Calf Starter is something that I get asked about daily, whether its coarse mix vs pellets vs nuts, intakes or what’s “best” for calves. So, here’s a breakdown of the current guidelines and recommendations.
Calf rearing is a forever-changing topic as we constantly learn and improve how calves are reared. Below is a summary of what’s new in calf rearing, some hot topics and buzzwords.
Calves should have access to clean, fresh, water from birth – not only is it a legal requirement, but it drastically increases dry feed intake and is imperative to rumen development. The myth that water makes calves scour is one we do hear from time to time. Water does not make calves scour, calves need water to balance their body systems flush out toxins and help secrete excess minerals.
During my visits on farm I have found a common topic keeps popping up- staff; lack of it and lack of quality staff. Recently we found ourselves without a calf rearer on the farm and, this got me thinking;
What makes a good calf rearer?
What qualities should we be looking for?
How can the right person improve performance of calves on the unit?
There has been a lot of discussion recently in regards to whether to group or individually house neonatal calves. The trend has been to put calves into individual pens, with individual hutches being particularly popular. The main reason for this trend was down to health and disease control, however, recent research has evidence to the contrary, suggesting that pair housing of neonatal calves may indeed improve both growth and welfare by encouraging greater feed intake, development of normal social behaviours, and by reducing stress and helping with weight gain at the time of weaning.
