[Transport of veal calves from birth farms to veal farms and calf management in Swiss dairy farms].

Schnyder, Petra; Schönecker, Lutz; Schüpbach, Gertraud Irene; Meylan, Mireille (2019). [Transport of veal calves from birth farms to veal farms and calf management in Swiss dairy farms]. Schweizer Archiv für Tierheilkunde, 161(7), pp. 453-462. Huber 10.17236/sat00214

[img] Text
SAT_07_08_2019_Meylan.pdf - Published Version
Restricted to registered users only
Available under License Publisher holds Copyright.

Download (324kB)

The calf transports of 34 veal farms were documented over a one-year period in order to describe the transport from dairy to veal farms. Veal farms were visited four to eight times, and general farm management data and information on calf purchase were collected. Thirty-five transports were accompanied and documented in detail by the project team. Whenever possible during the accompanied transports, a questionnaire on calf management prior to purchase (calving location, colostrum feeding, vaccinations, iron and selenium supplementation) was filled in with the manager of the dairy (birth) farm. Unaccompanied transports were recorded using a form completed by the veal farmers and the transporters. Information was collected on the number and origin of the calves, transport duration and distance, and stops on farms and markets. A total of 721 transports from dairy to veal farms (531 transports by veal farmers and 190 by suppliers/livestock traders) were documented in the course of the project. Six veal farmers always collected and transported their own calves, nine received their calves from cattle traders only, and 19 used both systems. Veal farmers transported a median of 2.0 (1-21 calves) and traders 3.0 calves (1-74 calves) per transport. The median number of dairy farms per 10 transported calves was 10.0 (1.2-10 dairy farms per 10 transported calves) for transports performed by veal farmers, and 10.0 (2.5-10 dairy farms per 10 transported calves) by traders. The median transport duration was 20.0 minutes (1-330 minutes) with veal farmers and 45.0 minutes (2-414 minutes) with traders. The median available surface per calf during transport was 2 m2 (0.4-6 m2) in transports by veal farmers and 0.6 m2 (0.4-2.7 m2) in those by traders. No bedding was provided on three transports performed by veal farmers although this is prescribed by law. Intranasal vaccination against respiratory disease was performed in 7% of the 88 birth farms included in the study.

Item Type:

Journal Article (Original Article)

Division/Institute:

05 Veterinary Medicine > Department of Clinical Veterinary Medicine (DKV)
05 Veterinary Medicine > Department of Clinical Veterinary Medicine (DKV) > Clinic for Ruminants
05 Veterinary Medicine > Department of Clinical Research and Veterinary Public Health (DCR-VPH) > Veterinary Public Health Institute
05 Veterinary Medicine > Department of Clinical Research and Veterinary Public Health (DCR-VPH)

UniBE Contributor:

Schnyder, Petra, Schönecker, Lutz, Schüpbach-Regula, Gertraud Irene, Meylan, Mireille

Subjects:

600 Technology > 630 Agriculture

ISSN:

0036-7281

Publisher:

Huber

Language:

German

Submitter:

Nathalie Viviane Zollinger

Date Deposited:

27 Aug 2019 12:47

Last Modified:

02 Mar 2023 23:32

Publisher DOI:

10.17236/sat00214

PubMed ID:

31298214

Uncontrolled Keywords:

Dairy farm; veal production; colostrum; trader; animal welfare legislation; transport Exploitation de naissance; veaux d’engraissement; colostrum; marchand; loi sur la protection des animaux; transport Geburtsbetrieb; Kälbermast; Kolostrum; Lieferant; Tierschutzgesetz; Transport Parole chiave: azienda di nascita; vitelli da ingrasso; colostro; fornitori; legge sulla protezione degli animali; trasporto

BORIS DOI:

10.7892/boris.132156

URI:

https://boris.unibe.ch/id/eprint/132156

Actions (login required)

Edit item Edit item
Provide Feedback