Stakeholder Perceptions of Disease Management for Dairy Calves: "It's Just Little Things That Make Such a Big Difference".

ABSTRACT: Calf morbidity and mortality rates are often high in dairy herds, raising animal welfare concerns and negatively affecting farm economic efficiency and future performance. Disease prevention is critical to maintain calves in good health, but interventions are dependent upon the persons conducting them. This paper explores the perceptions of farmers, farm workers, veterinarians, and other advisors on the management of calfhood disease on dairy farms in England. Participants were recruited using purposive and "snowball" sampling, resulting in 40 in-depth, semi-structured interviews-26 with dairy farmers and 14 with advisors. Interviews were recorded, transcribed, and thematically coded. Three major themes were derived on the basis of interview data: disease occurrence and treatments, managem

SUBMITTER: Palczynski LJ 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC8532611 | biostudies-literature | 2021 Sep

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature