A Detailed Investigation of the Effects of Premature Isolation and Predictive Factors on the Healthcare of Dairy Cows and Calf
Abstract
The practice of prematurely separating calves from their cow has the dairy sector under increased criticism, putting it at crossroads. Due to its possible effects on the mental health of cows and calves, this long-standing practice in dairy production has come under ethical criticism. The purpose of the research was to look at the impacts of premature isolation and predictive factors on the healthcare of dairy cows and calf. Only published English-language publications that directly compared the health of dairy cows or calves in artificial suckling systems were accepted for inclusion. The language exclusion, publication date, irrelevant topic, study design, outcome measure and duplicate publication are excluded from this research. The PRISMA protocol for conducting systematic literature reviews was observed. Using carefully chosen and tested search phrases, searches were conducted in Pubmed, Scopus and Web of Science. A final sample of 40 papers that discussed the health of cows and calves was produced as a consequence of this approach. Overall, the studies on cow and calf scours indicated that suckling had no impact or it was advantageous. There was no discernible risk factor associated with cow-calf interaction in the research that addressed various diseases. In conclusion, there is inconsistent evidence in favour of early separation in the scientific, peer-reviewed literature on cow and calf health.
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