Acknowledgements Book of abstracts - Publicaties - Vlaanderen.be

Elsa Vasseur presents Poster 50 during the poster sessions in the Aula.
Session theme 5: Development and improvement of welfare assessment protocols
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Poster 50
DEVELOPMENT OF AN INTERVENTION STRATEGY TO IMPROVE
WELFARE OF REPLACEMENT ANIMALS IN CANADIAN DAIRY FARMS
E. Vasseur 1 , J. Rushen 2 , D. Pellerin 1 , D. Lefebvre 3 , A.M. de Passillé 1
1 Laval University, Quebec, Canada
2 AAFC, British Columbia, Canada
3 Valacta, Quebec, Canada
The welfare of dairy calves is often overlooked. In an intervention strategy to improve calf welfare,
we surveyed management practices on 115 farms in Quebec. We collected management- and
animal-based data through visits, interviews and a questionnaire. Height critical points and
associated welfare problems were identified : 1) Around calving: 51% of producers used tie stall as
main calving area; 2) First care to newborn: 37% of producers never disinfected calf’s navel; 3)
Colostrum management: producers gave only minimum recommended quantity (3.0L within 12h);
4) Cow-calf separation: 68% of producers let cow and calf together for more than 2h; 5) Milk
feeding: 34% of producers gave non pasteurised waste milk; 6) Weaning: 12% of producers used
abrupt weaning; 7) Calf housing: only 12% of producers used group housing; 8) Health: average
mortality at birth was 8.8%.
We studied producers’ perceptions of and attitudes to calf rearing and found some relationships that
explain a low interest in calf welfare: 50% of producers under-estimated rearing costs by 20%, calf
mortality was under-estimated by 20-50%, 94% of farmers perceived that calf mortality as not a
problem, and 50% of producers had no specialised degree in agriculture.
We then developed a scoring tool based on the critical points identified in our epidemiological
survey and we added two other points: 9)Post-weaning feeding and 10)housing. We tested our tool
in 25 farms for feasibility and repeatability between two observers. In addition, colostrum samples
were collected and the quality of colostrum was checked. Blood samples were collected and tested
to check passive transfer of immunity. Mortality and morbidity were recorded during a six-month
period. An interview with the farmer was conducted as a debriefing on the implementation of our
on-farm welfare tool.
Identifying critical points and producers’ perceptions and attitudes are essential steps to construct a
tool adapted to our population.
Contact information: Elsa Vasseur or email elsa.vasseur.1@ulaval.ca
Complete address: Pavillon Paul Comtois, 4131 Dpt Sciences Animales, Québec (QC) G1K 7P4,
Canada
Species: Dairy cattle