Calf is the most important animal on the farm. Calf rearing should be given due attention as many problems and ailments in the herd as a whole have their origins in calves. The right choice of technology o f rearing can be crucial to the economy of the entire breed. Quality of calf housing is reflected in the overall level of rearing cattle in this category. It has a significant impact on the overall w ellbeing of animals, zoohygienic conditions and health situation.The aim of this thesis was to compare methods of rearing calves in individual outdoor sheds, where the calves were fed twice daily, with group housing in a spacious calving barn with multip le feeding through a feeding machine. We looked at weight gain, hea lth and welfare of the animals.The thesis was dealt with at a private farm of Václav Duba in Boubín near the town of Horažďovice. The experiment was conducted simultaneously in both systems of calf housing in the time period between May 1 2013 and October 14 2013. Both the observed groups of calves were fed the same amount of milk replacer, only with different frequency of intake. Both groups had the same number of 30 calves (15 heifers and 15 bulls) of Czech pied cattle. After completion of the milk feeding period the average weight of the calves in individual sheds was 107.2 kg and 110.8 kg in the calving barn. The calves which were fed by a feeding machine had an average daily weight gain of 0.787 kg; the calves in individual sheds had lower weight gain of 0.743 kg. The average consumption of milk replacer for calves in the individual sheds was 521.7 litres and for calves in the calving barn it was 516.8 litres. This indicator has been pro ven to have high statistical significance (P 0.001). The a verage daily temperature in the individual sheds was 19.7 °C; in t he calving barn it was 17.9 °C. A diarrheal disease was reported in four animals in the individual sheds, and in six animals in the calving barn. In calves reared in the individual shed mutual sucking of muzzle was found immediately after drinking. In calves fed using a feeding machine there was no sign of unsatisfied sucking reflex.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:nusl.cz/oai:invenio.nusl.cz:174152 |
| Date | January 2014 |
| Creators | DUBOVÁ, Dagmar |
| Source Sets | Czech ETDs |
| Language | Czech |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | info:eu-repo/semantics/masterThesis |
| Rights | info:eu-repo/semantics/restrictedAccess |
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