The Effect of Calfhood Diseases on Growth of Female Dairy Calves During the First 3 Months of Life in New York State

Our objective was to study the effects of pneumonia (cumulative incidence, 25%), diarrhea (29%), umbilical infection (14%), and umbilical hernia (15%) on BW and height gains during the first 3 mo of life. Female dairy calves (n = 410) born from January to December 1990 in 18 commercial herds in New York state were used. Average daily gains during the 1st, 2nd, and 3rd mo were 374, 596, and 719 g, respectively; average gain was 565 g during the 3-mo period. Average monthly height gains during the 1st, 2nd, and 3rd mo were 4.4, 5.6, and 5.7 cm, respectively. Use of multiple linear regression, with farms treated as random effects, indicated that treated, verified pneumonia was associated with a reduction in average daily gain of 66 g and that failure of passive transfer reduced average daily gain by 48 g during the 1st mo. During the 2nd mo, neither disease nor failure of passive transfer affected average daily gain. During the 3rd mo, each additional week of pneumonia reduced average daily gain by 14 g, and umbilical infection reduced average daily gain by 96 g. Each additional week of diagnosed pneumonia reduced total BW gain during the first 3 mo by 0.8 kg. Similarly, each week of pneumonia reduced total height gain by 0.2 cm and failure of passive transfer by 0.9 cm. Prevention of chronic pneumonia and umbilical infection may improve average daily gain of calves.