Short communication: Survival of replacement kids from birth to mating on commercial dairy goat farms in New Zealand

摘要

Commercial dairy goat systems rely on the successfulrearing of kids for herd replacement. The objectives ofthis study were to (1) determine survival from birth untilmating for a large cohort of commercial dairy goat kids;(2) descriptively summarize the causes of mortality andremoval from the herd during this period; and (3) compareactual (determined by postmortem examination)and suspected (farmer-reported) causes of mortality. Atotal of 1,262 female kids were enrolled at birth on 16commercial dairy goat farms in New Zealand. Medianages at weaning and mating were 86 d [minimum = 54,quartile (Q)1 = 78, Q3 = 97, maximum = 144] and 223d (minimum = 183, Q1 = 208, Q3 = 237, maximum= 310), respectively. Overall, 87.1% (1,099/1,262) ofkids remained on farm at mating, 10.4% (131/1,262)died or were euthanized, and 2.5% (32/1,262) werelost to follow-up or sold. Mortality risk was greatestin early life, with more than 90% of deaths occurringbefore weaning. Mortality from enrollment to matingvaried between farms (minimum = 0%, Q1 = 5.9%,median = 8.9%, Q3 = 15.8%, maximum = 20.5%). Theleading cause of death was gastrointestinal disorders(33.6%, 36/107), followed by disbudding-related injury(15.9%, 17/107), and septicemia (12.1%, 13/107).Farmers correctly identified approximately half of thedeaths attributed to gastrointestinal disorders (56.0%,14/25) and disbudding-related injury (44.4%, 4/9), butwere less successful at diagnosing septicemia (0%, 0/5),starvation or dehydration (0%, 0/4), and suffocation(18.8% 3/16). This is the largest cohort of dairy goatkids to be systematically followed over time to confirmsurvival until mating and to determine causes of deathby postmortem examination. We found that kid mortalitywas highest during the preweaning period andthere was often a discrepancy between farmer-perceivedand actual cause of death. Postmortem examinationsshould be more widely used to establish causes of deathand inform on-farm strategies to reduce kid mortality.