Pneumonia occurs particular frequently in calf fattening and is often the main reason for calves being treated with antibiotics. The research team working with project leader Mireille Meylan agreed that this had to be the starting point for the concept.
The first analysis thus focused on the question of why fattening calves develop disease patterns that necessitate the use of antibiotics. “Many animals are exposed to a high risk of infection in the first few weeks of life, in particular”, explains Mireille Meylan. “As they are transported from their birth farm to the fattening farm, they mix with other calves. And upon arrival, they are put in even larger groups. This allows pathogens to spread very quickly.” It is at precisely this point that the “outdoor calf” concept has to kick in.
Quarantine, vaccination and fresh air
With the new fattening concept, fatteners should only purchase new calves from local farms. This keeps transport distances short, and it is not necessary to mix animals from different farms. For the first few weeks after their arrival, the animals are kept in individual igloos outdoors and are vaccinated against pneumonia. Only after this quarantine period are they brought together in small groups of a maximum of ten calves. They then spend the rest of their average four-month fattening period in these groups. They are always outside, where they have a group igloo and a mainly covered, copiously littered run.
