Published in Scientific Papers. Series D. Animal Science, Vol. LXVIII, Issue 1
Written by Elena RĂDUCANU, Umer FAROOQ, Roxana Elena STEFAN (VASILIU), Andreea ZINCA, Remus Ioan CHIOREAN, Livia VIDU
The overall objective of this study was to evaluate the results of farm size influence regarding the management practices from dairy buffalo farms. The current study was based on a survey conducted by online interviews between 2020 and 2021, with a number of 81 dairy farms from Romania. This survey aimed to establish current buffalo calves management technics in Romania along with farmer perceptions surrounding different farm size. The descriptive analysis of farm size influence on calves practices was calculated, with chi-squared tests to assess associations between variables. Concerning the colostrum administration time in buffalo calves, there were significant differences (p≤0.05) between small farms and large farms, with 0% of the large farms who feed them in first hour of life; and 80% of then small farms who use the same interval. Regarding the calves housing, cow-calf separation and milk quantity offered, we obtained that the size farm it’s not a parameter to influence those variables. These results underscored how farm size plays a methodical role in shaping the management strategies employed in rearing dairy buffalo calves.
[Read full article] [Citation]
