LIVESTOCK RESEARCH INTERNATIONAL Journal homepage: www.jakraya.com/journa/lri ORIGINAL ARTICLE A Study on Calf Mortality and Managemental Practices in Commercial Dairy Farms S. Sreedhar 1 * and D. Sreenivas 2 1 * Programme Coordinator, Krishi Vigyan Kendra, S.V.V.U, Lam, Guntur (AP), India. 2 Programme Coordinator, Krishi Vigyan Kendra, SPVNR TSVAFSU, Mamnoor, Warangal (AP), India. *Corresponding Author: S. Sreedhar Email: sreedhar_svvu@yahoo.co.in sreedharsuratani@gmail.com Received: 08/12/2015 Revised: 25/12/2015 Accepted: 27/12/2015 Abstract The present investigation was conducted on sixty commercial dairy farms in Guntur and Warangal districts of Andhra Pradesh by selecting twenty dairy farmers each from small, medium and large sized dairy farms to study the calf mortality and managemental practices that are being followed by the farmers. The results indicated that high incidence of calf mortality was observed due to gastroenteritis (80%) followed by parasitic load. High mortality rate was recorded in male calves (83.25%) rather than female calves (79.47%). The calf mortality rate (67.22%) was lower in small commercial dairy farms when compared to medium (80.70%) and large size (83.21%) farms. No commercial dairy farmer has followed disinfection of naval cord except two farmers of small dairy farms. Majority of the dairy farmers fed colostrum (83.33%) to the calves only after release of placenta which is not so beneficial for new born calves and provided milk (95%) to the calves before and after milking of the dam. Only 16.67% of farmers have dewormed their calves at regular intervals. Hence it was concluded that the farmers felt that rearing of calf is uneconomical and preferred purchasing of milch buffaloes as replacement instead of rearing calves. Key words: Calves, Mortality, Managemental practices, Diseases. 1. Introduction Calves are the future progeny of livestock industry. Scientific management of calf rearing plays a crucial role in dairy development. The success of dairy enterprise depends on better managemental practices and survival of the calf crop produced. High survival rate in a dairy farm helps to increase the selection pressure which is one of the main factors controlling genetic gain and profitable returns (Sreedhar et al., 2010). Calf care is not only essential for sustenance of the dairy herd, but also essential in the wake of preserving and maintaining proven germ plasm. The growth performance of calves in rural dairies revealed poor health condition, which indicated lack of awareness among farmers on scientific management (Tiwari et al., 2007). The production efficiency traits can be utilized for the selection of future dairy cows for both production and reproduction potential and profitability (Verma and Thakur, 2013). At present the commercial dairy farms are increasing to cater the needs of rural as well as urban consumers. Hence there was a need to study the commercial dairy farms in terms of calf mortality with emphasis on calf managemental practices that are being adopted by the dairy farmers keeping in view of the growing importance of commercializing the livestock sector to meet the challenges of globalization. The present study was conducted to investigate the calf mortality with special reference to better managemental practices in commercial dairy farms. 2. Materials and Methods The data was collected from sixty commercial dairy farmers of Guntur and Warangal districts of Andhra Pradesh during November, 2012 to October, 2013. Twenty farmers of each from small size dairy farms having 10 milch animals, medium size dairy farms having 11-20 milch animals and large size dairy farmers having more than 20 milch animals were selected. The data was collected from the commercial dairy farmers through interview as per the pre structured questionnaire schedule. The information was collected on mortality rate of calves and managemental practices that are being adopted by the farmers. The
data was analyzed as per the procedures laid down by Snedecor and Cochran (1980). 3. Results and Discussion 3.1 Calf Mortality The data on disease wise mortality of calves in various commercial dairy farms was presented in Table 1. The results showed that the most common and frequent occurring disease in calves is gastroenteritis which was reported as 80% of the dairy farms followed by endoparasitic infestation (76.6%) and ectoparasitic infestation (70%). The present findings are in close agreement with those reported by Balakrishna et al. (1996), Tiwari et al. (2007), Sreedhar et al. (2010) and Srivastava et al. (2013). High incidence of mortality due to gastroenteritis in calves might be due to bacterial and/or viral infections or due to delayed feeding of colostrum to the calves. Whereas, Balakrishna et al. (1996) observed gastroenteritis as (36.12%) major cause of mortality in calves, which is some what lower than the results found in the present study. The mortality rate of calves due to bloat, naval ill, pneumonia, septicemia and eye infections are recorded as 65%, 60%, 15%, 10% and 8.3% respectively. Higher incidence of bloat was recorded in the present study which might be due to improper feeding and managemental practices followed by the farmers. On the contrary to this, Srivastava et al. (2013) reported lower mortality rate in case of bloat in buffalo calves of Malwa region of Madhya Pradesh. The mortality rate of calves due to navel ill is in