Calf & Youngstock

Read about the Calf Team study tour to Bavaria, Germany and Northern Ireland. Calf & Youngstock specialist, Laura Monk discusses her take home messages.

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.

You have done the hard bit…figured out where you’re going to source calves from, what powder to feed them, and what starter feed is best. Now you are faced with the many options for how to feed the chosen milk powder, and with those options, host a range of costings.

The importance of a colostrum to a calf is well known and can’t be over stated. Guaranteeing a calf receives an adequate amount of good-quality colostrum soon after birth, is one of the most important things to ensure strong, healthy growth and will have a major impact on farm profitability.

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.

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.

Far too often calf rearers get caught up blaming “uncontrollable factors”, mainly the weather, for poor growth rates or poor health in their calves. But arguably, doing a better job of things that are within our control would produce a stronger calf able to deal with additional challenges.

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.

Irfon Jenkins, along with his brother Eurig and father Aeron farm 94 hectares, milking 400 and supplying First Milk. All replacement heifers are reared, and Friesian bulls/Belgian blue calves are sold at 8-16 days depending on breed. This year the family have experienced tremendous calf health.

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.