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 […]
Weaning calves successfully! Feeding and managing preweaned calves is expensive on a per day basis. Fortunately, it’s a relatively short time in the life of the calf and a minor percentage of total rearing expenses. Traditionally, the goal for preweaned calf management has been to encourage rumen development and early weaning to reduce these expenses […]
Water is important! Often we pay attention to small details in our feeding management of calves and overlook “simple” things of great importance! This is the case with water, regardless of whether you manage calves in individual pens or group housing. The fundamental recommendation is simple. Provide plenty of fresh, clean water at all times […]
What have “autofeeders” taught me about feeding dairy calves? Most of us that have fed calves have a similar impression of “what’s normal” for feeding calves and calf behavior. What was “normal”? We fed them twice a day. We fed two quarts (liters) per feeding. We did this because milk or milk replacer was expensive […]
Calf immunity #3 – Optimizing absorption and achieving the benefits of colostrum *Post contributed by Julia Hamann, D.V.M., Field Technical Specialist Diamond V This is the last of the three-part series by Dr. Hamann. Check out the first two blog posts if you haven’t done so already! Calf immunity #1 – The three components of […]
