부산대학교 도서관

Calf losses have an economic impact on larger Korean native cattle (KNC) breeding farms due to replacement, productivity, and marketing. However, little research on KNC calf mortality or causes of calf death onlarge-scale breeding farms has been conducted. Based on medical records and autopsy findings from the Hanwoo experimental station of the National Institute of Animal Science, calf death records from 2002 to 2011 were usedto identify the causes of mortality. Mortality rate of KNC calves was 5.7%. Large differences (1.8~12.6%) in yearspecific mortalities were observed. Calf deaths were due to digestive diseases (68.7%), respiratory diseases (20.9%),accidents (6.0%), and other known diseases (2.2%). The main cause of calf death was enteritis followed by pneumonia, rumen indigestion, and intestinal obstruction. The greatest number of calf deaths occurred during the fall followedby summer. These results indicated that enteritis and pneumonia were the main reasons for calf death. However, autopsy findings demonstrated that other factors also caused calf death. This study suggested that seasonal breeding and routinevaccinations are the most important factors for preventing calf death, and improving calf health in high land areas with low temperature.