Disease incidences and behavioural in Vrindavani neonatal calves reared under subtropical climate of India

P  GOSWAMI; MAHENDRAN K; M R  VERMA; J K  CHAMUAH; B  THANGJAM; G PATIL  S; S  DEY

doi:10.56093/ijans.v95i9.159402

Authors

P GOSWAMI ICAR National Research Centre on Mithun Nagaland 797 106 India
MAHENDRAN K ICAR-Indian Veterinary Research Institute, Izatnagar, Bareilly, Uttar Pradesh 243 122 India
M R VERMA ICAR-Indian Veterinary Research Institute, Izatnagar, Bareilly, Uttar Pradesh 243 122 India
J K CHAMUAH ICAR National Research Centre on Mithun Nagaland 797 106 India
B THANGJAM ICAR National Research Centre on Mithun Nagaland 797 106 India
G PATIL S ICAR National Research Centre on Mithun Nagaland 797 106 India
S DEY ICAR-Indian Veterinary Research Institute, Izatnagar, Bareilly, Uttar Pradesh 243 122 India

https://doi.org/10.56093/ijans.v95i9.159402

Keywords:

Crossbred calves, Morbidity, Neonatal diseases, Prevalence, Vrindavani calves

Abstract

The present study aims to assess the prevalence of neonatal diseases in 159 crossbred Vrindavani calves. The experiment was conducted at Cattle and Buffalo Farm, Indian Veterinary Research Institute, Izatnagar, Bareilly during the period from January 2022 to December 2022. All the experimental calves were examined for various neonatal diseases, and epidemiological parameters, including age, season, activity, and hematological indices were recorded. The data generated throughout this study were analyzed using a two-way ANOVA with Tukey's test for multiple comparisons, conducted with IBM SPSS 20.0 software. The primary neonatal diseases observed included gastroenteritis (2.22%), navel ill (1.62%), joint ill (1.75%), respiratory infections (0.30%), and anemia with dullness (3.71%). Gastroenteritis was most prevalent from February to April and June to July month, while navel ill peaked between May and November. Respiratory diseases were more common from September to December month, whereas anemia and joint ill were consistent throughout the year. Notably, all calves exhibited good responsiveness and suckling reflex, with 96.29% having hematological indices within normal ranges for bovines. Anemia and weakness were a significant concern year-round in neonates. It was concluded that predominant neonatal diseases of Vrindavani calves were gastroenteritis, navel ill, respiratory infections, anaemia and joint ill. Early detection and intervention protocols need to be developed to reduce morbidity and mortality rates among calves. It was also emphasized that regular health assessments and proper hygienic care for neonatal calves could improve calf vigor and survival rates.

Downloads

Download data is not yet available.

References

Ahmad S F D, Panigrahi M, Chhotaray S, Pal S, Parida B, Bhushan B, Gaur G K, Mishra B P and Singh R K. 2020. Revelation of genomic breed composition in a crossbred cattle of India with the help of Bovine50K BeadChip. Genomics 112(2): 1531–35. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ygeno.2019.08.025

Arero G B. 2021. Review on common infectious diseases of neonatal calves. Journal Veterinary Science and Research 3: 14–24. DOI: https://doi.org/10.36811/jvsr.2021.110013

Barrier A C, Ruelle E, Haskell M J and Dwyer C M. 2012. Effect of a difficult calving on the vigour of the calf, the onset of maternal behaviour, and some behavioural indicators of pain in the dam. Preventive Veterinary Medicine 103(4): 248–56. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.prevetmed.2011.09.001

Barry J, Bokkers E A M, de Boer I J M and Kennedy E. 2020. Pre-weaning management of calves on commercial dairy farms and its influence on calf welfare and mortality. Animal 14(12): 2580–87. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/S1751731120001615

Barry J, Kennedy E, Sayers R, de Boer I J and Bokkers E A M. 2019. Development of a welfare assessment protocol for dairy calves from birth through to weaning. Animal Welfare 28(3): 331–344. DOI: https://doi.org/10.7120/09627286.28.3.331

Bleul, U. 2009. Respiratory distress syndrome in calves. Veterinary Clinics of North America: Food Animal Practice 25(1): 179–93. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cvfa.2008.10.002

Blottner S, Heins B J, Wensch-Dorendorf M, Hansen L B and Swalve H H. 2011. Brown Swiss × Holstein crossbreds compared with pure Holsteins for calving traits, body weight, backfat thickness, fertility, and body measurements. Journal of Dairy Science 94(2): 1058–1068. https://doi.org/10.3168/ jds.2010-3305. DOI: https://doi.org/10.3168/jds.2010-3305

Mee J F. 2008. Newborn dairy calf management. Veterinary Clinics of North America: Food Animal Practice 24(1): 1–17. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cvfa.2007.10.002

Murray C F, Veira D M, Nadalin A L, Haines D M, Jackson M L, Pearl D L and Leslie K E. 2021. The effect of dystocia on physiological and behavioral characteristics related to vitality and passive transfer of immunoglobulins in newborn Holstein calves. Guangdian Gongcheng/Opto-Electronic Engineering 48(9): 210195.

Radostits O M, Gay C, Hinchcliff K W and Constable P D. 2007. Veterinary medicine: A textbook of the diseases of cattle, horses, sheep, pigs, and goats (10th ed.). Spain: Saunders Ltd. Rojas D M, Lopez A, Burnes J M, Muns R, García D V, Medina P M, Lozano M L, Hernandez O A and Necoechea R R. 2018.

Is vitality assessment important in neonatal animals? CAB Reviews: Perspectives in Agriculture, Veterinary Science, Nutrition and Natural Resources 13(36): 201813036.

Sharma S K and Joshi M. 2020. EtioEpidemiological Studies on Diarrhoea in Cattle and Buffalo Calves. Indian Journal of Animal Research 54(11): 1391–99. DOI: https://doi.org/10.18805/ijar.B-3894

Singh, R J, Dutt T, Kumar A and Tomar A K S. 2011. On-farm characterization of Vrindavani cattle in India. Indian Journal of Animal Science 81(3): 267–71.

Snedecor G W and Cochran W G. 1989. Statistical methods (8th ed.). Ames: Iowa State University Press.

Whalin L, Weary D M and von Keyserlingk M A G. 2021. Understanding behavioral development of calves in natural settings to inform calf management. Animals 11(8): 2446. DOI: https://doi.org/10.3390/ani11082446