Tvåstegsavvänjning av köttraskalvar med hjälp av nosbricka
When beef calves are weaned abruptly at 5 to 6 months of age this triggers a strong stress reaction, since the animals have not yet untied the bonds to their mothers or stopped suckling. This is displayed as extensive vocalization and restlessness. Attempts to diminish the negative effects of weanin...
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| Formato: | Otro |
| Lenguaje: | sueco sueco |
| Publicado: |
2006
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| Materias: | |
| Acceso en línea: | https://stud.epsilon.slu.se/11877/ |
| _version_ | 1855571958260826112 |
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| author | Svensson, Anna |
| author_browse | Svensson, Anna |
| author_facet | Svensson, Anna |
| author_sort | Svensson, Anna |
| collection | Epsilon Archive for Student Projects |
| description | When beef calves are weaned abruptly at 5 to 6 months of age this triggers a strong stress reaction, since the animals have not yet untied the bonds to their mothers or stopped suckling. This is displayed as extensive vocalization and restlessness. Attempts to diminish the negative effects of weaning on sucking calves have been showing varying results.
The study presented here emanates from the observation that when calves are weaned without human interference they are only prevented from suckling, but are still allowed to have social contacts with their mothers. The hypothesis was that calves weaned in two steps would be calmer, gain more weight, and be healthier than animals that were abruptly weaned. To investigate this, 15 calves where weaned in two stages (Group 2), by fitting the calves with nose tags that prevented them from suckling during 5 days prior to the separation of the cows and calves. These calves were compared with 15 calves that were abruptly weaned (Group 1).
The results showed that calves weaned in two stages vocalized significantly less (during the first two days after weaning 37.5 times less) compared to calves weaned abruptly. There was also a statistically significant difference with regard to their degree of activity, with the gradually weaned calves being calmer than the others. Especially during the first two days after weaning when the calves weaned abruptly spent 3,3 times more time on walking and took 3,5 times the number of steps as the calves weaned in two stages did. These findings indicate that the two step weaning procedure was less stressful for the calves than the method of abrupt weaning.
There was a significant difference in growth where the abruptly weaned calves ceased to gain weight during days 5 to 9, while the gradually weaned calves did not. However, the difference in total weight gain during the entire experimental period was not statistically significant.
There was no significant difference in body temperature. However, the number of times a body temperature equal to or above 39.5ºC was registered in Group 2 was only around 70% of Group 1.
In conclusion, two step weaning with the aid of nose tags seems to be a good alternative to abrupt weaning since the calves weaned according to the alternative method kept calmer and didn't cease to gain weight compared to calves weaned abruptly. Moreover, the nose tags are cheap and can be used repeatedly after cleaning and disinfection.
Further studies with a larger number of calves are needed to establish whether there is a significant difference in weight gain or body temperature when comparing between the two methods of weaning. |
| format | Otro |
| id | RepoSLU11877 |
| institution | Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences |
| language | Swedish swe |
| publishDate | 2006 |
| publishDateSort | 2006 |
| record_format | eprints |
| spelling | RepoSLU118772017-10-13T07:47:03Z https://stud.epsilon.slu.se/11877/ Tvåstegsavvänjning av köttraskalvar med hjälp av nosbricka Svensson, Anna Veterinary science and hygiene - General aspects When beef calves are weaned abruptly at 5 to 6 months of age this triggers a strong stress reaction, since the animals have not yet untied the bonds to their mothers or stopped suckling. This is displayed as extensive vocalization and restlessness. Attempts to diminish the negative effects of weaning on sucking calves have been showing varying results. The study presented here emanates from the observation that when calves are weaned without human interference they are only prevented from suckling, but are still allowed to have social contacts with their mothers. The hypothesis was that calves weaned in two steps would be calmer, gain more weight, and be healthier than animals that were abruptly weaned. To investigate this, 15 calves where weaned in two stages (Group 2), by fitting the calves with nose tags that prevented them from suckling during 5 days prior to the separation of the cows and calves. These calves were compared with 15 calves that were abruptly weaned (Group 1). The results showed that calves weaned in two stages vocalized significantly less (during the first two days after weaning 37.5 times less) compared to calves weaned abruptly. There was also a statistically significant difference with regard to their degree of activity, with the gradually weaned calves being calmer than the others. Especially