Transportation conditions of calves upon arrival at major livestock auction markets in Québec, Canada

Abstract

The objective of this cross-sectional observational study was to describe the transport conditions of calves at the time of their arrival at the 2 major livestock auction markets in the province of Québec, Canada, and to identify characteristics that affect bedding cleanliness. A particular emphasis was placed on the transport environment of young dairy calves commonly being marketed for veal production. During 4 d per auction site (n = 2 sites), 2 d in summer and 2 d in winter, the descriptive characteristics including type of transports, number of calves per transport, separation from other transported animals, as well as presence of ventilation sources (e.g., open holes allowing natural ventilation), bedding, and bedding cleanliness, were determined. A total of 507 different transports were included, representing a total of 4,054 calves sold during these 8 d. The vast majority of calves (95% [n = 3,845]) were transported by commercially designed trailers (long commercial trailers (n = 358; 70.6% of all transport types), short commercial trailers (n = 62; 12.2%), or multideck trailers (n = 15; 3%). A minority of calves (5%) were either transported by homemade trailers (n = 30; 5.9% of transport) or other types of transports (n = 42; 8.3%). The presence of any ventilation source in the calves' transportation area was observed in 86% of transports and increased in summer versus winter (odds ratio: 2.75 [95% CI: 1.58-4.79]). Bedding was present in 96% of evaluated transports. The majority (68%) of calves' transport flooring area was considered clean, with less than 33% of the calves' area soiled with manure. The dirtiness of calves' transport flooring area was lower in winter than in summer (odds ratio = 0.63 [0.43-0.92]) and in site B than in site A (odds ratio = 0.57 [0.38-0.94]). This study gives interesting insight into transportation and unloading conditions of surplus calves in commercial auction markets.

Summary: Little is known about the types of transport used to convey surplus calves from Québec dairy farms to auction markets. We described the types of transport used for surplus calves in 2 major auction markets during both summer and winter seasons. Assessments were conducted over 2 days for each season and at each auction. Additionally, we evaluated the cleanliness, the presence of ventilation, and the bedding in the areas where calves were kept during transport. The vast majority (95% of calves; n = 3,845) were transported in commercially designed trailers. A minority of calves (5%) were either transported in homemade trailers (n = 30; 5.9% of transport) or other types of transport (n = 42; 8.3%). We observed seasonal variations, with increased presence of ventilation sources and decreased cleanliness during the summer compared with the winter. Cleanliness also differed between the auction sites.

Figure 1

Distribution of the number of calves per transport by type of trailer and total number of calves transported by specific trailer type in 2 Québec auction markets during 8 different auction days. Panel A shows the number of calves unloaded per transport by the different trailer types in both auction sites (A and B), and panel B shows the total number of calves unloaded from the different types of trailers in the 2 auctions. The lower and upper hinges represent the IQR. The whiskers extend from the hinges to the value of up to 1.5 × IQR (the same for lower whiskers). The dots represent values exceeding this previous threshold.

Figure 2

Proportion of dirtiness categories in areas where calves were transported by auction sites and season (panel A) and when considering the type of trailer (panel B). The data were collected during 2 d in the summer and 2 d in the winter for each auction site.