An investigation into the preferred disbudding procedure of beef and dairy farmers in the UK, how many farmers follow DEFRAs three codes of recommendations?

Description

Calf disbudding has become common practice on dairy and beef farms to avoid injury to stockmen and other cattle (Braz et al, 2012; Earley et al, 2011). Disbudding destroys the horn producing cells (corium) of the horn bud to prevent further growth and can be done using a variety of methods including hot iron (Broom et al, 2012) and chemical paste (Passille et al, 2014). Dockes et al (2015) discovered farmers were unsure of the regulations and recommendations for disbudding, DEFRA has published legislation and recommendations for this procedure. The three recommendations for the procedure are: disbudding should take place when the calf is under 2 months old, chemical cauterisation should be avoided if possible, a hot iron is preferred, and the stockman completing the procedure should have some formal training.

Period	27 Apr 2018
Held at	British Society of Animal Science Annual Conference 2017
Event type	Conference
Location	Chester, United Kingdom