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Calf Diseases and Mortality in Swedish Dairy Herds

Acta Veterinaria Scandinavica volume 34, pages 263–269 (1993)Cite this article

Abstract

A survey of the mortality and morbidity affecting calves during the first 3 months of life was carried out. Results are reported from 131 herds with altogether 5,050 calvings. These herds kept individual calf cards for all calves born. The incidences of abortions and stillborn calves were 0.6% and 3.6%, respectively. During the period 0-90 days the mortality and morbidity were 2.6% and 11.0%, respectively. The frequencies of enteritis and pneumonia in calves were 7.2% and 0.8%. Mortality and morbidity were influenced by breed, season, age of the dam and time of first colostrum. The frequencies of abortions, stillborn calves, mortality and morbidity varied considerably between herds. Herd factors influencing mortality and morbidity during different periods of time were: herd size, yield, zero-grazing, whether the calf was allowed to feed by suckling, the design of the calf pens, and previous incidence of infectious enteritis in the herd. On average, both mortality and morbidity in calves were low, though in certain herds, temporarily high frequencies were registered.

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Acknowledgments

The cooperation of practising veterinarians and animal health veterinarians in the trial areas is greatly appreciated. This work was made possible by funding from the Farmers’ Research Council for Information and Development.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Swedish Association for Livestock Breeding and Production, Animal Health Department, S-631 84, Eskilstuna, Sweden

    S.-O. Olsson, S. Viring, U. Emanuelsson & S.-O. Jacobsson

  2. Swedish Farmers’ Meat Marketing Association, Animal Health Service, National Veterinary Institute, Uppsala, Sweden

    S.-O. Olsson, S. Viring, U. Emanuelsson & S.-O. Jacobsson

Authors
  1. S.-O. Olsson
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  2. S. Viring
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  3. U. Emanuelsson
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  4. S.-O. Jacobsson
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Olsson, SO., Viring, S., Emanuelsson, U. et al. Calf Diseases and Mortality in Swedish Dairy Herds. Acta Vet Scand 34, 263–269 (1993). https://doi.org/10.1186/BF03548190

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1186/BF03548190

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Acta Veterinaria Scandinavica

ISSN: 1751-0147