Spotlight on Health Management in Calves

Dear Colleagues,

Rearing healthy calves is crucial to the sustainability of the cattle industry. Multifactorial diseases such as neonatal calf diarrhea and bovine respiratory disease cause substantial economic losses in the dairy and beef industry due to treatment costs, calf losses, and poor performance. Advances in disease prevention and treatments for calves will improve animal health, productivity, and welfare. Healthy calves require a robust immune system, which is largely dependent on colostrum management in the first few weeks of life. Understanding maternal and calfhood vaccination and their integration also has the potential to significantly decrease morbidity and mortality. Calf nutrition and environmental management are also critical areas to consider when raising calves, along with considering their behavioural needs to optimize welfare, health, and productivity. Further, developments in non-antimicrobial treatment options seem relevant in the face of increasing antimicrobial resistance. Continually updating and collating information about best management practices for raising healthy calves are needed to ensure sustainable calf care.

This Special Issue named "Spotlight on Health Management in Calves" aims to strengthen the exchange of information between clinical veterinarians and researchers through the publication of a selection of research articles from leading researchers in this field. We welcome original research papers as well as reviews summarizing important aspects of calf health, productivity, and welfare on an individual animal or herd level. We hope that this Special Issue will stimulate further collaboration between researchers and veterinarians engaged in all aspects of pre-weaning calf health.

Dr. Claire Windeyer
Dr. Lisa Gamsjaeger
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Veterinary Sciences is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2600 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

• neonatal calf diarrhea
• bovine respiratory disease
• best management practices
• transfer of passive immunity
• immunoglobulins
• colostrum
• calf vaccination
• maternal vaccination
• behaviour
• welfare
• nutrition
• housing
• ventilation
• antimicrobial use
• neonatal acid–base disorders