health

In terms of resting time, calves spent more time lying down in the hour following feeding when they received human contact, irrespective of the housing system. Photo: Misset
20-04-2023 | Article

Human contact enrichment improves dairy calf welfare

“With the tags, I don’t have to watch the cows all the time, and being alerted to a calving or mastitis means I can take action sooner and head off a potential problem,” says dairy farmer Vaughan Davies. Photo: Jan Willem Vliet
11-04-2023 | News

Technology to improve cow welfare during calving

The new Code also addresses calf housing and states calves must not be tethered in indoor housing and if outdoors, can only be tethered via a collar in a calf hutch with access to an area outside the hutch. Photo: Chris McCullough
07-04-2023 | News

New regulations for Canadian dairy farmers

Recent data has shown that mycoplasma continues to be spread far and wide across the UK, and that its presence, in combination with other bacteria or viruses, is linked to respiratory problems, such as Bovine Respiratory Disease. Photo: Canva
04-04-2023 | News

Mycoplasma continues to spread: know your herd’s status

Heifers feed more slowly, ruminate less, are lower in the pecking order, can be easily chased away from feed space or lying areas, so need time to adjust. Photo: Canva
07-03-2023 | Article

Nearly a fifth of heifers fail to reach second lactation

Testing bulk milk samples is a convenient and informative way to monitor herd health and current milk quality. Photo: Anne van der Woude
01-03-2023 | Article

Bulk milk testing for zoonotic disease surveillance

Research on the effects of exercise on first lactation lameness, carried out at Massey University, New Zealand, has attempted to reduce levels experienced by dairy heifers using exercise in the rearing period. Photo: Peter Roek
28-02-2023 | News

UK: funding for cow lameness and productivity

Studies show that farm workers who change their clothes after assisting with birth, and professional farm visitors wearing boots and clothes had lower odds of Coxiella burnetii infection. Photo: Dennis Beek
14-02-2023 | Article

Reducing zoonotic disease transmission in dairy farms

Feed programs must be designed to fit the nutritional needs of calves and delivered in a way that allows them to express natural behaviours. Photo: Ruud Ploeg
08-02-2023 | Article

The surplus calf puzzle

Managing the risk of mastitis in wet weather
01-02-2023 | Article

Managing the risk of mastitis in wet weather