Prevalence of disorders in preweaned dairy calves from 731 dairies in Germany: A cross-sectional study

Dachrodt, Linda; Arndt, Heidi; Bartel, Alexander; Kellermann, L.M.; Tautenhahn, Annegret; Volkmann, Maria; Birnstiel, Katrin; Duc, Phuong Do; Hentzsch, A.; Jensen, Katharina Charlotte; Klawitter, Marcus; Paul, Philip; Stoll, Alexander; Woudstra, Svenja; Zuz, P.; Knubben, G.; Metzner, Moritz; Müller, Kerstin; Merle, Roswitha; Hoedemaker, Martina

doi:10.3168/jds.2021-20283

Cited by 21 publications

(33 citation statements)

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“…Overall, the herd-level prevalence of diarrhoea, respiratory disease, and navel ill on study farms during the first visit period was lower than those reported in morbidity studies for calves under 6 months old on both dairy farms and specialist calf-rearing units [ 28 , 29 , 30 , 31 , 32 ]. These studies reported cumulative prevalence over multiple farm visits, and as such, are not directly comparable with the current study.…”

Section: Discussioncontrasting

confidence: 59%

The Effect of Contract-Rearing on the Health Status of Replacement Dairy Heifers

McCarthy

O’Grady

McAloon

et al. 2021

Animals

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The aim of this study was to compare the health status of contract- vs. conventionally reared replacement dairy heifers over a 2-year period. A total of 120 dairy farmers were enrolled in the study in spring 2018: 55 farmers were rearing their own heifers (control farmers; CFs), and 65 were sending heifers to a contract-rearing farm (source dairy farmers; SDFs). Between spring 2018 and autumn 2019, approximately 5500 replacement heifers from these farms were monitored for signs of ill health during four farm visits using a modified version of the Wisconsin calf health scoring system. Additionally, faecal and nasal swabs were taken from a proportion of heifers with clinical signs of diarrhoea and respiratory disease to determine the associated aetiological agents. Results indicate few differences in the health status and pathogen exposure status of home-reared versus contract-reared heifers. Additionally, the number of source dairy farms represented and commingling of heifers from multiple origins at the rearing unit were not associated with an increased incidence of respiratory disease or diarrhoea among contract-reared heifers. It was concluded that contract-rearing did not result in adverse health outcomes for replacement dairy heifers. This is the first study to demonstrate this finding in a robust, longitudinal, herd-level population study.

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Section: Discussioncontrasting

confidence: 59%

The Effect of Contract-Rearing on the Health Status of Replacement Dairy Heifers

McCarthy

O’Grady

McAloon

et al. 2021

Animals

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“…Changes in the management and structure of the maternity area of a cattle operation leading to a relevant improvement of calving and calf-rearing hygiene will be valuable for reducing the burden of JD and other infectious calf diseases (e.g., neonatal calf diarrhea, respiratory disease). Besides omphalitis, diarrhea was the most common calf disorder in a recent German study and was most frequently found in dairy herds in the eastern part of Germany [ 49 ]. A link between the occurrence of JD and the number of calves with diarrhea was shown in Ontario dairy herds [ 18 ].…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Evaluation of the Thuringian Bovine Johne’s Disease Control Program—A Case Study

Donat

Einax²,

Klassen

2022

Animals

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The Thuringian Johne’s Disease (JD) Control Program provides a voluntary approach to JD control in Thuringia, a federal state of Germany. The program has three objectives: reduce the level of infection when present; reduce the spread of JD to uninfected herds; and facilitate the certification and protection of herds that are non-suspect with respect to JD. The program offers pathways for the management of affected herds and for certification of herds with continuing negative tests. After the control stage (CS), a certification stage of at least 3 consecutive years with continuing negative results in the annual whole-herd test has to be passed until a herd can be certified as ‘non-suspect’ with respect to JD. This study focused on calf mortality in relation to JD herd status. In a longitudinal study, the association of annual calf mortality rate of a total of 93 dairy herds (13 ‘non-suspect’; 26 in control stage; 54 not enrolled) over 10 consecutive years with JD herd status was investigated using a generalized mixed linear model with repeated measures. Non-suspect herds had a lower calf mortality rate compared with other farms. We conclude that establishing JD control measures lowers the calf mortality rate.

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“…This study was conducted as part of a large cross-sectional study on the health, biosecurity, and housing environment of dairy farms in Germany ( 22 ). The project was initiated and funded by the German Federal Ministry of Food and Agriculture (BMEL) through the Federal Office for Agriculture and Food (BLE).…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Farms were recruited continuously during the study period to offer farmers a prompt date for the farm visit. The sample size was calculated as described by Dachrodt et al ( 22 ). In brief, in the north and east, farms were randomly selected from the complete list of dairy cattle owners in the National Traceability and Information System for Animals (Herkunftssicherungs- und Informationssystem für Tiere); in the south, they were randomly selected from dairy farmers organized in the neutral auditing organization for Bavarian dairy farms (Milchprüfring Bayern e.V.).…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

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German Farmers' Awareness of Lameness in Their Dairy Herds

et al. 2022

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Lameness is one of the most challenging problems in the dairy industry. Control is impeded because farmers often underestimate the number of lame cows. The objectives of this study were to assess German farmers' awareness of lameness in their herds and to determine the associations between farmers' awareness and their management practices, farm characteristics as well as with farmers' education, personality traits and attitudes. As a part of a large cross-sectional study, veterinarians visited farms in three structurally different regions of Germany: north (n = 253), east (n = 252), and south (n = 260). The cows (n = 84,998) were scored for locomotion and farmers were asked to estimate the number of cows that were lame or did not walk soundly. The ratio of farmers' estimated prevalence and the veterinarians' observed prevalence (Farmer's Detection Index; FDI) was calculated. The median lameness prevalence assessed by the veterinarians was 23.1, 39.1, and 23.2%, and the median prevalence of lame cows estimated by the farmers was 9.5, 9.5, and 7.1% in the north, east, and south, respectively. On average, farmers were conscious of only 45.3% (north), 24.0% (east), and 30.0% (south) of their lame cows. Farmers managing their herds according to organic principles had a higher FDI than farmers who managed their herds conventionally. Surprisingly, no significant associations between FDI and factors concerning claw health management could be detected. Therefore, increased awareness did not seem to be necessarily linked to improved management. Moreover, the FDI was not significantly associated with farmers' education or herd size. In the south, more extraverted farmers had a lower FDI. Those farmers who totally agreed with the statement, “I am satisfied with my herd's health,” had a lower FDI than farmers who disagreed or were undecided. Moreover, farmers who disagreed or were undecided with the statement, “It affects me to see a cow in pain” had a higher FDI than those farmers who agreed to the statement. The results indicate that poor awareness of lameness was linked to the farmers' attitude and personality. Therefore, new approaches concerning the consultation regarding lameness control, such as the use of Motivational Interviewing, might be useful in the future.

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Prevalence of disorders in preweaned dairy calves from 731 dairies in Germany: A cross-sectional study

Cited by 21 publications

References 50 publications

The Effect of Contract-Rearing on the Health Status of Replacement Dairy Heifers

The Effect of Contract-Rearing on the Health Status of Replacement Dairy Heifers

Evaluation of the Thuringian Bovine Johne’s Disease Control Program—A Case Study

German Farmers' Awareness of Lameness in Their Dairy Herds

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