Back to Search
Start Over
Associations between management practices and within-pen prevalence of calf diarrhea and respiratory disease on dairy farms using automated milk feeders.
- Source :
-
Journal of dairy science [J Dairy Sci] 2018 Mar; Vol. 101 (3), pp. 2293-2308. Date of Electronic Publication: 2017 Dec 28. - Publication Year :
- 2018
-
Abstract
- Data on management practices used with automated milk feeders (AMF) are needed to identify factors associated with calf health in these systems. The objectives of this observational, longitudinal, cross-sectional study were to estimate the prevalence of calf diarrhea (CD) and bovine respiratory disease (BRD), and to identify factors associated with prevalence of these diseases at the pen level on dairy farms feeding milk to group-housed calves with AMF. Seventeen dairy farms with AMF in Ontario, Canada, were visited 4 times, seasonally, over 1 yr. The clinical health of all calves (n = 1,488) in pens (n = 35) with AMF was scored to identify the number of calves with CD and BRD. Data on calf, feeder, and pen management practices were analyzed using generalized linear mixed regression models for each disease. Overall calf-level prevalence of CD and BRD were 23 and 17%, respectively. Median (interquartile range, IQR) within-pen prevalence of CD and BRD were 17% (7 to 37%) and 11% (0 to 28%), respectively. Median age (IQR) for diarrheic calves was 25 d (16 to 42 d), and for calves with BRD was 43 d (29 to 60 d). Factors associated with lower within-pen prevalence of CD were the administration of vitamin E and selenium at birth [odds ratio (OR) = 0.56; 95% confidence interval (CI): 0.32 to 0.99], feeding of probiotics (OR = 0.44, 95% CI: 0.22 to 0.93), and adding fresh bedding every 2 to 3 d (OR = 0.43; 95% CI: 0.24 to 0.76) compared with every 7 or more days. In contrast, sharing air with older cattle (>9 mo old) was associated with increased within-pen prevalence of CD (OR = 4.54, 95% CI: 1.88 to 10.52). Additionally, total bacteria counts ≥100,000 cfu/mL in milk samples taken from the AMF mixing jar were associated with increased within-pen prevalence of CD during the summer visit (OR = 3.34; 95% CI: 1.31 to 8.54). Increased total solids in milk or milk replacer (OR = 0.48, 95% CI: 0.27 to 0.85) and feeding whole milk versus milk replacer (OR = 0.29, 95% CI: 0.11 to 0.75) were associated with lower within-pen prevalence of BRD. Factors associated with greater within-pen prevalence of BRD were sharing air with weaned cattle up to 8 mo old (OR = 3.21, 95% CI: 1.26 to 8.16), and greater depth of the wet bedding pack. The use of maternity pens for reasons other than just calving was associated with increased prevalence of both CD and BRD (OR = 1.85, 95% CI: 1.03 to 3.33; OR = 2.61, 95% CI: 1.21 to 5.58, respectively). These results suggest that isolation from older animals and frequent cleaning of the feeder and pen may help to reduce disease prevalence in group-housed calves fed with an AMF.<br /> (Copyright © 2018 American Dairy Science Association. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)
- Subjects :
- Animals
Animals, Newborn
Cattle
Cattle Diseases microbiology
Cattle Diseases prevention & control
Cross-Sectional Studies
Dairying
Diarrhea epidemiology
Diarrhea microbiology
Diarrhea prevention & control
Farms
Feeding Methods instrumentation
Female
Longitudinal Studies
Ontario epidemiology
Prevalence
Probiotics administration & dosage
Respiratory Tract Diseases epidemiology
Respiratory Tract Diseases microbiology
Respiratory Tract Diseases prevention & control
Risk Factors
Selenium administration & dosage
Vitamin E administration & dosage
Weaning
Animal Husbandry methods
Cattle Diseases epidemiology
Diarrhea veterinary
Feeding Methods veterinary
Milk microbiology
Respiratory Tract Diseases veterinary
Subjects
Details
- Language :
- English
- ISSN :
- 1525-3198
- Volume :
- 101
- Issue :
- 3
- Database :
- MEDLINE
- Journal :
- Journal of dairy science
- Publication Type :
- Academic Journal
- Accession number :
- 29290433
- Full Text :
- https://doi.org/10.3168/jds.2017-13733