A Comparative Study on Some Factors Affecting Calf Mortality in Three Dairy Farms in Khartoum North

Abstract

A comparative study was carried out on 955 records of crossbred calves (Friesian x zebu cattle) born alive at Kafori, University of Khartoum and .Judiciary dairy farms. The effects of seasons of year, age, sex of calves and their interactions were studied to evaluate their impact on calf mortality. The results revealed insignificant effects of the three factors on calf mortality (P>0.05), while their interactions were significant (P<0.05). The main causes of mortality were diarrhea, Theilaria and pneumonia. Regarding the seasons of year the mortality rates in autumn were: 38.5%, 42.4% and 36.4% for Kafori, University of Khartoum and Judiciary farms, respectively. In winter the rates were: 30.8%, 27.3% and 38.4%, respectively. In summer they were: 30.3%, 30.3% and 45.5%, respectively. The highest overall mortality rate was reported in autumn followed by winter and then summer seasons. However, in the first age group(< 30 days old) mortality rates were 76.9%, 60.6% and 79.8% for the three farms, respectively. The overall mortality was 75.2% higher than those in the second group (> 30 days old). Between sexes female mortality rates in the University and Judiciary farms were 60.6% and 47.5%, respectively, for male the rates were 39.4% and 52.5%, respectively. The overall mortality was 55.25% and 44.8%, respectively for both sexes. Regarding the interactions between the three factors, the deaths were higher in the first age group in all seasons and sexes, the variation in mortality rates between the three farms could be attributed to the effects of microenvironment, poor housing conditions and the level of foreign blood percentage in the three farms,