Birth weight and measurements of various body parts of stillborn calves of a large dairy cattle herd

: Stillborn calves (80 animals) originating from one dairy herd were used for studies on allometric measures in newborn calves. In the first approach some factors were neglected and only the effect of the calves' sex was considered. Differences in mean birthweight between male and female calves were reflected in organ and other body constituent weights too, but with different relations between them. Enlarged thyroid glands could be observed in both sexes but more often in female calves meaning that there is no correlation between thyroid size and body weight. Strong correlations of bones, muscles and outer body measures and looser ones of internal organs (thymus, liver, lung, kidneys, spleen) and endocrine glands (adrenal glands) with body weight were found especially in male calves. In some calves the sometimes enlarged liver looked like a fatty liver with its pale yellowish appearance and crumbly consistency.