Best Practice Guide: Optimal Housing
/in Best Practice Guide, Cattle, Environment, Group Management, Housing and Welfare, Housing Systems, Pigs, Poultry, Sheep /by Laura Palczynski353 Health effects of on-farm hatching by WUR (Industry Innovation)
/in Database record, Farm/industry innovation, Housing and Welfare, Housing Systems, Netherlands, Poultry /by GeorgetaANGST
353 Industry Innovation – Health effects of on-farm hatching by WUR
In Significant Impact Groups: Housing and welfare \ New housing systems
Species targeted: Poultry;
Age: Young;
Summary:
Broilers that hatch in the barn show less mortality and have less foot sole lesions. This is shown by research of Wageningen Livestock Research that compares the traditional hatching system to on-farm hatching. The results show that chicks that hatch on farm have a better health. It seems plausible that conditions in early life influence the health and behavior of chicks for a long time. The different outcome systems show no difference in behavior in the pens. However, there are differences in the reaction when the chicks are exposed to a test situation, not only at a young age but also at an older age.
Where to find the original material: https://www.nieuweoogst.nl/nieuws/2020/05/19/bij-hitte-vaker-voeren-en-boxen-schoonmaken;
Country: NL
316 – Effects of Reducing Antimicrobial Use and Applying a Cleaning and Disinfection Program in veal calve farming (Research paper – Dorado-Garcia – 2015
/in Biosecurity, Cattle, Database record, Housing and Welfare, Housing Systems, Netherlands, Research report/paper /by GeorgetaANGST
In Significant Impact Groups: Biosecurity \Internal biosecurity; Housing
Species targeted: Beef;
Age: Young;
Summary:
This study evaluated strategies to curb livestock-associated methicillin resistant Staphylococcus aureus (LA-MRSA). Fifty-one veal calf farms were assigned to one of 3 study arms: RAB farms reducing antimicrobials by protocol; RAB-CD farms reducing antimicrobials by protocol and applying a cleaning and disinfection program; and Control farms without interventions. MRSA carriage was tested in week 0 and week 12 of 2 consecutive production cycles in farmers, family members and veal calves.
This intervention study showed that lower levels of antimicrobial consumption significantly reduced the probability for MRSA carriage in veal calves. The specific cleaning and disinfection program used in this study was not shown to be successful, possibly because it resulted in increased MRSA air loads. A set of determinants for MRSA in calves were disclosed longitudinally to possibly give shape to more refined additional future interventions.
Where to find the original material: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4549302/pdf/pone.0135826.pdf ; https://doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0135826
Country: NL
WEBINAR: Get to work in a planned way on improving climate & animal health (pigs, in Dutch)
/in Housing Systems, Pigs, Webinars /by Annick SpaansVaccination of in-calf cows and housing practices against calf scour (Neonatal calf diarrhea)
/in Cattle, Colostrum and Early Feeding, Housing Systems, Vaccination /by Annick SpaansCalf scour (Neonatal calf diarrhoea) is the most common cause of disease and death in calves during the pre-weaning period. Scour can be due to both infectious (e.g., viruses and bacteria) or non-infectious causes (such as poor nutrition). Symptoms are most often diarrhoea that might be green, yellow or grey in colour, weak animals, dehydrated animal (especially when very young) causing sunken-eyes, etc.
Good hygiene, colostrum provision and biosecurity are important for minimising the chances of an outbreak occurring, independent of the cause of scour. Calves are most at risk from infectious scour in the first 3-4 weeks of life and need a continuous source of protection. In collaboration with their herd veterinarians, farmers can vaccinate in-calf cows against calf diarrhoea a few weeks before calving, while increasing the quantities of colostrum given to the calves at birth. After doing this, cases of diarrhoea in the calves should usually drop.
In addition, it is important to segregate calves by age to prevent passing infectious agents from older calves to younger more vulnerable ones and to maintain clean, dry housing with good ventilation. For example, individual pens (which are easier to clean, transport and disinfect) could be used to rear these calves.
Sheep wellbeing – a holistic approach to management
/in Biosecurity, Breeding for Resilience, Environment, Group Management, Housing Systems, Sheep /by Annick SpaansThe wellbeing of livestock requires a holistic approach to management. One UK Superfine Merino wool grower demonstrates excellent sheep husbandry that goes above and beyond minimum standards.
Firstly, biosecurity – keeping a closed flock, breeding all replacements on farm and strict biosecurity measures for any farm visitor (i.e., vets/shearers/hauliers). The flock are certified Scrapie–free and Maedi Visna accredited, which demands a better price for the wool but this poses challenges finding breeding animals of equal status.
The sheep are housed in any wet weather limiting damage to the fleece, which is the farm’s main product. The sheds are large, airy, with plenty of bedding and space in the pens, and even toys for the sheep to interact and play with when housed. The opportunity to play and space to socialise with (or avoid) certain flock members are important aspects to sheep wellbeing.
