment were obtained from the farm manager or main calf rearer through a questionnaire [ 11 ]. Participants were asked if, and how often soiled bedding was removed from calf pens, how often pens were cleaned out entirely and the method used when cleaning.…”

“…Detergent and disinfectant use is instrumental in breaking down biofilms and removal of pathogens [ 9 ] but requires the surface to be completely free of organic debris [ 4 ]. However, recent research has indicated that some dairy farms in Northern Ireland do not use any such products when cleaning calf rearing facilities and equipment [ 11 ]. Lack of use of detergents and/or disinfectants on dairy farms has also been found in other countries [ 10 , 12 , 13 ].…”

“…Little work has evaluated the effectiveness of various hygiene protocols for calf pens and feeding equipment. In order to address this, a survey of pre-weaned calf housing and management was undertaken on dairy farms in Northern Ireland [ 11 ]. The objectives of this study are to highlight the key hygiene practices being undertaken for pre-weaned calves on these dairy farms and assess the impact of these practices on the level of bacteria within calf pens, feedstuffs and feeding equipment.…”