02836naa a2200325 a 450000100080000000500110000800800410001902400400006010000150010024501760011526000090029150001410030052016610044165000230210265000120212565300290213765300190216665300170218565300180220265300130222065300270223365300280226065300110228870000180229970000120231770000160232970000200234570000180236577301270238310612852021-01-27       2020    bl uuuu     u00u1 u    #d7 adoi.org/10.3168/jds.2020-181772DOI1 aSCHILD, C.  aA survey of management practices that influence calf welfare and an estimation of the annual calf mortality risk in pastured dairy herds in Uruguay.h[electronic resource]  c2020  aArticle history: Received January 8, 2020/Accepted May 26, 2020. Corresponding authors: cschild@inia.org.uy  and fgiannitti@inia.org.uy.  aABSTRACT: Despite the importance of dairy farming in Uruguay,little information on dairy systems in this country is available in the scientific literature, and management practices that influence calf welfare at the herd level have not been explored. The aims of this study were to (1) describe the prepartum and calf-rearing systems, as well as the management practices that may influence calf welfare in pastured dairy herds in Uruguay, (2) estimate the annual calf mortality risk from birth to weaning, and (3) identify the primary clinical disease syndromes shown by the calves before death. A survey comprising a farm visit and a questionnaire was conducted on 225 randomly selected dairies with >30 milking cows, in 3 strata (31?99, 100?299, and ?300 milking cows) of 6 Uruguayan departments where dairies are concentrated. Retrospective information from July 2013 to June 2014 was collected. A descriptive analysis was performed and results were inferred into the national dairy cattle population. Several management practices that could contribute to poor calf welfare were identified in a large proportion of farms. The annual calf mortality risk (calves that died between birth and weaning/calves born death or alive × 100, n = 149 farms) was 15.2%. Age at weaning averaged 75 d. Farmers reported that the most common clinical syndromes were diarrhea and respiratory disease in 85.2% and 47.5% of the farms, respectively. There was no continuous veterinary advice in 61.3% of the farms, 20.0% lacked data records, 38.5% had poor drainage in the prepartum area with waterlogging after rainfall, 52.1% monitored the prepartum area ?2 times per day  aPRODUCCION LECHERA  aURUGUAY  aBINESTAR DE LOS TERNEROS  aCALF MORTALITY  aCALF WELFARE  aDAIRY FARMING  aENCUESTA  aMORTALIDAD DE TERNEROS  aPLATAFORMA SALUD ANIMAL  aSURVEY1 aCAFFARENA, D.1 aGIL, A.1 aSANCHEZ, J.1 aRIET-CORREA, F.1 aGIANNITTI, F.  tJournal of Dairy Science, Volume 103, Issue 10, pag. 9418-9429, October 2020.  Doi: https://doi.org/10.3168/jds.2020-18177