Table 3 Answers given by the 1287 respondents on calf housing
Variable | Answers | Overall (%) | Small farms (≤20 cows) (%) | Large farms (>20 cows) (%) | P |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Calves housed p.n. | Individually | 88.8 | 88.0 | 89.8 | 0.15 |
Individually and in groups | 4.7 | 5.8 | 3.5 | ||
In groups | 6.3 | 6.0 | 6.5 | ||
No answer | 0.2 | 0.2 | 0.2 | ||
Calf housing p.n. | Within cows’ barn | 46.3 | 45.2 | 47.2 | 0.85 |
Own barn for calves and young stock | 38.2 | 38.4 | 38.1 | ||
Outdoors | 14.2 | 14.7 | 13.9 | ||
In- and outdoors | 0.8 | 0.9 | 0.6 | ||
No answer | 0.5 | 0.8 | 0.2 | ||
If calves are housed individually, duration | 1–2 weeks | 33.1 | 33.6 | 31.7 | 0.15 |
Up to 6 weeks | 37.0 | 33.3 | 40.9 | ||
>6 weeks | 23.3 | 22.7 | 24.7 | ||
No answer | 6.6 | 10.4 | 2.7 | ||
Cleaning of calf housings | Regular | 61.1 | 61.8 | 60.1 | 0.06 |
Infrequently | 34.5 | 33.9 | 35.4 | ||
Not at all | 2.3 | 1.6 | 2.9 | ||
No answer | 2.1 | 2.7 | 1.6 | ||
Cleaning | Only dry | 23.1 | 26.5 | 20.4 | <0.01 |
With water | 10.2 | 12.0 | 8.1 | ||
With high pressure | 42.2 | 39.6 | 45.1 | ||
Additional disinfection | 19.9 | 18.1 | 21.5 | ||
No answer | 4.6 | 3.8 | 4.9 |