One in five sheep producers are still cross fostering triplet lambs onto single-bearing ewes and about 30% are continuing to bottle feed orphans. This is despite the significant extra labour required to carry out both traditional rearing practices.
Pretty much all farmers have heard of calf jackets, they have gained popularity in recent years as a way to control cold stress but do we know how to use them correctly?
Let’s take humans for example, when the temperature drops, we put more layers on, right? And vice versa when the temperature rises; should we consider this for our calves too? First, let’s understand why we use the calf jackets.
When it comes to calf rearing there are many topics we can stand in a yard (or sit in a pub!) And have a healthy debate over which milk powder to use, Protein in heifer diets, Single housing v group housing… the list is endless. There are a few things that are non-negotiable. I want to make sure they become the essentials on your farm too.
When selecting a feeding programme for your calves there are pros and cons to consider before making the move: disease risk, nutrient intake for growth performance, and economics. You may think that pasteurisation is the best option for your system and so it may be, but it might be worth reading on to consider some of the myths of pasteurising.
There is no doubt that cryptosporidium (Crypto) is a major calf health problem, with it being the most commonly diagnosed pathogen in preweaning calves. 40% of infectious diarrhoea is caused by Crypto. So what is it and how can we tackle it?
It has become evident that in recent years nutrition and management in the first weeks of life can have long term effect on production. Restricted feeding is considered to be short term cost effective, encourages earlier weaning and produces a reasonably productive cow.
