Flávio Silva

• Master of Science
• PhD Student at University of Trás-os-Montes and Alto Douro

Simple Summary Calves should be regularly weighed to monitor their growth, which can be an indication of their health and welfare. Pre-weaned calves are particularly vulnerable to health problems as their immune system is still developing. In addition, knowing the calf’s weight can help to provide a more balanced diet and to be more accurate when a...

Simple Summary Colostrum is the “starter kit” for every calf, containing nutrients, bioactive components, cells, and microorganisms that provide energy and protection against pathogens and contribute to the maturation and development of the gastrointestinal tract. Components such as fatty acids, whey proteins, oligosaccharides, immune cells, and mi...

Most research on colostrum quality and colostrum management focuses on maternal IgG transfer to the newborn calf. However, in addition to being a source of antibodies, colostrum has other components that influence passive immune transfer, nutrition, gut maturation, and thermoregulation. In this review, the constituents in the bovine colostrum, as w...

Teat-end hyperkeratosis is a welfare problem associated with dairy cows’ production system, that causes pain and discomfort to the animal. Although a lower degree of teat-end hyperkeratosis can be considered normal, more severe cases highly impact animal welfare. The identification of risk factors allows the dairy farmer to take preventive measures...

The calf is born with very low levels of antibodies, which makes colostrum, abundant in antibodies, crucial for passive immunization. The efficiency of passive immune transfer is assessed by the IgG concentration in the calf’s blood 24 h after birth. However, this method undergoes blood collection, which needs specialized training and a good animal...

Simple Summary Dairy calves’ welfare is rapidly gaining long-deserved attention from science and dairy farmers’ communities. However, the elevated morbidity and mortality rates referred to in the literature reflect that there are still major problems in calves’ husbandry despite the advances already made in recent years. The development of technolo...

The authors (Silva, S.R., et al.) unintentionally omitted to cite the article by O’Leary et al. [...]

Simple Summary The welfare of farm animals is a growing concern in the EU and across the world. In milk production, there is a strong need to assess the welfare of dairy cows. One of the most sound assessment initiatives has been practiced using protocols developed by the Welfare Quality project. These protocols mainly support the assessment of cow...

This study aimed to evaluate the acclimatisation process of cows with different milk yield potential during summer and winter periods. 13 Holstein-Friesian cows were chosen from a dairy farm in Alentejo, 7 of those with high milk yield potential (HMP) and 6 with low milk yield potential (LMP). All cows were evaluated during summer (P1: heat stress)...

This study highlights that the use of salivary HSP70 as a non-invasive biomarker may be a potential tool in further studies of thermal adaptation in cows.

This Research Communication describes, for the first time, the detection of HSP70 in saliva of dairy cows. Thermal stress is a major environmental stress that limits animal growth, metabolism, and productivity. The cellular response to heat stress involves the synthesis of heat shock proteins (HSPs), presumably to protect the functional stability o...

This is an academic project. The construction of this project has been located in Portugal, district of Santarém, with the goal of reuse and turn profitable an abandoned land that totals 44 hectares. A semi-intensive system was applied, with a full use of the pasture, but with a resource of supplements when there is a lack in pasture or in the peri...