Hostname: page-component-586b7cd67f-gb8f7 Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-11-28T14:33:02.935Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Reasons and risk factors for beef calf and youngstock on-farm mortality in extensive cow-calf herds

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  26 December 2017

K. Mõtus ,
A. Viltrop  and
U. Emanuelson
K. Mõtus*
Affiliation:
Institute of Veterinary Medicine and Animal Sciences, Estonian University of Life Science, Kreutzwaldi 62, Tartu, 51014, Estonia
A. Viltrop
Affiliation:
Institute of Veterinary Medicine and Animal Sciences, Estonian University of Life Science, Kreutzwaldi 62, Tartu, 51014, Estonia
U. Emanuelson
Affiliation:
Department of Clinical Sciences, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, PO Box 7070, SE-750 07, Uppsala, Sweden
*
†E-mail: [email protected]
Get access

Abstract

Raising calves and youngstock is an essential part of beef production. High on-farm mortality (unassisted death and euthanasia) is a consequence of poor animal health and welfare, and is economically unfavourable. The present study aimed to identify the reasons and risk factors for beef calf and youngstock on-farm mortality, using registry data for the years 2013 to 2015. Cox regression models were applied for the data of four age groups: calves up to 30 days (n=21 075), calves 1 to 5 months (n=21 116), youngstock 6 to 19 months (n=22 637) and youngstock ⩾20 months of age (n=9582). We found that dystocia, small birth weight and older parity of the mother increased the mortality hazard in calves up to 30 days of age. A summer birth was a common protective factor against mortality for calves up to 30 days and calves 1 to 5 months of age, compared with birth in other seasons. Among calves 1 to 5 months old, being the offspring of a first-parity cow was associated with significantly higher risk of death compared with calves who were the offspring of third- or higher-parity cows. A high herd-level stillbirth rate was associated with higher mortality hazard. The most commonly reported reasons for calf mortality were digestive disorders and respiratory disease. According to the models of youngstock from 6 months of age, male sex was a risk factor for mortality. Cattle having more than 10% dairy breed experienced a higher mortality risk in the ⩾20 months age group. No significant differences were found across regions, herd size or different breeds in any of the calf or youngstock groups. Metabolic and digestive disorders, as well as traumas and accidents, were the most common causes of mortality in beef youngstock older than 6 months. We can conclude that in young calves, animal-level factors associated with calving had a high impact on mortality. Further, timing calving for the warmer spring months would benefit calf survivability. Further studies including complementary information about farm factors adapted across the whole youngstock period is highly needed to provide sound recommendations in reducing on-farm mortality.

Keywords

beefcattleyoungstockmortalityrisk factors
Type
Research Article
Information
animal , Volume 12 , Issue 9 , September 2018 , pp. 1958 - 1966
Copyright
© The Animal Consortium 2017 