close association with those reported by Tiwari et al. (2007) and due to pneumonia is in consonance with the values recorded by Srivastava et al. (2013). The probable reason might be due to unhygienic condition of shed and improper protection from chilled weather. The calves died due to under feeding and over feeding are recorded as 6.60 and 5.0% respectively. The present findings are slightly higher than the values reported by Srivastava et al. (2013) which might be due to lack of awareness about proper care and management of new born calf. The mortality rates based on sex of the calf and size of the dairy farms were presented in Table 2. The mortality rate of calves in commercial dairies was 79.97% which revealed the poor health care practices adopted by the farmers. The calf mortality rate (67.22%) was lower in small commercial dairy farms when compared to medium (80.70%) and large size (83.21%) farms. With regard to sex, high mortality was observed in male calves (83.25%). Similar findings were also reported by Khan et al. (2007), Tiwari et al. (2007) and Sreedhar et al. (2010) in different commercial dairy farms. The reason for high mortality might be due to the poor health care practices that are being adopted by dairy farmers. Generally the dairy owners keep on replacing the animals by purchasing new milch animals from other places for their profitable business. With regard to size of the commercial dairy farm, the male calf mortality rate was higher in large farms (86.51%) followed by medium (81.67%) and small (75.38%) farms. In case of female calves, the mortality rates were 57.40%, 80% and 79.47% in small, medium and large dairy farms respectively. The present findings are in confirmation with those reported by Mandape et al. (1999), Tiwari et al. (2003) and Tiwari et al. (2007). 3.2 Managemental Practices The calf managemental practices in commercial dairy farms were presented in Table 3. The results revealed that most of the calves suffered with naval cord infection. It is very essential that the commercial dairy farmers should take utmost care of naval cord immediately after the birth of calf, since naval cord is a source of infection through which microorganisms can enter into the blood or underlying tissues leading to certain serious diseases in new born calf (Tiwari et al., 2007). Cutting the naval cord with hygienic blade and then dipping the cord in antiseptic solution prevents the naval cord infection to the calf (Sharma and Mishra, 1987). No commercial dairy farmer has followed disinfection of naval cord except two farmers of small dairy farms. This might be due to lack of awareness among the farmers about scientific management of calf rearing. Similar findings were also reported by Kumar (2002) and Tiwari et al. (2007) in various commercial dairy farms. Majority of the dairy farmers (83.33%) fed colostrum to the calves only after release of placenta which is not so beneficial for new born calves. Only a few farmers (16.67%) fed colostrum to the calves within one hour immediately after birth. Verma et al. (1994), Malik and Nagpaul (1999), Singh et al. (2003) and Tiwari et al. (2007) also reported that the farmers fed colostrum to the calves only after release of palcenta as they felt that if colostrum was fed immediately after birth the animal will not expel the palcenta, while Kumar (2002) found that farmers did not feed colostrum to the calves as they felt that it may lead to diarrhoea in calves. Timely feeding of colostrurm to calves is essential and it should be fed within one hour immediately after birth. It is a well established fact that delays in feeding of colostrum leads to lowered effectiveness of colostrum in terms of providing immunity to calves (Sharma and Mishra, 1987). 95
Table 1: Disease wise mortality of calves in various commercial dairy farms S. No Disease Small Medium Large Total (n=60) 1. Gastroenteritis 17 (85) 18 (90) 13 (65) 48 (80) 2. Endoparasitic infestation 15 (75) 17 (85) 14 (70) 46 (76.6) 3. Ectoparasitic infestation 13 (65) 15 (75) 14 (70) 42 (70) 4. Bloat 12 (60) 10 (50) 14 (70) 39 (65) 4. Naval ill 12 (60) 8 (40) 10 (50) 36 (60) 6. Pneumonia 4 (20) 3 (15) 2 (10) 9 (15) 7. Septicemia 2 (10) 3 (15) 1 (5) 6 (10) 8. Eye infections 2 (10) 1 (5) 2 (10) 5 (8.3) 9. Under feeding 1 (5) 1 (5) 2 (2) 4 (6.6) 10 Over feeding 1 (5) 1 (5) 1 (5) 3 (5.0) Figures in parenthesis indicate percentages Table 2: Mortality rate based on sex of the calf and size of the dairy farm S. No Dairy Male calves Female calves Total farmer Born Died Rate Born Died Rate Born Died Rate 1. Small 65 49 75.38 54 31 57.40 119 80 67.22 2. Medium 120 98 81.67 165 132 80.00 285 230 80.70 3. Large 215 186 86.51 190 151 79.47 405 337 83.21 Total 400 333 83.25 409 314 76.77 809 647 79.97 Table 3: Calf managemental practices in commercial dairy farms S. No Practice Small Medium Large Total (n=60) 1. Cutting and disinfection of naval cord a) Yes 2 - - 2 (3.33) b) No 18 20 20 58 (96.67) 2. Time of colostrum feeding a) Within 1 hour after birth 3 4 3 10 (16.67) b) After release of placenta 17 16 17 50 (83.33) 3. Milk feeding a) Before and after milking 18 20 19 57 (95.00) b) Leaving one full teat 2-1 3 (5.00) 4. Periodic deworming a) Yes 5 2 3 10 (16.67) b) No 17 18 16 50 (83.33) 5. General condition of calves a) Good 4 4 6 14 (23.33) b) Average 6 12 8 26 (43.33) c) Emaciated 10 4 6 20 (33.33) Figures in parenthesis indicate percentages The results revealed that majority of the dairy farmers (95%) provided milk to the calves before and after milking whereas only a few farmers (5%) allowed the calves to suckle their dams one teat full of milk. The present findings are close association with those reported by Tiwari et al. (2007). Since milk is a complete food for young calves to which gastrointestinal system is adopted for digestion of nutrients present in it. Hence the calf must receive sufficient milk during first 3 months along with a calf 96
