References
Challenges of pre-weaning calf housing
Abstract
The role of the environment on calf productivity and disease has been highlighted on numerous occasions within the literature. A discussion around youngstock housing design was previously published by Jamie Robertson (2020); this article aims to complement its predecessor, focusing on the two issues commonly found in housed pre-weaned calves in the UK — bovine respiratory disease and suboptimal daily liveweight gains.
The role of the environment on calf productivity and disease has been highlighted on numerous occasions within the literature. A discussion around youngstock housing design was previously published by Jamie Robertson (2020); this article aims to complement its predecessor, focusing on the two issues commonly found in housed pre-weaned calves in the UK — bovine respiratory disease (BRD) and suboptimal daily liveweight gains (DLWG).
The prevalence of BRD in the UK has been reported to be 46%, accounting for approximately a third of deaths in pre-weaned calves (Johnson et al, 2017), and is considered to be the most important disease in calves more than 1 month old (McGuirk, 2008). Research has indicated that certain environmental features having an impact on the risk of BRD, which are summarised in the Table 1. One of the most investigated factors is the impact of group sizes, with larger group sizes (>10 calves) likely to have an increased risk of BRD, and smaller groups (≤10 calves) having a minimal impact. It is worth considering the impact of age ranges within the groups, as well as the age of animals within the air space, which are often not discussed within the literature.
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