The aim of this thesis is to investigate the methods of calves management in some farms of dairy cows located in the province of Verona; especially, the care given to the calf in the pre-weaning phase will be analyzed. Therefore, in this work, aspects of animal production are considered, which concern the most common management practices among dairy farmers, but also aspects related to the territory, verifying possible differences in the calves rearing related to the geographical location of the farms. Data were collected through the administration of a questionnaire consisting of four sections divided by topic: socio-demographic information of the farm; farm characteristics; calving with particular regard to both structural characteristics and care provided at the time of the event; and heifers and calves management with reference to housing and feeding. In addition to these aspects, health and management data were also collected. The questionnaire was submitted to a total of 31 farms in the period between January to March 2023. Sixteen farms were located above 500 m a.s.l. and the remaining fifteen below this altitude. In 26 of the total 31 holdings, only Holstein Friesian cows were reared, in one there were only Brown Swiss cows and in two farms holdings Italian Simmental subjects. In two farms, animals belonging to all three breeds -mentioned above coexisted. The collected data were subjected to statistical processing preliminarily with descriptive statistics and subsequently with ANOVA considering the effects of geographical location. The first elaboration allowed us to obtain an overview of the current situation, showing for example that a good percentage of farms comply with the legal limits defined for certain practices such as the time of cautery of the corneal sketch, complied with by 71.4% of the farms, or the time of administration of the first meal of colostrum, complied with by 92.6% of the activities. The analysis of differences with reference to altitude between the continuous variables, instead, did not reveal any statistically significant differences. In conclusion, it can be said that calves management is common to most of the activities involved in the questionnaire, both in terms of methods and timing, and offers interesting points for reflection.
Il presente elaborato si propone di indagare le modalità di gestione della vitellaia in alcune aziende di vacche da latte situate nella provincia di Verona; in particolare saranno analizzate le cure riservate al vitello nella fase di pre-svezzamento. In questo lavoro quindi, sono considerati aspetti zootecnici, che riguardano le pratiche gestionali più diffuse tra gli allevatori, ma anche aspetti legati al territorio, verificando eventuali differenze nell’allevamento dei vitelli legate alla localizzazione geografica delle aziende. La raccolta dei dati è avvenuta tramite la somministrazione di un questionario composto da quattro sezioni divise per argomento: le informazioni socio-demografiche dell’allevamento; le caratteristiche aziendali; il parto con particolare riguardo sia alle caratteristiche strutturali che alle cure previste al momento dell’evento; la gestione della vitellaia e del vitello con riferimento alla stabulazione e all’alimentazione. Oltre a questi aspetti, sono stati rilevati dati di carattere sanitario e gestionale. Il questionario è stato sottoposto ad un totale di 31 aziende, nel periodo compreso tra il mese di gennaio e il mese di marzo 2023. Sedici aziende erano localizzate al di sopra dei 500 m s.l.m. e le rimanenti quindici al di sotto di questa altitudine. In 26 delle 31 aziende totali erano allevati solamente capi di razza Frisona, in una erano presenti solo capi di razza Bruna e in due aziende soggetti di Pezzata Rossa Italiana. In due aziende coesistevano capi appartenenti a tutti e tre i tipi genetici sopra citati. I dati raccolti sono stati sottoposti ad elaborazione statistica preliminarmente con statistiche di tipo descrittivo e successivamente con analisi della varianza, considerando come effetto principale la localizzazione geografica. La prima elaborazione ha permesso di ottenere una panoramica della situazione attuale, mostrando, ad esempio, come una buona percentuale di aziende rispetti i limiti di legge definiti per alcune pratiche come l’epoca di cauterizzazione dell’abbozzo corneale, rispettata dal 71,4% delle aziende, oppure i tempi di somministrazione del primo pasto di colostro, rispettati dal 92,6% delle attività. L’analisi delle differenze in riferimento all’altitudine tra le variabili continue invece non ha rilevato differenze statisticamente significative. In conclusione, si può affermare che la gestione della vitellaia accomuni buona parte delle attività coinvolte nel questionario sia come modalità che come tempistiche, offrendo comunque interessanti spunti di riflessione.
Indagine sulla gestione delle prime fasi di vita del vitello negli allevamenti di vacche da latte in provincia di Verona
GIUSTI, LAURA
2022/2023
Abstract
The aim of this thesis is to investigate the methods of calves management in some farms of dairy cows located in the province of Verona; especially, the care given to the calf in the pre-weaning phase will be analyzed. Therefore, in this work, aspects of animal production are considered, which concern the most common management practices among dairy farmers, but also aspects related to the territory, verifying possible differences in the calves rearing related to the geographical location of the farms. Data were collected through the administration of a questionnaire consisting of four sections divided by topic: socio-demographic information of the farm; farm characteristics; calving with particular regard to both structural characteristics and care provided at the time of the event; and heifers and calves management with reference to housing and feeding. In addition to these aspects, health and management data were also collected. The questionnaire was submitted to a total of 31 farms in the period between January to March 2023. Sixteen farms were located above 500 m a.s.l. and the remaining fifteen below this altitude. In 26 of the total 31 holdings, only Holstein Friesian cows were reared, in one there were only Brown Swiss cows and in two farms holdings Italian Simmental subjects. In two farms, animals belonging to all three breeds -mentioned above coexisted. The collected data were subjected to statistical processing preliminarily with descriptive statistics and subsequently with ANOVA considering the effects of geographical location. The first elaboration allowed us to obtain an overview of the current situation, showing for example that a good percentage of farms comply with the legal limits defined for certain practices such as the time of cautery of the corneal sketch, complied with by 71.4% of the farms, or the time of administration of the first meal of colostrum, complied with by 92.6% of the activities. The analysis of differences with reference to altitude between the continuous variables, instead, did not reveal any statistically significant differences. In conclusion, it can be said that calves management is common to most of the activities involved in the questionnaire, both in terms of methods and timing, and offers interesting points for reflection.File | Dimensione | Formato | |
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https://hdl.handle.net/20.500.12608/54037