Welfare assessment of calf rearing management practices in family-based dairy units in rural areas of Mymensingh district, Bangladesh

Abstract

Background: Dairy calves are the future stock of the dairy farms. It is important to describe weaknesses in rearing calves not only to improve their welfare, but also to detect areas where current scientific knowledge is poorly integrated into practice. The aim of the present study was to gather information on calf rearing management practices followed by dairy owners, which are related to welfare.

Methods: A survey of calf rearing practices was conducted using a farmer questionnaire to collect data. The survey included 140 family-based smalldairy units in seven upazilas of Mymensingh district, Bangladesh. The frequency and percentage of the response were described.

Results: We observed that all respondents attended their animals during calving and 82.14% respondents allowed cow to clean the calves immediately after calving. Only 13.57% farmers cleaned the mouth and nose of calf after birth. More than 85.0% owners cleaned and trimmed hooves of the calf after birth. More than 90%% respondents did not cut the naval cord of calf and apply antiseptic. More than half of the owners (54.28%) fed colostrum to calves when the animals were able to stand on their feet and only 37.14% of them fed colostrum within one hour of birth. About 44.28% respondents allowed adlib quantity of colostrum to calf. It was found that 73.57% of the owners allowed suckling of calf until 3 to 6 month of age. Most of the owners (55.0%) allowed the calves to suckle all the quarter of udder before and after milking. None practiced castration and dehorning for male calves. Majority (97.14%) of farmers did not perform deworming and vaccination schedule of calves.

Conclusion: This study identified a number of rearing practices that represent a poor welfare for calf, which may prone towards diseases and hampering the productivity. Therefore, in addition to the traditional practices, scientific knowledge for this aspect is also important to get superior animals for future.

DOI: https://doi.org/10.33109/bjvmjj20rm1