Clinic for Ruminants and Swine, Department of Veterinary Medicine, Freie Universität Berlin, Königsweg 65, D-14163 Berlin, Germany.
Institute for Veterinary Epidemiology and Biostatistics, Department of Veterinary Medicine, Freie Universität Berlin, Königsweg 67, D-14163 Berlin, Germany.
Prev Vet Med. 2020 Nov;184:105154. doi: 10.1016/j.prevetmed.2020.105154. Epub 2020 Sep 24.
A cross-sectional study was conducted on fifty German dairy farms to identify risk factors for high mortality and poor growth in calves. Between 2012 and 2014, farm visits took place and a questionnaire on farm management practices was completed by in-person interview. In addition, heart girth measurements of calves around weaning were performed to estimate average daily weight gain. Furthermore, blood and faecel samples of calves were collected and a score addressing calf welfare was determined. The epidemiological associations between risk factors and high mortality and poor growth were estimated using two regression models. The factors significantly associated with high calf mortality (> 5%) were a high rate of calves with failure of passive transfer (> 25%) and the metaphylactic use of halofuginone lactate. A small amount of concentrates consumed around weaning, relocating calves more than twice until weaning and a low incidence risk of milk fever (< 5%) were found to be significantly associated with poor growth (median: 675 grams). Although the fifty farms cannot be considered as a representative sample for North-East Germany, the results indicate that the farm management has a big impact on growth and survival of dairy calves and needs to be addressed more thoroughly when raising the future dairy cow.
本研究对德国 50 家奶牛场进行了横断面研究，以确定导致犊牛死亡率高和生长不良的风险因素。2012 年至 2014 年期间，进行了农场访问，并通过面对面访谈完成了一份关于农场管理实践的问卷。此外，还对断奶前后的犊牛进行了胸围测量，以估计平均日增重。此外，收集了犊牛的血液和粪便样本，并确定了犊牛福利评分。使用两个回归模型估计了风险因素与高死亡率和生长不良之间的流行病学关联。与高犊牛死亡率（> 5%）显著相关的因素是大量被动转移失败的犊牛（> 25%）和乳酸卤泛菌素的治疗性使用。断奶前后少量摄入浓缩饲料、断奶前将犊牛转移两次以上以及低产奶牛热（< 5%）发病率与生长不良（中位数：675 克）显著相关。尽管这 50 家奶牛场不能被视为德国东北部的代表性样本，但结果表明，奶牛场管理对奶牛犊牛的生长和存活有很大影响，在饲养未来奶牛时需要更彻底地解决这个问题。
