Clinical assessment of veal calf units

Abstract

Concentrating large numbers of very young animals in a small area often results in a high risk to their health. Veal calves are no exception to this rule. When there are outbreaks of diseases the attending local practitioner must face two problems at the same time. On the one hand he is confronted with many sick calves with all their individual variations. On the other hand he has to deal with an impatient fattener who requests an immediate diagnosis and treatment.

In order to make a proper diagnosis for an entire unit the veterinarian should examine the unit as a whole and thoroughly examine some of the individual calves showing the characteristic symptoms.

The purpose of this paper is to provide veterinary practitioners with an outline for a systematic investigation of veal calf units.