Farming practices in Sweden related to feeding milk and colostrum from cows treated with antimicrobials to dairy calves

Table 3 Feeding calves milk produced by cows given antimicrobials during lactation, during treatment and withdrawal periods

Are calves fed waste milk from cows treated with antimicrobials during lactation?	Treatment period (TWM)		Withdrawal period (WWM)
	Number of farms	Proportion of farms¹(%)	Number of farms	Proportion of farms¹(%)
Always	92	21	184	41
Only to certain calves²	68	15	81	18
Heifer calves	5	8	9	12
Bull calves	62	94	74	95
Calves above a certain age	11 ^a	17	6 ^b	8
Calves below a certain age	3 ^c	5	5 ^c	6
Other⁴	4	6	3	3
No answer	2	0	3	0
Only from cows treated for certain diseases^2,3	74	17	55	12
Mastitis	31	42	25	47
Uterine infection	51	70	44	83
Infections in legs and hooves	69	95	48	91
Other diseases	43	59	37	70
No answer	1	0	2	0
Only during part of the period⁴	55	12	63	14
Never	199	44	93	21
Not responding	9	2	12	3

¹ Proportions add to more than 100% as some farmers ticked multiple answers.
² This question was followed by a follow-up question only seen by respondents choosing this option. The options and responses for the follow-up question are shown in italic.
^a Median = 4 weeks, mean = 4.8 weeks ^b Median = 4 weeks, mean = 3.7 weeks ^c Median = 2 week, mean = 2 weeks.
³ Many farmers stated that they feed calves TWM only if it resembles normal milk, others that such milk is discarded if the cow is infected with certain bacteria, mostly Escherichia coli or Staphylococcus aureus, or if the cow is treated with a certain type of antimicrobial.
⁴ Some of the organic farmers reported that they only feed calves waste milk produced after the statutory withdrawal period, according to the rules for organic certification.

ISSN: 1751-0147