Project start: Thermoregulation in newborn calves

Shortly after a calf's birth, its energy reserves are limited and strong fluctuations in body temperature may provoke long-term health issues. Currently, farmers take different measures to support the calf's thermoregulation. For example, they allow the mother cow to lick the calf dry, use a calf blanket or rub it with straw. In the TreK project, the research team compares these measures to develop a evidence-based recommendation.

At the beginning of the project, the most common methods of thermoregulation for calves are identified by surveying more than 150 farms. These will then be tested on around 50 calves at the Bavarian State Farm Grub and the TUM Veitshof experimental farm. Frequent measurements of feed intake, growth, behavior and bacterial flora on the skin in the first 14 days after birth will be used to compare the effects of the various measures on the welfare and health of the calves.

The results of the TreK project are intended to create the basis for data-driven advice for agricultural practice. This should enable farmers to make more informed decisions about the most suitable thermoregulation measures. Prof. Julia Steinhoff-Wagner, Head of the Chair of Animal Nutrition and Metabolism at TUM (link in German, only), emphasizes: “Especially with the increasingly extreme and variable weather conditions due to climate change, we need a data basis to optimally support newborn calves in the first few hours.”

TUM researchers are carrying out the TreK project in collaboration with project partners from the Bavarian State Estates (BaySG), the State Institute for Agriculture (LfL) and the Weihenstephan-Triesdorf University of Applied Sciences (HSWT).