Losses caused by pneumonia in calves arise from: - veterinary attention, cost of treatment, reduced weight gain, increased feed requirements, increased labour. As well as longer finishing times and lower milk yields.
Whether our aim is to improve growth from our youngstock, improve feed conversion rates of our beef animals, or to just simply produce more milk from dairy cows, one sure way to enhance this is by increasing nutrient utilisation.
This is a free tool - we just need to learn how to use it to our advantage.
Those who have worked with me know my opinion regarding beef and dairy calves - a calf is a calf! Whether beef or dairy, it should be reared to the highest standard, and the first 3 months is when they are most feed-efficient, therefore enhancing higher daily live weight gains. Nutrition is not the only area we should focus on, we also have to consider health and housing in order to maximise calf performance.
Feed conversion is much higher in the first weeks of life than at any other point in the growth cycle. So kilogram for kilogram the animal gets more benefit in the first two months than later in life. This is one reason why it is beneficial to set high growth targets in the first eight weeks.
Coccidiosis is caused by an invasion and destruction of the cells lining within the intestine by the protozoan parasite; Eimeria spp. There are approximately a dozen strains but only 3 are thought to cause disease, these being E. bovis, E. zuernii and E. alabamensis. The oocyst can lay dormant in buildings or within soil for long periods of time due the protozoa being resistant, having a hardened shell-like appearance.
Disease is seen in youngstock from 4 weeks of age up to 2-year-old animals. The young animal ingests infective oocyst which harbours within soil or buildings. Cattle can develop immunity to the disease over time, but young calves with a weakened immune system are at greater risk.
The main goal for rearing healthy calves successfully and economically is to encourage development of the calf's rumen, enabling digestion of solid feeds and reducing their nutritional dependence on milk.
Recording the growth rate of young stock provides valuable information. It is also an indirect method of monitoring the efficiency of feed conversion. Meeting growth rate targets will ensure maximum return on your investment.
The profitability of any beef or dairy enterprise is driven by performance. This starts with conception of the calf. As a calf specialist, I believe we should be improving tomorrow’s herd, today. If we take a step back and concentrate on the growing foetus, this is where all our efforts should be focused.
Nothing stimulates a discussion better than bringing someone in with totally different views. And that’s just what happened when we met up with Jud Henrichs this week. The greatest benefit of this is the willingness to question the status quo and come up with new ideas and alternative strategies. Jud is as we know a passionate advocate of early weaning but it was not that issue that will form the basis of this blog.
Calf scour is one of the biggest health issues in youngstock causing serious financial losses. 70% of farmers have seen scour in calves under six months of age during the previous 12 months and more than 40% of producers have lost animals to the disease over the same period.
