Farm and Animal Factors Associated with Morbidity, Mortality, and Growth of Pre-Weaned Heifer Dairy Calves in Southern Brazil.

ABSTRACT: This study investigates morbidity, mortality, and weight gain in pre-weaned female dairy calves, which pose economic and animal welfare challenges for farms, particularly in family-run operations in southern Brazil. We aimed to identify the rates and factors associated with these outcomes in Alto Uruguai, Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil, tracking 547 calves from 70 farms across 27 municipalities from July 2015 to September 2016. We assessed calf-rearing practices, nutrition, health, and the environment using farmer questionnaires, direct observations, and systematic weight and health monitoring of female calves from birth to weaning. The association between predictors and perinatal mortality (stillbirths and deaths within 24 h), postnatal mortality (deaths from 25 h after birth to weaning), calf

SUBMITTER: Olmos Antillon G 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC11591025 | biostudies-literature | 2024 Nov

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature