Instant Insights: Improving the health and welfare of heifers and calves

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· Burleigh Dodds Science: Instant Insights Book 85 · Burleigh Dodds Science Publishing
Ebook
118
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About this ebook

This collection features three peer-reviewed reviews on improving the welfare of heifers and calves.

The first chapter considers optimising reproductive management as a means of maximising dairy herd health and production. The chapter outlines the steps required to identify reproductive problems and limitations, as well as the emergence of monitoring technologies to detect changes to animal behaviour and patterns which can indicate the presence of disease.

The second chapter summarises recent research addressing behavioural needs of pre-weaned calves and post-weaned heifers, encompassing aspects of social interactions and feeding, rest and comfort, as well as opportunities for other behavioural expression. The chapter also discusses the consequences of restricting these behaviours, such as the development of abnormal oral behaviours.

The final chapter highlights the crucial role youngstock/calf management can play in optimising dairy herd health and welfare in the short-term and long-term. The chapter considers the impacts of calfhood nutritional management and calfhood diseases on subsequent dairy herd health, as well as the role of veterinarians in communicating best practice in youngstock management.

About the author

Jennifer Van Os is an Assistant Professor and Extension Specialist in Animal Welfare on the faculty of the Department of Animal & Dairy Sciences at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, USA. The research in her lab at UW-Madison focuses on understanding, evaluating, and improving the welfare of dairy animals from a biological perspective.

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