A survey of dairy calf management practices in Italian dairy farms and their association with preweaning calf welfare and health.

Adoption of optimal calf-rearing practices is essential to improve health, welfare, and productivity in dairy systems while also addressing growing public concern regarding the current husbandry systems adopted on farms. However, there is still a disconnect between recommended guidelines and the actual implementation on farms. This study aimed to document current calf management practices and identify factors associated with calf health and welfare outcomes. A structured questionnaire comprising 46 primary questions and 12 conditional follow-up questions was distributed to Italian dairy farmers, and 168 responses were collected between December 2024 to May 2025. Many farmers reported positive practices, including timely colostrum administration (within 2 h post-calving, 49.6%), early provision of water and starter feed (83.1% and 69.8%, respectively), and routine veterinary involvement. However, deviations from best practices were also evident, such as the absence of dedicated calving pens (48.8%), delayed provision of long fiber (after 2nd week of life, 72.3%), suboptimal housing, and limited use of pain management during disbudding (27.4%). Higher preweaned female calf mortality was associated with less experienced farmers, increased respiratory disease in early life, and delayed introduction of long-fiber. A higher occurrence of diarrhea was linked to delayed colostrum feeding, the herd size and farmers' continuing education. Notably, higher occurrence of respiratory diseases was associated with higher occurrence of diarrhea. Overall, these findings may help guide future research and targeted interventions, such as training initiatives for less experienced farmers and the implementation of evidence-based management strategies, to improve calf welfare in Italian dairy farms.