Disease incidences and behavioural in Vrindavani neonatal calves reared under subtropical climate of India

The present study aims to assess the prevalence of neonatal diseases in 159 crossbred Vrindavani calves. The experiment was conducted at Cattle and Buffalo Farm, Indian Veterinary Research Institute, Izatnagar, Bareilly during the period from January 2022 to December 2022. All the experimental calves were examined for various neonatal diseases, and epidemiological parameters, including age, season, activity, and hematological indices were recorded. The data generated throughout this study were analyzed using a two-way ANOVA with Tukey's test for multiple comparisons, conducted with IBM SPSS 20.0 software. The primary neonatal diseases observed included gastroenteritis (2.22%), navel ill (1.62%), joint ill (1.75%), respiratory infections (0.30%), and anemia with dullness (3.71%). Gastroenteritis was most prevalent from February to April and June to July month, while navel ill peaked between May and November. Respiratory diseases were more common from September to December month, whereas anemia and joint ill were consistent throughout the year. Notably, all calves exhibited good responsiveness and suckling reflex, with 96.29% having hematological indices within normal ranges for bovines. Anemia and weakness were a significant concern year-round in neonates. It was concluded that predominant neonatal diseases of Vrindavani calves were gastroenteritis, navel ill, respiratory infections, anaemia and joint ill. Early detection and intervention protocols need to be developed to reduce morbidity and mortality rates among calves. It was also emphasized that regular health assessments and proper hygienic care for neonatal calves could improve calf vigor and survival rates.