Risk factor analysis for beef calves requiring assisted vaginal delivery in Great Britain

Autor: Alastair Macrae, Rachel Bragg, Samantha Lycett, Alexander Corbishley, Elizabeth Burrough, G Russell
Rok vydání: 2021
Předmět:
Zdroj: Bragg, R, Macrae, A, Lycett, S, Burrough, E, Russell, G & Corbishley, A 2021, ' Risk factor analysis for beef calves requiring assisted vaginal delivery in Great Britain ', Veterinary Record, vol. 188, no. 2, e8 . https://doi.org/10.1002/vetr.8
ISSN: 2042-7670
0042-4900
DOI: 10.1002/vetr.8
Popis: BACKGROUND Dystocia has serious consequences for both mother and offspring. This study therefore aimed to identify risk factors for dystocia in vaginally delivered spring born beef calves in Great Britain (GB). METHODS Information on calving assistance, calf sex, birthweight, breed, twinning, dam parity and body condition score (BCS) was collected from 1131 calves across 84 GB farms. Variables were modelled against calving assistance as a binary response variable. RESULTS Twins (Odds Ratio [OR] = 5.45), Charolais calves (OR = 3.24), calves from primiparous dams (OR = 5.75) and male calves (OR = 1.75) were at significantly increased risk of requiring calving assistance across all models. Calves born to cows classed as thin (BCS < 2.5/5) were identified in the univariate analysis and in one of the multivariate models (OR = 1.92) as having an increased likelihood of dystocia. CONCLUSIONS Most beef herds have limited scope to manage cows on the basis of fetal gender and number. However, calf breed, dam body condition and management of primiparous dams can be manipulated to reduce the risk of dystocia and improve supervision. Poor body condition is a novel risk factor for dystocia in beef cows and worthy of further investigation.
Databáze: OpenAIRE
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