The Wynnstay Calf and Youngstock section of the AgriHub is written by specialist in the field. Our lambing news and advice is created to prepare you for the lambing season, making sure that not only is you lambing shed ready but also both lamb and ewe health is managed.
Our team of calf specialists are highly experienced in the field of calf rearing, their blog posts offer calf rearing advice and news for both dairy and beef farmers. Our calf news section looks at calf housing, feeding and health. It also offer advice on how to improve profits and margins on farm.
Sam Ashcroft of Rosehill Farm, Chorley buys in two to four-week-old dairy bred beef calves; usually Blue and Hereford crosses. They are fed 2.5-3L of Wynngold SuperNova mixed at 150g/L either end of the day through Milkbar 3-teat compartment feeders.
If you are looking for the most cost-effective way of rearing pre-weaned youngstock, studies have now confirmed that whey protein concentrate and skim are equivalent sources of dairy protein in milk replacers for high performing young calves fed up to 1,050g of milk solids per day.
This latest independent research – confirmed in recent trial (2019) work by AFBI at Hillsborough in Northern Ireland – will be well received by farmers wedded to skim, who at times may be interested in a cost-effective alternative when global skim prices rise.
Pneumonia and scours are the two main problems in calves that vet advice is asked for. Often these diseases occur in severe outbreaks where calves can be lost if not treated appropriately and quickly, but these can be prevented avoiding stress, production losses and saving you money on vet bills!
Colostrum management is the key aspect to any successful calf rearing system. We know the importance of feeding our calves colostrum quickly (within 2 hours of birth), quality (>50mg/l) and quantity (10% of birthweight) but do we know the detrimental effect of the contamination within colostrum if we were to leave it standing after harvesting.
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 Many targets have become outdated with the emphasis now on producing bigger, stronger heifers that we are rearing for longevity and lifetime production.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.
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?
Choosing a calf milk replacer (CMR) can be a minefield with so many available. The CMR market is easily divisible into two groups; whey-based powders and skim-based powders providing the two main sources of dairy protein. Choosing the right powder for your system is not only vital to the productivity of pre-weaning calves but the lifetime performance and profitability of each animal.
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.
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.
