[Veterinary herd management programme on a beef bull farm (author's transl)].

A report on herd management advice on a beef bull farm by a multidisciplinary committee over a three-year period. Eight groups, each consisting of approximately ninety-six bulls (781), were fattened and delivered. Fattening of the calves was started at the age of one week and they were delivered at the age of seventy weeks. For the first ten weeks, they were individually housed in rearing pens, then they were kept in groups of eight in housings with slatted floors. Studies were done to see whether waste matter of the potato-processing industry could be turned into useful material in this manner. This was found to be the case, provided sufficient attention was paid to the other constituents of the ration. Veterinary problems consisted in diseases of newborn animals, indigestion accompanied by tympanites, respiratory diseases, foul in the foot and injuries. Minor problems were lice, loss of cuds, infectious keratoconjunctivitis, trichophytosis, urinary calculi, cysticercosis, cerebrocortical necrosis and abscesses in organs. The total proportion of deaths and rejects was 7.8 per cent, 2.6 per being due to mortality. A classification by cause and age was established. Moreover, the relationship between differences in growth and particular forms of disease was studied. This relationships could be shown to be present in some cases but there also were marked differences which could not be accounted for on the basis of patient administration. On the whole, the state of health was highly satisfactory.