The objective of this study was to examine the effects of predictable vs. unpredictable management routines on the behaviour, production and health of dairy calves. Three different feeding schedules for milk-fed dairy calves were compared. All calves received milk twice a day, and had free access to concentrate, hay and water. Three groups of 12 calves (divided on two trials) were exposed to on...

The aims of the current study were to estimate the prevalence of enteropathogens in calves in Norwegian dairy herds, evaluate the clinical consequences of protozoal infections, and identify risk factors for diarrhea. The 135 participating herds were randomly selected from those in The Norwegian Dairy Herd Recording System that had at least 15 cow-years. Each herd was followed for 1 yr. Fecal sa...

Dehorning dairy calves is a necessary practice that should be conducted as early as possible and with appropriate anesthetic/analgesia. With the possible exception of caustic paste, calves perceive and react to acute pain during dehorning when no local anesthetic is used. Additional analgesia has been shown to be beneficial in calves dehorned at or beyond eight weeks of age. A routine dehorning...

When compared with normal milk, bovine colostrum contains a large amount of uridine 5'-monophosphate (UMP) and its derivatives. In the present study, we carried out 2 experiments to determine the effects of dietary UMP (2 g/d) on the immune status of newborn calves. In Exp. 1, newborn Holstein bull calves were fed milk replacer alone (control group) or milk replacer supplemented with UMP (UMP g...

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES Dairy cattle have been implicated as principal reservoir of Verotoxin-Producing Escherichia coli (VTEC), with undercooked ground beef and raw milk being the major vehicles of food borne outbreaks. VTEC has been implicated as an etiological agent of individual cases and outbreaks in developed countries. This study was designed to determine the prevalence of VETEC in dia...

Calf mortality is one of important problems of calf rearing in dairy farms worldwide. Besides, several noninfectious factors, such as management around birth, colostrum management, calf housing, feeding system, hygiene and pathogens, play an important role in calf rearing. The aim of the study was to show the most common causes of mortality of calves up to 90 d of their lives. Some data are ava...

Effect of Bioactive Fatty Acids on Growth Performance Milk-Fed Holstein Dairy Calves Under Cold Stress

Feeding dairy beef, predominantly Holstein steers, has evolved into a highly specialized segment of the US beef industry. Producing acceptable-quality carcasses from dairy steers requires feeding high-energy diets and marketing them at a young age, 12 to 14 months, and weighing 1150 to 1300 lbs. Several aspects of the dairy beef program are unique compared with beef cattle. The calves are not r...

Records on 983 cows born during a period of 10 yr (1966 to 1975) were used to estimate longevity and lifetime productivity of cows raised under range conditions. The cows were from a purebred Hereford and two multibreed synthetic groups, one composed of beef breeds (Beef Synthetic #1) and the other composed of two-thirds dairy breeds and one-third beef breeds (Dairy Synthetic). The cows were ra...