A survey of dairy calf management practices in some producing regions in Brazil

Autor(es)

dos Santos, Glauber ; Machado Bittar, Carla Maris

• Tipo de documento: Artigo Científico
• Fonte: REVISTA BRASILEIRA DE ZOOTECNIA-BRAZILIAN JOURNAL OF ANIMAL SCIENCE; v. 44, n. 10, p. 10-pg., 2015-10-01.

Resumo

This study aimed to characterize the Brazilian dairy calves raising systems through a survey of major aspects of animal husbandry. One hundred seventy-nine producers and/or technicians were interviewed. The questionnaire addressed issues related to the management of the dry cow and the newborn, nutritional management of the liquid-feeding phase, housing, and health management. A third of newborn calves stay with their mothers for more than 24 h after delivery, and only 56% of the calves receive colostrum within the first 8 h of life. Four out of ten producers allow the calf to suckle colostrum directly from the mother. Regarding the liquid diet, 44 and 35% of the farms provide marketable milk and discard milk for the calves, respectively. It was possible to identify several areas of improvement in the raising system; for instance, greater attention could be given to dry cows and the monitoring of births and to the establishment of adequate protocols to evaluate colostrum quality and feeding management. (AU)

• Processo FAPESP: 12/17740-4 - Avaliação do manejo, qualidade nutricional e microbiológica do colostro e do fator humano na transferência de imunidade passiva em bezerras
• Beneficiário: Glauber dos Santos
• Modalidade de apoio: Bolsas no Brasil - Doutorado