The flock is of high genetic merit and the farmer uses embryo transfer (ET) to maximise the genetic potential and performance of her sheep. They cope well with the steep land and have little issue with their feet – there is not even any detectable footrot on farm. This is attributed to not buying in stock and not trimming feet or footbathing. To ensure their wellbeing, natural mating still occurs alongside artificial mating, which recognises the need for rams to mate.
To facilitate correct dosing when using anthelmintics, the farmer makes use of a weigh crush that is built into a race and handling system. Here she can automatically identify individuals by electronic ear tags, record weights and administer medicines. The handling system reduces stress for workers and sheep. Handling the flock calmly, quietly and with compassion are key elements to good stockperson-ship.
Outdoor Autumn Calving System on a UK dairy farm
/in Cattle, Housing Systems /by Annick SpaansThe majority of UK dairy cows have access to pasture for a portion of the year. This is governed by the weather and ground conditions. Here we hear why calving outdoors for a UK dairy farmer works for their Autumn block calving system.
Calving outdoors on well managed pasture works for this farming family – they like the cows to be out in the fresh air and it fits in with the rest of their farm management. The near to calving cows are bought in from the calving field once a day for an extra feed and the grass is grown slightly longer than the other grazing fields to provide more fibre in the calving cow diet. This alleviates any metabolic issues, such as milk fever associated with a lack of fibre in the diet. The farmers also make sure the cows get a fresh patch of grass every day and where they laid the day before is fenced off. This helps keep the cows clean and avoids any build-up of bugs that could cause mastitis around calving. The mastitis rate is ~13% for this herd and they have very low rates of lameness (~6/100 cases per year). They also find calving outdoors is cheaper as there is no need for bedding material and further cleaning. In winter, all the cows are bought in due to poor weather conditions. To optimise cow comfort, soft mattresses are used in the cubicle sheds and there is plenty of space so that every cow can lay down at once. When the cows are grazing, they come in for milking at their own pace and are foot bathed daily with Formalin. These are key factors in preventing lame cows and reducing the need for antibiotics for this farm.
Mastitis reduction in an indoor-housed herd (use of sand beds)
/in Cattle, Environment, Housing Systems /by Annick SpaansMastitis is one of the leading causes of antibiotic use on UK dairy farms. A high yielding herd housed all-year-round has reduced their mastitis rate to 13% through a series of measures, as seen in this video.
These include installing an Automatic Dipping and Flushing (ADF) system for the teat clusters, swapping from straw bedding in cubicles to sand and changing their pre-dipping routine to using an iodine-based dip and paper towels.
This has resulted in a drop in environmental mastitis caused by E. coli and Strep. uberis. These types of bugs thrive in dirty bedding, which is now less of a problem for this farm since they made the change to sand. Bugs in the environment can cause mastitis when pre-dipping routines are poor, so attention to effective cleaning of teats before milking is key. The ADF system ensures the spread of bugs through the milking equipment is also minimized.
Not only has a lower mastitis rate meant reduced antibiotic treatments, which has also saved the farm money, but the farmers have also eliminated the use of Critically Important Antibiotics (CIA). The CIA were often used for mastitis cases and now the farmers find there is less need for them. The farmers also found taking part in a farmer-led research project with the University of Bristol and being benchmarked against other farms in their producer pool very helpful in learning which products were CIA and focusing on specific changes to help prevent disease.
Preventing and treating respiratory disease in calves
/in Cattle, Environment, Housing Systems /by Annick SpaansRespiratory disease is a common problem in calves and is usually associated with housing and the calves’ ability to fight disease. Basic preventive principles are that calves should be kept clean, dry, warm and receive plenty of good quality colostrum straight away.
Calf housing must have appropriate drainage – 1 in 20 slope to drain urine away from beds. It should be protocol to remove wet, soiled bedding and replace with fresh, dry bedding. Reducing stocking density can also reduce dirt build up and disease pressure.
Air quality and adequate ventilation is key to prevent respiratory disease. Calf accommodation should have a low level of air movement (0.2 m/s) so calves do not get cold but enough to replace stale, contaminated air within the shed with fresh air from outside. Adding spaced cladding to walls to provide greater airflow is one solution, or mechanical ventilation is another option, as seen in this video Designing buildings to improve calf health
This farmer was very pleased with the positive-pressure ventilation tube installed in her purpose-built calf shed, which removed stale air, helped reduce levels of pneumonia, subsequent treatments and mortality.
Newborn calves will feel cold below 10°C. It is important to provide calves with enough bedding to be able to nest in and it is worth considering calf jackets as seen here Optimising calf health – Managing respiratory disease .
If calves receive enough colostrum at birth, many are able to fight off mild viral infections themselves. Some might develop a fever and go off their feed; in these cases, it is recommended treating with anti-inflammatories so calves continue feeding. If cases worsen or do not respond within 24-48hrs, a discussion with your vet about antibiotic treatment may be necessary.
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This project has received funding from the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme under Grant Agreement No 817591
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This project has received funding from the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme under Grant Agreement No 817591