Journal details
Factors affecting calf mortality in small scale dairy farms at Biswanath Upazila of Sylhet
Published Date: 30 Dec 2015
Keywords: Age, Calf mortality, Diseases, Factors, Management, Sex.
Nelufer Yeasmin1 Mohammed Kawser Hossain*1, Animesh Chandra Roy1, Md. Rafiqul Islam2, Saiful Islam3,
Md. Motiur Rahman2 and Md. Shaffiul Alam4
1Department of Surgery and Theriogenology, Sylhet Agricultural University, Bangladesh, 2Department of Medicine, Sylhet Agricultural University, 3Department of Physiology, Sylhet Agricultural University, 4Department of Livestock Services, Dhaka, Bangladesh
Abastract:
Objectives: The factors of calf mortality in small scale dairy farms such as microbial factors, management factors, sex and seasons were determined.
Materials and Methods: A total of 500 calves of 120 different small scale dairy farms of Biswanath upazila in Sylhet region of Bangladesh were visited in this research during the study period from January 2013 to December 2013. Herd size was 5-6 in average in these farms. All the collected data were analyzed statistically by using Microsoft windows 7 Excel program.
Results: The overall calf mortality rate was 12.6%. The recorded mortality cases were classified into two major groups (microbial and management factors). In case of microbial factors highest mortality was found due to gastro enteritis (28.57%) followed by pneumonia (19.04%), parasitic infestation (4.76%) and others (14.28%) causes. Calf scour was the most important cause of calf mortality in small scale dairy farms. In case of management factors, dystocia (12.70%), cold stress (12.70%) and malnutrition (7.94%) affected the calf mortality. Death in calves aged between 0 to 30 days old (38.09%) were found higher in comparison to age between 31 to 90 days (33.33%) and aged between 91 to 180 days (28.58%). In relation to sex of the species, mortality was higher in male calves (55.55%) in contrast to female (44.45%).In Rainy season, death of calves were substantially higher (42.85%) compared to summer (33.35%) and winter (23.80%).
Conclusion: Calf rearing and management techniques characteristic of herds should be improved to reduce mortality rates. Further investigations and molecular research should be recommended to minimize calf mortality for sustainability of the small scale dairy farms.