housing, feeding and management of calves and replacement heifers in swedish dairy herds住房、饲养和管理小腿和更换小母牛在瑞典的奶牛.pdfVIP

Acta vet. scand. 2001, 42, 465-478. Housing, Feeding and Management of Calves and Replacement Heifers in Swedish Dairy Herds By K. Pettersson, C. Svensson, and P. Liberg Department of Animal Environment Health, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Swedish University of Agricul- tural Sciences, Skara, Sweden. Pettersson K, Svensson C, Liberg P: Housing, feeding and management of calves and Replacement heifers in Swedish dairy herds. Acta vet. scand. 2001, 42, 465- 478. – A questionnaire was sent to 1500 randomly selected dairy herds in Sweden, ask- ing for general information about the herds, including routines from birth to first calv- ing and also routines at breeding, calving and during the grazing period. Fifty-eight percent of the questionnaires were returned. The preweaned calves were kept in indi- vidual calf pens in 68% and in group housing systems in 28% of the herds. Pens with slatted floors were the main housing system for replacement heifers from weaning to breeding, and tie stalls from breeding to first calving. Whole milk was used in 44% and milk replacements in 42% of the herds. The calves received, as a median, 2.5 litres of milk per meal and 2 meals per day. The median age at weaning was 8 weeks. Age was the single most common criteria used for deciding both weaning and breeding time. The median age when the heifers were first turned out to pasture was 6 months. Prophylac- tic anthelmintic treatment was used by 65% of the herds. The most common diet for re- placement heifers before calving was a combination of grain, hay and silage. colostrum; wearing; rearing; breeding; feed plan; pasture. Introduction In modern milk production, calves are often calves were twice as likely to calve and calved overlooked. I