SynthesisJournal of dairy science2019
Invited review: A systematic review of the effects of early separation on dairy cow and calf health.
Synthesis in Journal of dairy science, 2019. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 40 papers, 2 of them syntheses that pooled it.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
40 citing papers in PubMed, 2 syntheses or guidelines pooled it.
- Efficacy of halofuginone products to prevent or treat cryptosporidiosis in bovine calves: a systematic review and meta-analyses.Parasitology · 2021Pooled it
- A Systematic Review of Automatic Health Monitoring in Calves: Glimpsing the Future From Current Practice.Frontiers in veterinary science · 2021Pooled it
- Evaluation of weaning strategies using an automated milk replacer feeder on growth performance and physiological responses in Hanwoo calves.Animal bioscience · 2026Article
- System-level considerations associated with cow-calf contact in seasonal-calving pasture-based dairy systems.JDS communications · 2026Article
- Methods for estimating milk production of dairy cows with full cow-calf contact.JDS communications · 2026Article
- Milkability in dam-calf contact systems.Translational animal science · 2026Article
- Changing the frame: the impact of welfare narrative presentation on citizen choices about cow-calf separation.Frontiers in veterinary science · 2026Article
- A survey on management of milk feeding, weaning and housing of conventional and organic dairy calves in Europe.Acta veterinaria Scandinavica · 2025Article
- Behavioral factors linking sustainability and animal welfare in dairy farming.Scientific reports · 2025Article
- It's not black and white: Perspectives of Western Canadian beef farmers on dairy-beef production.PloS one · 2025Article
- Optimising the selection of welfare indicators in farm animals.Frontiers in veterinary science · 2025Article
- Factors associated with failure of passive transfer of immunity and morbidity in spring-born beef and dairy calves during the first 30 days of life.Frontiers in veterinary science · 2025Article
- Suckling and allosuckling behavior of dairy calves in indoor dam-rearing systems.Frontiers in veterinary science · 2025Article
- Welfare of calves and heifers on dairy farms with cow-calf contact rearing or early separation.Frontiers in veterinary science · 2025Article
- Cow-calf contact: a single-herd observational study of AMS yield during the first 100 days in milk.Acta veterinaria Scandinavica · 2024Article
- Dairy cows' motivation to nurse their calves.Scientific reports · 2024Article
- Comparing the effects of contact duration on cow and calf performance beyond separation - a prospective cohort study.Acta veterinaria Scandinavica · 2024Article
- Risk factors for omphalitis in neonatal dairy calves.Frontiers in veterinary science · 2024Article
- Time budgets of dairy cows in a cow-calf contact system with automatic milking.JDS communications · 2024Article
- A Pilot Study on the Feasibility of an Extended Suckling System for Pasture-Based Dairies.Animals : an open access journal from MDPI · 2023Article
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
4 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
Concern from the public is growing regarding early cow-calf separation, yet proponents of this practice maintain that artificial rearing is critical for cow and calf health. Early separation is assumed to reduce the risk of transfer of pathogens from dam to neonatal calf, but a wide range of health benefits associated with extended cow-calf contact has also been documented. The aim of this systematic review was to report and synthesize conclusions from the literature on dairy cow and calf health in conventional rearing versus cow-calf contact systems. Peer-reviewed, published manuscripts, written in English, directly comparing dairy cow or calf health in artificial versus suckling systems, were eligible for inclusion. We conducted 7 targeted searches using Web of Science to identify key literature on important health conditions. The resulting manuscripts underwent a 4-step appraisal process, and further manuscripts were sourced from reference lists. This process resulted in a final sample of 70 articles that addressed cow and calf health. Sufficient literature was available to assess mastitis in cows, and scours, cryptosporidiosis, Johne's disease, pneumonia, immunity, and mortality in calves. The results for cryptosporidiosis, pneumonia, immunity, and mortality were mixed, with some differences between studies likely attributable to flawed comparisons between cohorts. Overall, the articles addressing calf scours and mastitis pointed to beneficial or no effects of suckling. The studies addressing Johne's disease did not find cow-calf contact to be a significant risk factor. In conclusion, the scientific peer-reviewed literature on cow and calf health provides no consistent evidence in support of early separation.
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Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.