RESEARCH REGARDING BABY CALVES HOUSING IN INDIVIDUAL IGLOOS NESTLED OUTSIDE BARN

V. Maciuc, Şt. Creangă, V. Ujică, E. C. Popescu

Abstract
Baby calves housing in individuals igloos nestled outside barn is a technology used in more and more cattle farms located in areas with less favourable climatic conditions.
To show the influence of environmental condition on corporal development of Romanian Black Spotted calves, housing in igloos placed outside barn (first month of life, due to the limited number of igloos) was organized an experience on a batch of 345 calves from Dancu farm Iasi.
The statistical data presented in synthetically tables show a monthly average temperature between -2.6°C in winter and 21.8°C in summer, 91.30 % relative humidity in winter and 59% in spring, 3.03 m/s wind speed in winter and 2.3 m/s in summer. Body weight at calving was almost equal in autumn (40.68 Kg), winter (40.73 Kg) and spring (40.53 Kg) and significant smaller in summer (38.82 Kg). These seasonal differences persist also at 30 days old too. The average daily gain depending of calving season was between 0.695 Kg/day in summer to 0.765 Kg/day in autumn-winter season and 0,762 Kg/day for total season. The average daily gain by calves' sex had significant differences, 0.711 Kg/day for females and 0.762 Kg/day for males. Also calves mortality was bigger in summer than the other seasons. The calves born in winter season had a good resistance and vitality.

Key words: housing, baby calves, individual igloos, corporal development, average daily gain