Mortality and Morbidity of Beef Calves in Free-Range Farms in Alentejo, Portugal—A Preliminary Study
Extensive cow-calf beef cattle farms play a significant role in Portuguese livestock production, but records of important production variables, such as calf mortality, are scarce. To assess herd-level calf mortality and its potential economic impact, farmers from the Alentejo region were asked to fi...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Wiley
2019-01-01
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| Series: | Veterinary Medicine International |
| Online Access: | http://dx.doi.org/10.1155/2019/3616284 |
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| author | Rute Santos Ana Cachapa Graça P. Carvalho Carolina B. Silva Laura Hernández Lina Costa Luísa S. Pereira Miguel Minas Helena Vala |
| author_facet | Rute Santos Ana Cachapa Graça P. Carvalho Carolina B. Silva Laura Hernández Lina Costa Luísa S. Pereira Miguel Minas Helena Vala |
| author_sort | Rute Santos |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Extensive cow-calf beef cattle farms play a significant role in Portuguese livestock production, but records of important production variables, such as calf mortality, are scarce. To assess herd-level calf mortality and its potential economic impact, farmers from the Alentejo region were asked to fill a questionnaire regarding herd size, feeding and reproductive management practices, calf mortality (from birth to weaning), and detection of the main morbidity causes, as well as of sudden, unexplained deaths during the previous 12 months. Farmers were also requested to quantitatively assess the economic impact of calf mortality on their annual revenue. In the majority of farms, the herd size was larger than 100 animals. The median stocking rate was 0.41 adult animals/hectare, and 70% of farmers stated their farm was self-sufficient in forage. The percent of live births that resulted in weaned calves averaged 94.3%, which led to the assumption of a 5.7% calf mortality rate from birth to weaning. In the previous 12 months, 78.8% of the farms identified at least one case of calf diarrhea, 60.7% identified at least one case of respiratory disease, and 82.1% had at least one sudden, unexplained calf death. As expected, farmers that assessed a higher impact of calf losses on their annual economic revenue were also those who reported higher incidences of calf diarrhea, respiratory disease, and sudden, unexplained deaths. One-quarter of the farmers were unable to assess the economic impact of calf mortality on the farm’s revenue. Herd size appears to have a predictive value on calf mortality in the first month of life, and from 30 days to weaning. The number of sudden, unexplained calf deaths seems to have a predictive value on overall calf mortality (from birth to weaning), suggesting that the farms’ management practices probably play an important role in calf mortality throughout the suckling period. Further studies are needed to fully understand calf mortality in Portuguese extensive rearing systems. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-61d1871064934074adee8f13accec97d |
| institution | Kabale University |
| issn | 2090-8113 2042-0048 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2019-01-01 |
| publisher | Wiley |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Veterinary Medicine International |
| spelling | doaj-art-61d1871064934074adee8f13accec97d2025-02-03T05:50:17ZengWileyVeterinary Medicine International2090-81132042-00482019-01-01201910.1155/2019/36162843616284Mortality and Morbidity of Beef Calves in Free-Range Farms in Alentejo, Portugal—A Preliminary StudyRute Santos0Ana Cachapa1Graça P. Carvalho2Carolina B. Silva3Laura Hernández4Lina Costa5Luísa S. Pereira6Miguel Minas7Helena Vala8Polytechnic Institute of Portalegre, Agrarian School of Elvas, 7350-092 Elvas, PortugalPolytechnic Institute of Portalegre, Agrarian School of Elvas, 7350-092 Elvas, PortugalPolytechnic Institute of Portalegre, Agrarian School of Elvas, 7350-092 Elvas, PortugalPolytechnic Institute of Portalegre, Agrarian School of Elvas, 7350-092 Elvas, PortugalPolytechnic Institute of Portalegre, Agrarian School of Elvas, 7350-092 Elvas, PortugalPolytechnic Institute of Portalegre, Agrarian School of Elvas, 7350-092 Elvas, PortugalPolytechnic Institute of Portalegre, Agrarian School of Elvas, 7350-092 Elvas, PortugalPolytechnic Institute of Portalegre, Agrarian School of Elvas, 7350-092 Elvas, PortugalPolytechnic Institute of Viseu, Agrarian School of Viseu, 3500-606 Viseu, PortugalExtensive cow-calf beef cattle farms play a significant role in Portuguese livestock production, but records of important production variables, such as calf mortality, are scarce. To assess herd-level calf mortality and its potential economic impact, farmers from the Alentejo region were asked to fill a questionnaire regarding herd size, feeding and reproductive management practices, calf mortality (from birth to weaning), and detection of the main morbidity causes, as well as of sudden, unexplained deaths during the previous 12 months. Farmers were also requested to quantitatively assess the economic impact of calf mortality on their annual revenue. In the majority of farms, the herd size was larger than 100 animals. The median stocking rate was 0.41 adult animals/hectare, and 70% of farmers stated their farm was self-sufficient in forage. The percent of live births that resulted in weaned calves averaged 94.3%, which led to the assumption of a 5.7% calf mortality rate from birth to weaning. In the previous 12 months, 78.8% of the farms identified at least one case of calf diarrhea, 60.7% identified at least one case of respiratory disease, and 82.1% had at least one sudden, unexplained calf death. As expected, farmers that assessed a higher impact of calf losses on their annual economic revenue were also those who reported higher incidences of calf diarrhea, respiratory disease, and sudden, unexplained deaths. One-quarter of the farmers were unable to assess the economic impact of calf mortality on the farm’s revenue. Herd size appears to have a predictive value on calf mortality in the first month of life, and from 30 days to weaning. The number of sudden, unexplained calf deaths seems to have a predictive value on overall calf mortality (from birth to weaning), suggesting that the farms’ management practices probably play an important role in calf mortality throughout the suckling period. Further studies are needed to fully understand calf mortality in Portuguese extensive rearing systems.http://dx.doi.org/10.1155/2019/3616284 |
| spellingShingle | Rute Santos Ana Cachapa Graça P. Carvalho Carolina B. Silva Laura Hernández Lina Costa Luísa S. Pereira Miguel Minas Helena Vala Mortality and Morbidity of Beef Calves in Free-Range Farms in Alentejo, Portugal—A Preliminary Study Veterinary Medicine International |
| title | Mortality and Morbidity of Beef Calves in Free-Range Farms in Alentejo, Portugal—A Preliminary Study |
| title_full | Mortality and Morbidity of Beef Calves in Free-Range Farms in Alentejo, Portugal—A Preliminary Study |
| title_fullStr | Mortality and Morbidity of Beef Calves in Free-Range Farms in Alentejo, Portugal—A Preliminary Study |
| title_full_unstemmed | Mortality and Morbidity of Beef Calves in Free-Range Farms in Alentejo, Portugal—A Preliminary Study |
| title_short | Mortality and Morbidity of Beef Calves in Free-Range Farms in Alentejo, Portugal—A Preliminary Study |
| title_sort | mortality and morbidity of beef calves in free range farms in alentejo portugal a preliminary study |
| url | http://dx.doi.org/10.1155/2019/3616284 |
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