Dairy calves and dairy goat kids may be born with extra teats on the udder, called supernumerary teats. These extra teats are non-functional and not harmful but may leak during milking or, occasionally, become infected. In the dairy industry, supernumerary teats are usually removed. The RSPCA believes that the clipping/removal…
Most foie gras (a type of duck/goose liver paté), especially that produced in France, comes from ducks or geese that have been force-fed. During this process, the birds’ beaks are forced open, a tube is passed down the throat, and grain is forced into their stomach under pressure. Birds are…
Beak trimming is the practice of removing the tip of a bird’s beak to blunt or round its end. Beak trimming is commonly performed in the egg and turkey industries in Australia to mitigate the negative animal welfare and production impacts of severe feather pecking outbreak within a flock. Severe…
For cows to produce milk, they have to give birth to a calf. Standard dairy industry practice is to separate calves within 24 hours of birth. This is done to reduce the risk of disease transmission to the calf (e.g. Bovine Johne’s Disease, a bacterial infection that is transmitted through…
Calves born in a natural environment will begin interacting with each other at around 1-2 weeks of age when the dam (mother) will leave their calf with a group of other calves and graze nearby. Before then, the calf is either with their dam or alone with their dam in…
Calves are legally able to be transported at 5 days old or, if transported directly to a calf-rearing facility, at less than 5 days old. However, older calves are better able to withstand the stressors of transport which include loading and unloading, and mixing with unfamiliar animals in unfamiliar environments….
Common dairy industry practice is to feed unweaned calves around 10% of calf body weight in milk daily. However, this amount of milk is about half of what calves would typically drink (around 10 litres of milk over 8-12 feeds per day) in the first month of life if a…
Colostrum is a fluid produced by the pregnant cow prior to giving birth to her calf in readiness for the calf at first suckling. Calves are born with little to no immunity and colostrum provides the calf with antibodies that protect it from infectious diseases. This transfer of antibodies from…
In the debate about feeding a growing world population and in which livestock industries often see an opportunity to increase the scale or the intensity of their operations, rarely is consideration given to the effect this might have on farm animal welfare. Livestock farming practices can adversely impact welfare by…
Bushfires are a common occurrence in the Australian landscape and sometimes, despite the best plans and preparation, horses, livestock and other animals are caught up in bushfires. Animals that have been burnt should be immediately assessed as to the extent of the burns and then, depending on the injuries, either…