A hot topic among many farmers and vets is the issue of Mycoplasma. With New Zealand enforcing an aggressive culling policy on infected cows it raises the questions; do we know enough about it? Are we being proactive? So it goes without saying that prevention is better than a cure, especially when discussing calf health and performance.
Over 70% of the calf’s immune system is housed in the gut. So, a healthy microbiome regulates and promotes good immune function. Good bacteria also compete with harmful pathogens in the young gut. Disruptions to the gut microbiome can impact health and cause issues like dysbiosis and scour.
Diarrhoea in the young calf is a commonly occurring challenge on many farms. Recent research by MSD Animal Health, completed as part of their Youngstock Survey, indicated that 90% of dairy farms had experienced scour in calves in the previous 12 months and that over 65% had experienced mortality due to scour. Diarrhoea is reported as a major cause of morbidity and mortality in early life, which can result in significant economic losses and potential welfare challenges.
A team approach involving calf rearers, vets and nutritionists are central to the successful management of scours. Sharing ideas in order to develop a common approach, with clear protocols, can really support consistent management on the farm.
Problems in calf buildings usually are due to imbalances in one or more of these five separate factors; Moisture, Fresh Air, Air Speed, Temperature and Hygiene.
With warm weather approaching, the risk of heat stress in calves increases. Everyone is well aware that heat stress in adult cattle reduces performance, increases stress and results in increased incidence of disease, and calves are no different. Calves have an upper critical limit of 25°C, however they will start to feel the effects of heat stress at 21°C.
Discover the comminly asked Lamb Rearing questions. We begin with 'how much labour can be saved by swapping from bottle feeding to ad lib feeding milk to lambs?'
Calf rearers across Wynnstay’s trading area now have an improved understanding of the important nutrition, health and hygiene practices so necessary for calves to hit optimum development and growth targets.
There has been some debate recently about the recommended level of protein we should be feeding to calves and heifers, with many of the guidelines coming from the United States on feeding calves high protein starter. It is important that we look closer to home and take the advice on rearing our heifers to suit our system, with the feedstuffs available to us for the animals, we are rearing for longevity not just yield.
There are many targets that we set on farm to assess the success of the business and calf operating system. Many targets have become outdated with the emphasis now on producing bigger, stronger heifers that we are rearing for longevity and lifetime production. Below are some thoughts on the targets that we should be re-evaluating to streamline the rearing operation further.
Our advice on how you get your spring born heifers to grow, and keep growing!
With the spring calving season upon us it is important to think ahead to the imminent grazing season and how to get the calves born this spring (Feb-April) to grow well and efficiently.
