Preweaned heifer management on US dairy operations: Part I. Descriptive characteristics of preweaned heifer raising practices

Abstract

The objective of this study was to describe preweaned dairy heifer calf management practices on dairy operations across the United States that were used to analyze factors associated with colostrum quality and passive transfer, Cryptosporidium and Giardia, morbidity and mortality, and average daily gain. This study included 104 dairy operations in 13 states that participated in the National Animal Health Monitoring System's Dairy 2014 calf component study. This 18-mo longitudinal study focused on dairy heifer calves from birth to weaning, and data were collected on 2,545 heifer calves. Descriptive statistics were generated regarding colostrum feeding, preweaning housing, milk feeding and consumption, growth, morbidity and mortality, and weaning practices. The majority of calves enrolled were Holsteins (89.4%). Over half the calves (63.2%) enrolled in the study received the majority of their colostrum via bottle; however, 22.1% of calves from 51.0% of operations received colostrum via suckling from their dams. For all calves, the mean time to the first colostrum feeding was 2.8 h, and the average amount of colostrum at the first feeding was 2.9 L, with 4.5 L provided in the first 24 h. The mean serum IgG of all calves was 21.7 g/L; however, 76.0% of operations had at least 1 calf with failure of passive transfer of immunity with a serum IgG below 10 g/L. The majority of calves in the study were housed individually (86.6%). Nonetheless, 20.2% of operations housed some calves in groups, representing 13.4% of all calves. Approximately one-half of the calves in the study (52.3%) were dehorned or disbudded during the preweaning period, with only 27.8% of these calves receiving analgesics or anesthetics during the procedure. Whole or waste milk was the liquid diet type fed to 40.1% of calves, and milk replacer was fed to 34.8% of calves. A combination of milk and milk replacer was fed to 25.1% of calves. Calves, on average, were fed 2.6 L per feeding and fed 2.6 times/d, resulting in a total of 5.6 L of liquid diet fed per day. The mean average daily gain for all calves enrolled in the study was 0.7 kg/d. Fecal samples were collected and almost all operations had at least 1 calf positive for Cryptosporidium (94.2%) or Giardia (99.0%), and 84.6% of operations had calves that tested positive for both Cryptosporidium and Giardia. Over one-third of calves (38.1%) had at least one morbidity event during the preweaning period and the mortality rate was 5.0%. The mean age at weaning was 65.7 d. This study provides an update on dairy heifer raising practices in the United States.

Long-term use of yeast fermentation products in comparison to halofuginone for the control of cryptosporidiosis in neonatal calves

“…The number of diarrheal days was significantly correlated with the intensity of the Cryptosporidium infection indicating that the parasite was responsible for diarrhea in the present study. In contrast, a considerably higher ADG (700 g) at an average weaning age of 66 days was reported for dairy calves in a large-scale US study; however, here clinical signs had been seen in only 38% of the animals, including 21% with digestive signs (Urie et al, 2018b). Although the HALO treatment showed a partial anticryptosporidial activity, it had no clinical effect in the present study: it did not significantly affect the onset, nor the frequency, duration and intensity of diarrhea, the main clinical symptom of cryptosporidiosis.…”

Preweaned heifer management on US dairy operations: Part V. Factors associated with morbidity and mortality in preweaned dairy heifer calves

“…Dairy operations were categorized based on the number of mature cows, as small (30 to 99 cows), medium-sized (100 to 499 cows), and large (500 or more cows). Figures describing the study sample and operations can be found in Urie et al (2018a).…”

Comparison of oral, intravenous, and subcutaneous fluid therapy for resuscitation of calves with diarrhea

“…Neonatal diarrhea is a major source of economic loss in the dairy industry and the leading cause of preweaning calf mortality in most countries (Reiten et al, 2018;Urie et al, 2018). Treatment primarily focuses on correcting dehydration, increasing blood pH to correct the acidemia, restoring electrolyte concentrations and providing nutritional support (Smith and Berchtold, 2014).…”