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Azzam, SM, Kinder, JE, Nielsen, MK, Werth, LA, Gregory, KE, Cundiff, LV and Koch, RM 1993. Environmental effects on neonatal mortality of beef calves. Journal of Animal Science 71, 282–290.Google Scholar
Bleul, U 2011. Risk factors and rates of perinatal and postnatal mortality in cattle in Switzerland. Livestock Science 135, 257–264.Google Scholar
Cain, KC, Harlow, SD, Little, RJ, Nan, B, Yosef, M, Taffe, JR and Elliott, MR 2011. Bias due to left truncation and left censoring in longitudinal studies of developmental and disease processes. American Journal of Epidemiology 173, 1078–1084.Google Scholar
Compton, CW, Heuer, C, Thomsen, PT, Carpenter, TE, Phyn, CV and McDougall, S 2017. Invited review: a systematic literature review and meta-analysis of mortality and culling in dairy cattle. Journal of Dairy Science 100, 1–16.Google Scholar
Conneely, M, Berry, DP, Sayers, R, Murphy, JP, Lorenz, I, Doherty, ML and Kennedy, E 2013. Factors associated with the concentration of immunoglobulin G in the colostrum of dairy cows. Animal 7, 1824–1832.Google Scholar
de Vries, M, Bokkers, EA, Dijkstra, T, van Schaik, G and de Boer, IJ 2011. Invited review: associations between variables of routine herd data and dairy cattle welfare indicators. Journal of Dairy Science 94, 3213–3228.Google Scholar
Dohoo, I, Martin, W and Stryhn, H 2009. Veterinary Epidemiologic Research, 2nd edition. VER Inc., Charlottetown, Canada.Google Scholar
Dutil, L, Fecteau, G, Bouchard, E, Dutremblay, D and Paré, J 1999. A questionnaire on the health, management, and performance of cow-calf herds in Québec. The Canadian Veterinary Journal 40, 649–656.Google Scholar
Elghafghuf, A, Stryhn, H and Waldner, C 2014. A cross-classified and multiple membership Cox model applied to calf mortality data. Preventive Veterinary Medicine 115, 29–38.Google Scholar
Estonian Livestock Performance Recording (ELPR) 2014. Results of animal recording in Estonia 2013. Retrieved on 23 March 2017 from https://www.jkkeskus.ee/assets/tekstid/aastaraamatud/aastaraamat_2013.pdf.Google Scholar
Estonian Livestock Performance Recording (ELPR) 2015. Results of animal recording in Estonia 2014. Retrieved on 23 March 2017 from https://www.jkkeskus.ee/assets/tekstid/aastaraamatud/aastaraamat_2014.pdf.Google Scholar
Estonian Livestock Performance Recording (ELPR) 2016. Results of animal recording in Estonia 2015. Retrieved on 23 March 2017 from https://www.jkkeskus.ee/assets/tekstid/aastaraamatud/aastaraamat_2015.pdf.Google Scholar
Estonian Agricultural Registers and Information Board 2016. Reply to a data request. Retrieved on 15 September 2016 from http://www.pria.ee/en/.Google Scholar
Eurostat 2011. Agriculture and fishery statistics pocketbook. Eurostat Newsrelease. Retrieved on 6 June 2017 from http://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/documents/2995521/5033102/5-09112011-AP-EN.PDF/9a52d5e0-a696-4192-b249-5f26b32641ee?version=1.0.Google Scholar
Ganaba, R, Bigras-Poulin, M, Bélanger, D and Couture, Y 1995. Description of cow-calf productivity in Northwestern Quebec and path models for calf mortality and growth. Preventive Veterinary Medicine 24, 31–42.Google Scholar
McConnel, CS, Garry, FB, Lombard, JE, Kidd, JA, Hill, AE and Gould, DH 2009. A necropsy-based descriptive study of dairy cow deaths on a Colorado dairy. Journal of Dairy Science 92, 1954–1962.Google Scholar
Mummed, YY 2012. Milk yield estimation of Ogaden cattle breed based on methods of weigh-suckle-weigh and calves’ growth. Tropical Animal Health and Production 44, 785–790.Google Scholar
Murray, CF, Veira, DM, Nadalin, AL, Haines, DM, Jackson, ML, Pearl, DL and Leslie, KE 2015. The effect of dystocia on physiological and behavioral characteristics related to vitality and passive transfer of immunoglobulins in newborn Holstein calves. Canadian Journal of Veterinary Research 79, 109–119.Google Scholar
Mõtus, K and Emanuelson, U 2017. Risk factors for on-farm mortality in beef suckler cows under extensive keeping management. Research in Veterinary Science 113, 5–12.Google Scholar
Mõtus, K, Reimus, K, Orro, T, Viltrop, A and Emanuelson, U 2017. On-farm mortality, causes and risk factors in Estonian beef cow-calf herds. Preventive Veterinary Medicine 139, 10–19.Google Scholar
Nyman, AK, Lindberg, A and Sandgren, CH 2011. Can pre-collected register data be used to identify dairy herds with good cattle welfare? Acta Veterinaria Scandinavica 53 (suppl 1), S8.Google Scholar
Pannwitz, G 2015. Standardized analysis of German cattle mortality using national register data. Preventive Veterinary Medicine 118, 260–270.Google Scholar
Perrin, JB, Ducrot, C, Vinard, JL, Morignat, E, Calavas, D and Hendrikx, P 2012. Assessment of the utility of routinely collected cattle census and disposal data for syndromic surveillance. Preventive Veterinary Medicine 105, 244–252.Google Scholar
Raboisson, D, Trillat, P and Cahuzac, C 2016. Failure of passive immune transfer in calves: a meta-analysis on the consequences and assessment of the economic impact. PLoS One 11, e0150452.Google Scholar
Reimus, K, Orro, T, Emanuelson, U, Viltrop, A and Mõtus, K 2017. Reasons and risk factors for on-farm mortality in Estonian dairy herds. Livestock Science 198, 1–9.Google Scholar
Riigi Teataja 1999. Loomatauditõrje seadus (Animal Disease Control Act). Riigi Teataja, 57, 598 (in Estonian). Retrieved on 20 May 2016 from https://www.riigiteataja.ee/akt/LTTS.Google Scholar
Tarrés, J, Casellas, J and Piedrafita, J 2005. Genetic and environmental factors influencing mortality up to weaning of Bruna dels Pirineus beef calves in mountain areas. A survival analysis. Journal of Animal Science 83, 543–551.Google Scholar
Thomsen, PT, Dahl-Pedersen, K and Jensen, HE 2012. Necropsy as a means to gain additional information about causes of dairy cow deaths. Journal of Dairy Science 95, 5798–5803.Google Scholar
Trotz-Williams, LA, Leslie, KE and Peregrine, AS 2007. Passive immunity in Ontario dairy calves and investigation of its association with calf management practices. Journal of Dairy Science 91, 3840–3849.Google Scholar
Waldner, CL, Kennedy, RI, Rosengren, L and Clark, EG 2009. A field study of culling and mortality in beef cows from western Canada. The Canadian Veterinary Journal 50, 491–499.Google Scholar
Windeyer, MC, Leslie, KE, Godden, SM, Hodgins, DC, Lissemore, KD and LeBlanc, SJ 2014. Factors associated with morbidity, mortality, and growth of dairy heifer calves up to 3 months of age. Preventive Veterinary Medicine 113, 231–240.Google Scholar
Wittum, TE and Perino, LJ 1995. Passive immune status at postpartum hour 24 and long-term health and performance of calves. American Journal of Veterinary Research 56, 1149–1154.Google Scholar
Wittum, TE, Salman, MD, King, ME, Mortimer, RG, Odde, KG and Morris, DL 1994. Individual animal and maternal risk factors for morbidity and mortality of neonatal beef calves in Colorado, USA. Preventive Veterinary Medicine 19, 1–13.Google Scholar
Supplementary material: File

Mõtus et al supplementary material

Mõtus et al supplementary material 1

Download Mõtus et al supplementary material(File)
File 19.5 KB
Supplementary material: File

Mõtus et al supplementary material

Mõtus et al supplementary material 2

Download Mõtus et al supplementary material(File)
File 26.4 KB