Assessment of Calf Management and Hygiene Practices Adopted in Large and Small-Scale Dairy Farms in Wondo Genet Area, Southern Ethiopia

BACKGROUND: Although calf management is the cornerstone of dairy cattle productivity and profitability, little attention is given by researchers particularly in developing nations including Ethiopia. Therefore, this research was conducted to characterize calf management and hygiene practices adopted by dairy farmers at Wondo Genet, a potential milk shed for southern Ethiopia. METHODS: Calf management and hygiene practice-related data were collected from 57 dairy farms through a semi-structured pre-tested questionnaire and personal observation. All sampled farms were visited once by technical staff and administered the questionnaire by face-to-face interview during the period February 2017 to December 2019. The obtained data were analyzed using descriptive statistics. RESULTS: The majority (96.5%) of the farms had a slatted calf pen floor that was made of concrete. Although more than half of the farms (57.9%) had a good calf pen drainage system, only some (n = 8, 14%) are cleaned on a daily basis. All the calves (100%) had a history of calf scour, 96% survived from cowdriosis (heartwater). The majority of the calves born in the dairy farms (68.5%) received colostrum within 30 minutes of birth, but most of them (82.5%) were fed with waste milk till weaning age. Although the majority of the farms separately house recently born calves, 24.6% of the farms raise their calves together with other domestic animals. CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATION: Dairy farm owners in the study area adopted some established risky calf management and hygiene practices that might lead to high calf morbidity/mortality in the farm. Awareness creation and further study to identify the specific causes of mortality and morbidity should be in place to improve the management and hygiene of calves and implement specific control and preventive measures.