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 […]
Calf immunity #2 – Colostrum and the calf’s gastrointestinal development *Post contributed by Julia Hamann, D.V.M., Field Technical Specialist Diamond V This is the second of the three-part series by Dr. Hamann. Check out the first blog post if you haven’t done so already! Colostrum plays a significant role in the calf’ intestinal development and […]
Calf immunity #1 – What is it and how do we optimize it in the preweaned calf? *Post contributed by Julia Hamann, D.V.M., Field Technical Specialist Diamond V We are pleased to present a three part series on how to optimize immunity in the preweaned calf contributed by Dr. Julia Hamann, Field Technical Services Veterinary […]
Using Colostrum Replacer to Prevent Protocol Drift *Post contributed by Dr. Adam Geiger, Research Nutritionist | Lactation Physiologist | Calf Technical Consultant, Zinpro Corporation Just about every producer globally understands the importance of colostrum to the newborn calf. Most producers also know how important well-defined protocols are to calf performance and health. However, I have […]
Heat stress can take a toll on dairy calves, impacting feed intake, growth and health. Learn how using data from an automatic calf feeder can help detect heat stressed calves.
Calf autofeeders allow us to collect helpful data on each calf we care for. I’ve analyzed this data across many farms to share three key learnings about calves and how to use the data in a feeding program.
We are aware of the importance of that first milking colostrum in providing immune globulins (Ig) or antibodies as a source of protection from disease for the newborn calf. Feeding four quarts of clean colostrum with a low bacteria count as soon as possible after birth is the key to success. However, have we missed other benefits from feeding colostrum and the “transition” milk from the first to sixth milkings to calves during their first few days of life? Read more …
