Calf health, management and growth in smallholder dairy farms in Tanzania

1. Calf health, management and growth in smallholder
dairy farms in Tanzania
Jelly Chang'a1, Olav Reksen2, Tolen Løken2 & Robinson Mdegela3
1Tanzania Veterinary Laboratory Agency, Dar es Salaam, Tanzania
2Norwegian School of Veterinary Science, Oslo, Norway
3Sokoine University of Agriculture, Morogoro, Tanzania
Introduction
The future of small scale dairy production
depends, on the successful raising of calves
and heifers for replacement. Poor calf
rearing practices including underfeeding
have shown to result in high mortalities and
poor growth rates (Moran, 2002). Studies
conducted on calf management and the
impact management has on these calves’
health and growth in smallholder farms in
Tanzania are very few. Therefore; this study
was intended to assess and establish the
potential factors associated with calf
performance in smallholder dairy farms in
Tanzania. This will guide future
interventions aimed at improving the
situation as well as evaluating their impact.
Pictures
Impact/moving forward
•The findings from this study provide farm-based information that will be
useful in devising future interventions with the intention of improving the
current situation, as well as evaluating their impact
•Nutritional and managerial factors were considered to be the major
determinants influencing calf performance. As the majority of smallholder
dairy farmers in Tanzania raise their own replacement stock, challenges in calf
management should be prioritized, with emphasis on promoting increased
knowledge on feed quality, feeding regimes and various management aspects
in order to improve calf growth and production performance
Conclusion
•Growth rates of calves on smallholder dairy farms in Tanzania were low
•This seemed to be related to inadequate nutrition rather than diseases
•Additional management options should be explored in this system with
particular focus on improving feed quality, especially in pre-weaning and
weaning periods
References
 Anonymous, 1986. Manual of Veterinary Parasitological Laboratory Techniques. In: Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food
(MAFF). Technical Bulletin No 18, HMSO, London, pp131.
 Moran, J. B. 2002. Calf rearing: A practical guide (2nd Ed). 210 pp. LandLinks, CSIRO, Melbourne.
Jun 2012
Methods
The study involved an open population
given total of 156 calves of up to 57 weeks
from 121 farms. Farms were visited every
two months for one year. The calf rearing
practices were observed and body weights
(BW) were measured in each visit. The health
status of the animals was assessed too. A
total of 496 feacal and blood samples were
collected. Nematode egg and coccidial oocyst
concentrations were estimated using a
modified McMaster technique (Anonymous
1986). Cryptosporidium spp oocysts were
detected using the modified Ziehl-Neelsen
staining technique. The suspected positive
samples were retested using fluorescein-
labeled (FITC) monoclonal antibody (A
100FR FL from Waterborne Inc., New
Orleans, USA) for conformation. Blood was
collected and examined for haemoparasites
by Hematoxylin and Eosin staining
technique.
Sampling sites
0
0,5
1
1,5
2
2,5
3
1 5 9 13 17 21 25 29 33 37 41 45 49 53 57
Age (Weeks)
Bodyweightgain(Kg)
Results
The milk feeding regimen were bucket/bottle 27 (17%) and residual suckling 129
(83%) of the dam. Farmers provided their calves with poor quality food mainly
natural grasses and dry crop residues. Only a few (8%) provided maize bran in
addition to grass, none of the farmers provided protein supplements. Of 156
calves, only 9 (5.7%) were diagnosed as being clinically diseased at visits.
Haemoparasites were detected in 84 (16.9%) of the 498 blood samples. Thirteen
(2.6%) samples were suspected as Cryptosporidium positives in Z-N staining;
however, on confirmatory test none was found to be positive. A total of 12 (7.7%)
calves died during the study period. The causes of death, included East Coast
fever, anaplasmosis and diarrhoea. The measures for weekly BW gain in heifer
calves ranged from -2.2 to 7.2 kg (mean 2.1, SD 1.5), and from -1.8 to 8.1 kg (mean
2.3 kg, SD 1.6) in male calves. The third order polynomial model which shows
the relationship between BW gain and age is displayed in Figure below.
Weekly body weight gain by age in male (--■--)
and female (--▲--) calves (n = 156) on 121
smallholder dairy farms, Tanzania.