Influence of Breed, Season, Sex, and Parity on Mortality of Holstein Friesian and Brown Swiss Calves

This study aimed to investigate the effects of season, parity, sex, and breed on preweaning mortality in calves. Records of 1890 Brown Swiss and Holstein Friesian calves born and reared in Atat & uuml;rk University Cattle Farm, Erzurum, were used in the study. The data of the study were analyzed using the Chi-Square test available in the SPSS statistical program. Study results showed that season had a statistically significant impact on calf mortality (p < 0.05). The highest mortality rate was observed in spring (11.5%) and winter (11.0%) born calves, while the mortality rate was significantly lower in summer (7.3%) and autumn (6.3%) born calves. There was no statistically significant effect of calf sex on mortality. Similarly, calves born to primiparous and multiparous dams did not differ significantly in terms of mortality. The mortality rate of Holstein Friesian calves was slightly lower than Brown Swiss calves. While 87.5% of the calves born in the spring died in the first month of life, only 51.9% of the calves born in the summer died in the first month after birth (p < 0.01). The mortality of female calves was significantly lower than that of male calves in the first month, but higher in the second month. The parity of the dam did not have a significant effect on the age of mortality. Similarly, there was no statistically significant difference in mortality age between Brown Swiss and Holstein Friesian calves. During the first month after birth, Holstein Friesian calves had a slightly higher mortality rate (78.1%) than Brown Swiss calves (75.2%).

Dergi

KSU TARIM VE DOGA DERGISI-KSU JOURNAL OF AGRICULTURE AND NATURE

Yıl

2025

Cilt

28

Sayı

1

Sayfa

265-273

eISSN

2619-9149

DOI

10.18016/ksutarimdoga.vi.1573908

WoS UID

WOS:001424449400024