starter having a good quality protein and low fibre content (Sharma and Mishra, 1987). Majority of the commercial dairy farmers were just using calf as a stimulator for getting the milk let down and they are not leaving sufficient quantity of milk in the udder required for the survival of the calf. The present results also indicated the status of poor calf management in these farms. With regards to deworming of calves, only 16.67% of farmers have dewormed their calves at regular intervals, where as rest of the farmers (83.33%) have not done. It was also observed that scientific deworming practices were not properly adopted in many farms and most farmers were not using the recommended dose of a de-wormer. The possible reason might be due to lack of awareness among the farmers about scientific management of calf rearing. The farmers were in the habit of deworming their calves only when they observe the worms in feces or when the calves are in ill health condition. Khan et al. (2007) and Tiwari et al. (2007) have reported similar findings in various commercial dairy farms. In a study on small holder buffalo production system, Farooq et al. (1999) and Das (2001) reported that the health condition of calf is poor due to lack of deworming. Sharma and Mishra (1987) also found that most of the calves died due to parasitic load which caused deterioration of health resulting death of the calf. Hence it is essential to deworm the calf frequently at regular intervals starting from 1 st week of age, followed after 21 days and should be repeated monthly once upto six months, later on thrice a year. The results showed that health condition of majority (43.33%) of calves in dairy farms was average. Only 23.33% of calves have good health condition whereas 33.33% of calves suffered with emaciated condition. Tiwari et al. (2007) reported References Balakrishnan M, Ramesha KP, Sreenath M, Kumar S and Kumar S (1996). Factors affecting mortality of buffalo calves in an organised herd, Indian Journal of Dairy and Bioscience, 7: 61-65. Das S (2001). Small scale buffalo production systems and their sustainability-a case analysis. M.V.Sc. Thesis, submitted to IVRI, Izatanagar, India. Forooq MK, Abdul Q and Qudoos A (1999). Constraints in the adoption of modern livestock practices. Pakistan Veterinary Journal, 19(1): 53-55. Khan ZU, Khan S, Ahmad N and Raziq A (2007). Investigation of mortality incidence and managemental practices in buffalo calves at commercial dairy farms in peshawar city, Journal of Agricultural and Biological Science, 2(3): 16-22 lower values in case of health condition of calves in various commercial dairy farms. The probable reason might be due to the fact that the farmers felt that rearing of calf is uneconomical and preferred if the calf died. These dairy farmers only prefer to rear milch animals to maintain the milk production level throughout the year. Further these dairy farmers are only bothered about the short term monetary benefits and are not able to foresee the economical benefit of raising calves which have good milk production potential and germplasm. These dairy farmers preferred purchasing of milch buffaloes as replacement instead of rearing calves. 4. Conclusions From the study it can be concluded that rearing of calf was more uneconomical and unnecessary expenditure as perceived by the farmers and hence the calves are highly neglected due to the notion of false economy. This negligence is creating a great loss to the nation in terms of good quality germplasm. The future of the dairy industry is also affecting, if the calf managemental practices are not improved in field conditions. Therefore there is an urgent need to educate the commercial dairy owners about the improved calf managemental practices by conducting mass campaign programmes. Acknowledgements The authors are highly grateful to the Sri Venkateswara Veterinary University, Tirupati and ICAR for providing the facilities for this research. The authors would like to express their deepest and sincere gratitude to all scientific and supporting staff of Krishi Vigyan Kendra for their kindness, advices during this study. Kumar S (2002). Livestock production system of the resources poor in Mirzapor District (U.P.). M.V.Sc. Thesis, submitted to IVRI, Izatanagar, India. Malik DS and Nagpaul PK (1999). Studies on milking and calf rearing management practices of Murrah buffalo in its home tract of Haryana. Indian Journal of Animal Production and Management, 15(2): 52-54. Mandape MK, Kumar A, Rathore MS and Solanki VS (1999). Progress report of technology assessment and refinement through IVLP under NATP, IVRI, Izatnagar. Sharma MC and Mishra RR (1987). Livestock health and management. Khanna Publishers, New Delhi. Shrivastava M, Nanavati S, Yadav DS and Mishra AK (2013). Studies on incidences and causes of buffalo calf mortality in malwa region of Madhya Pradesh. 97
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