Evaluation of the Role of Veterinarians for Outcomes Related to the Health and Production of Dairy Small Ruminants in Greece

SIMPLE SUMMARY: This study, which was carried out as a large-scale investigation in 444 farms throughout Greece, explores the beneficial effects to small ruminant dairy farms of a steady and professional relationship with a veterinarian. The findings of detailed analyses indicated that, in summary, these benefits related to lower parasitic burden in animals of the farms and higher production of better-quality milk, as shown by the assessment of outcomes related to the health and production of animals. Moreover, the welfare of the animals in the farms was also improved, as evidenced by the lower incidence of painful diseases (e.g., clinical mastitis) and the effective use of relevant pharmaceutical products (e.g., non-steroid inflammatory drugs). The results attest that the application of veterinary advice and veterinary clinical services in sheep and goat dairy farms contributes to the improved health, production and welfare of animals. ABSTRACT: The objective of the present study was to evaluate the potential benefits of veterinarians in improving the health and welfare of dairy sheep and goats by studying the associations of management practices employed in the farms with production- or health-related outcomes in sheep and goat farms in Greece. This work explored associations with ‘professional relationship with a veterinarian’ at 444 small ruminant dairy farms in an investigation performed around Greece, where 106 variables, related to infrastructure, animals, production outcomes, health management, health problems and human resources, were assessed. In 384 (86.5%) farms, a professional relationship with a veterinarian was maintained. The median value of visits made annually by veterinarians to these farms was five. In farms with a professional relationship with a veterinarian, significant differences were found in 24 variables (35.8%) related to management practices and 6 (30.0%) production- or health-related outcomes. In multivariable analysis, the following emerged with a significant association: epg counts in faecal samples (p = 0.014), average annual milk production per ewe/doe (p = 0.015), somatic cell counts in bulk-tank milk (p = 0.037), and annual incidence of clinical mastitis (p = 0.044). Moreover, associations of the characteristics of veterinarians emerged with somatic cell counts in bulk-tank milk: the gender (p < 0.0001) and the age (p = 0.004) of the veterinarians. The results attest that the application of veterinary advice and clinical services in sheep and goat dairy farms contributes to the improved health, production and welfare of animals.