Questionnaire identifying management practices surrounding calving on spring-calving dairy farms and their associations with herd size and herd expansion

Abstract

Healthy calves are fundamental to any profitable dairy enterprise. Research to-date, has focused on year-round calving systems which experience many different challenges compared to spring-calving systems. The objective of the present study was to determine the on-farm dry cow, calving, and colostrum management practices of spring-calving dairy production systems, and quantify their associations with herd size and herd expansion status (i.e. expanding or not expanding). Information on these management practices was available from a survey of 262 Irish spring-calving dairy farmers, representative of the Irish national population. Herd expansion in the 2 years before, and the year that the survey was conducted was not associated with any of the management practices investigated. Fifty-three percent of respondents had an average calving season length of 10 to14 weeks with 35% of herds having a longer calving season. Previous research in cattle has documented that both colostrum source and feeding management are associated with the transmission of infectious disease from cow to calf. In the present study 60% of respondents fed calves colostrum from their own dam; however, 66% of those respondents allowed the calf to suckle the dam, 23% of survey respondents fed calves pooled colostrum. Larger herds were more likely ( P < 0.01) to use pooled colostrum supplies, while smaller herds were more likely ( P < 0.05) to allow the calf to suckle the dam. The majority (86%) of respondents had stored supplies of colostrum; average-sized herds had the greatest likelihood of storing colostrum ( P < 0.05), compared to other herd sizes; larger sized herds had a lesser likelihood ( P < 0.05) of storing colostrum in a freezer, compared to other herd sizes. Although freezing colostrum was the most common method used to store colostrum (54% of respondents), 17% of respondents stored colostrum at room temperature, 29% of which stored it at room temperature for greater than 4 days. The results from the present study indicate that a particular focus needs to be placed on calving and colostrum management because this study has highlighted a number of areas which are below international standards, and may have repercussions for calf health. Furthermore, management practices on larger farms could be improved and, as these represent the future of dairy farming, a focus needs to be placed on them. Expanding herds are not a particular concern as herd expansion, independent of herd size, does not seem to be associated with calving and colostrum management practices on Irish spring-calving dairy herds.Keywords: dry period, calving, colostrum, calves, dairy ImplicationsThe results from the present study provide information on dry-cow, calving and colostrum management practices used in spring-calving systems. It highlights the management areas that are similar to and the areas that are different from yearround calving systems. Practices such as grouped calving pens and short term colostrum storage are more common in springcalving systems due to a l...

The effect of colostrum storage conditions on dairy heifer calf serum immunoglobulin G concentration and preweaning health and growth rate

“…Colostrum was collected immediately postpartum, when IgG concentration would be at its greatest. This timing is not typical in a commercial setting; farm-ers instead wait until the next milking before collecting the colostrum (Cummins et al, 2016a). Storage treatment did not affect colostral IgG concentration, but the storage of colostrum at ≥4°C resulted in greater TBC and lower pH, compared with FR colostrum, which is in agreement with previous research (Stewart et al, 2005).…”

“…To achieve passive transfer, a minimum total mass of approximately 150 g of IgG is required by a calf (Chigerwe et al, 2008); in the present study, the average total mass of IgG delivered at the first feed to calves between all treatments combined (280 g; SD = 88.1 g) was almost twice the minimum required to ensure adequate passive transfer. Unlike the calves in the present study, not all calves on a commercial farm receive colostrum within the first 2 h of birth (Cummins et al, 2016a), and this possibility is another consideration that must be acknowledged.…”

“…Storage of colostrum refers to retaining colostrum for a length of time in a refrigerator or a freezer or at ambient temperatures. Cummins et al (2016a) reported that 90% of Irish dairy producers store colostrum, while colostrum is routinely stored on 89% of large dairy farms in North America. Colostrum has traditionally been stored in a freezer to prevent alterations to its composition, such as IgG concentration and bacterial level (Carlson and Muller, 1977;Schipper et al, 1981).…”

“…Moreover, defrosting can take more than an hour, and the process can denature IgG, rendering it suboptimal for absorption (Jones et al, 1987). More than 20% of Irish dairy producers store colostrum at room temperature or in a refrigerator for up to 1 wk (Cummins et al, 2016a). Although such storage conditions do not have repercussions for colostral IgG concentration (Cummins et al, 2016b), increased bacterial growth and reduced pH have been documented in colostrum stored at room temperature or in a refrigerator for up to 96 h (Stewart et al, 2005;Cummins et al, 2016b).…”

“…Most research to date investigating the effect of stored colostrum on calf health has been conducted in geographical locations operating year-round calving systems (Jenny et al, 1977;Foley et al, 1978;Morrill et al, 2012), and these studies do not directly reflect on-farm management practices commonplace in seasonal calving systems, which have intense periods with multiple calf births daily and high demands for colostrum (Cummins et al, 2016a). Year-round calving systems have continuous births throughout the year, but on any given day, a much lower percentage of the dairy herd calves than in a seasonal system.…”