Calf health from birth to weaning. I. General aspects of disease prevention

Calfhood diseases have a major impact on the economic viability of cattle operations, due to the direct costs of calf losses and treatment and the long term effects on performance [1]. Calf health was prioritised as one of the most important animal health issues facing the Irish livestock industry in a recent expert Policy Delphi study conducted on behalf of Animal Health Ireland (AHI) [2]. AHI was founded in 2009 as an industry-led, not-for-profit partnership between livestock farmers, processors, service providers and government, with the goal to improve the profitability, sustainability and competitiveness of Irish livestock farmers and related industries through superior animal health.As part of ongoing AHI work, a group of experts was commissioned to provide evidence-based advice on calf health and disease management to Irish farmers, agricultural advisers and veterinary practitioners. As an initial step, a three-part review series on calf health from birth to weaning has been generated, specifically to provide a scientific evidence base for the development of advisory tools on calf health, and to identify gaps in current knowledge to be filled with targeted research. Even though the envisaged output will be specific for Irish husbandry systems, the scope of the reviews should make them useful for the same purpose elsewhere. The reviews cover both suckler and dairy calf management. However, due to the differences in the nature of these systems, some topics will deal mainly or exclusively with either dairy or suckler calves. This first part highlights issues relating to disease prevention in calves, with emphasis on the periparturient period, calving management, care of the newborn, colostrum management and further nutrition and weaning. The second and third parts focus on the management of diarrhoea in pre-weaned calves [3] and disease prevention and management with particular reference to calf pneumonia [4].Perinatal mortality is a problem in all eutherian spe