during the first two days after weaning when the calves weaned abruptly spent 3,3 times more time on walking and took 3,5 times the number of steps as the calves weaned in two stages did. These findings indicate that the two step weaning procedure was less stressful for the calves than the method of abrupt weaning. There was a significant difference in growth where the abruptly weaned calves ceased to gain weight during days 5 to 9, while the gradually weaned calves did not. However, the difference in total weight gain during the entire experimental period was not statistically significant. There was no significant difference in body temperature. However, the number of times a body temperature equal to or above 39.5ºC was registered in Group 2 was only around 70% of Group 1. In conclusion, two step weaning with the aid of nose tags seems to be a good alternative to abrupt weaning since the calves weaned according to the alternative method kept calmer and didn't cease to gain weight compared to calves weaned abruptly. Moreover, the nose tags are cheap and can be used repeatedly after cleaning and disinfection. Further studies with a larger number of calves are needed to establish whether there is a significant difference in weight gain or body temperature when comparing between the two methods of weaning. Då dikalvar abrupt avvänjs vid fem till sex månaders ålder utlöses en kraftig stressreaktion, eftersom djuren ännu inte knutit upp de sociala banden till sina mödrar eller slutat dia. Detta yttrar sig i ett intensivt råmande och en stor rastlöshet. Försök har gjorts i några få studier att minska den negativa påverkan som sker på dikalvar efter avvänjning, men med varierande resultat. Den undersökning som presenteras här utgår från den observationen, att när kalvar avvänjs utan mänsklig inblandning hindras de enbart från att dia, men tillåts ha en fortsatt social kontakt med sina mödrar. Hypotesen var att en stegvis avvänjning skulle innebära en lugnare avvänjning, mindre sjuklighet och bättre tillväxt än hos de djur som avvandes abrupt och på konventionellt sätt. För att undersöka detta avvandes 15 kalvar i två steg (Grupp 2). Kalvarna, som fick gå kvar hos korna, försågs med nosbrickor under fem dagar, som hindrade dem från att dia. Därefter flyttades korna och kalvarna helt isär. Dessa kalvar jämfördes med 15 kalvar som avvandes abrupt (Grupp 1). Studien visade att vid jämförelse av kalvar avvanda i två steg med kalvar som avvants abrupt, att de tvåstegsavvanda kalvarna råmade statistiskt signifikant mindre. De abrupt avvanda kalvarna råmade 37,5 gånger fler än de tvåstegsavvanda kalvarna gjorde under de första två dygnen efter avvänjning. Skillnaden mellan grupperna var också signifikant vad beträffar deras aktivitetsgrad, där de tvåstegsavvanda kalvarna höll sig markant lugnare. Framför allt under de första två dygnen efter avvänjning då de abrupt avvanda kalvarna gick under 3,3 gånger så lång tid och tog 3,5 gånger så många steg som de tvåstegsavvanda kalvarna. Dessa båda fynd tyder på att tvåstegsavvänjningen var mer skonsam för kalvarnas psykiska välbefinnande än traditionell avvänjning. Det kunde också statistiskt säkerställas att kalvarna som avvandes abrupt avstannade i tillväxt under dag 5 till 9, vilket de tvåstegsavvanda kalvarna inte gjorde. Däremot var djurmaterialet i vår undersökning sannolikt inte tillräckligt stort för att den skillnad i total tillväxt som kunde skönjas skulle vara statistiskt signifikant. Ingen statistiskt signifikant skillnad sågs avseende uppmätt kroppstemperatur, dock var antalet registreringar av en kroppstemperatur ≥ 39,5ºC i Grupp 2 endast ca 70% av antalet registreringar i Grupp 1. Konklusionen är att tvåstegsavvänjning med nosbrickor framstår som ett bra alternativ då kalvarna med den här avvänjningsmetoden höll sig lugnare och inte avstannade i tillväxt, till skillnad från de abrupt avvanda kalvarna. Dessutom är nosbrickorna billiga i inköp och kan efter rengöring och desinfektion återanvändas. Fortsatta studier med ett större antal djur, krävs för att utröna om de tendenser till skillnader i total tillväxt och uppmätt kroppstemperatur som sågs i vår undersökning även är statistiskt signifikanta. 2006-02-13 Other NonPeerReviewed application/pdf sv https://stud.epsilon.slu.se/11877/1/svensson_a_171013.pdf Svensson, Anna, 2006. Tvåstegsavvänjning av köttraskalvar med hjälp av nosbricka. UNSPECIFIED, Uppsala. Uppsala: (VH) > Dept. of Clinical Sciences (until 231231) <https://stud.epsilon.slu.se/view/divisions/OID-715.html> urn:nbn:se:slu:epsilon-s-7796 swe |
| spellingShingle | Veterinary science and hygiene - General aspects Svensson, Anna Tvåstegsavvänjning av köttraskalvar med hjälp av nosbricka |
| title | Tvåstegsavvänjning av köttraskalvar med hjälp av nosbricka |
| title_full | Tvåstegsavvänjning av köttraskalvar med hjälp av nosbricka |
| title_fullStr | Tvåstegsavvänjning av köttraskalvar med hjälp av nosbricka |
| title_full_unstemmed | Tvåstegsavvänjning av köttraskalvar med hjälp av nosbricka |
| title_short | Tvåstegsavvänjning av köttraskalvar med hjälp av nosbricka |
| title_sort | tvåstegsavvänjning av köttraskalvar med hjälp av nosbricka |
| topic | Veterinary science and hygiene - General aspects |
| url | https://stud.epsilon.slu.se/11877/ https://stud.epsilon.slu.se/11877/ |