New Article by Dr. Bob James in Progressive Dairy! Can beef teach us how to better raise dairy replacements: Calving environment and newborn management Dr. Bob James explores what the beef industry can teach us about raising dairy replacements in his latest article, “Can beef teach us how to better raise dairy replacements: Calving environment […]
Can we feed calves better? Research and the experiences of progressive calf managers have shown the benefits of feeding more milk. However, this practice has not always been successful, particularly in calves managed in individual pens or hutches. These systems rely on feeding twice and rarely three times a day, frequently with long intervals between […]
Preweaned calves and technology ? Tremendous advances in the use of technology to better manage dairy cattle, cropping and other areas of dairy farming have recently been featured in the popular press. What about technology in calf management? How has calf management changed in the past 5 – 10 years?? For many years, the number […]
Are calf hutches still the “gold” standard ? When making decisions every dairy business must consider all costs, potential benefits and the likelihood of a positive return on the investment. All resources and immediate and long-term impacts for a particular dairy business must be considered. For many years, the calf hutch has been considered as […]
Are you a calf manager or a calf feeder? First, let’s start with some definitions. The calf feeder is the person who does their job. They aren’t recognized for either great or poor calf care. It’s a “low ranking” job on the farm. A calf manager sets goals, analyzes data, evaluates their resources and allocates […]
Keep it clean! All too often we tend to be too casual about cleanliness in raising preweaned calves, ESPECIALLY during their first week of life. Remember that this is a very young animal with a “biology” that’s not too different from human infants! They are born with a very limited (if any) microbiome that is […]
Calves and heat stress It’s only May, but it’s time to prepare for heat stress. There are several key points to address. Start with the dry cow. Research in Florida has shown that calves born from “cooled” cows were more efficient in absorbing colostrum IgG, had higher birth weights, greater survival to 1st lactation and […]
When I visit farms, although we all know what needs to be done we I continue to see farms with substantial levels of failure to absorb colostrum antibodies. Success means developing a system which is nearly fail proof!
What does it “cost” to raise a calf? Traditionally we have viewed calf rearing as an expensive proposition. Daily costs are high due to feed and labor. Milk and milk replacer are expensive and caring for calves is very labor intensive. To achieve low-cost goals, we have limit-fed milk or milk replacer to encourage early […]
Managing calves during cold weather! It’s cold outside! What have you done to take care of your calves during cold weather? This blog will start with a general discussion regardless of the system used and then conclude with a few tips on using the features of autofeeders to better address winter conditions. The biggest thing […]
