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.
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.
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.
Recent years have seen research turn toward calf rearing and capitalising on the genetic potential of the animal; with a particular focus on dairy calves.
There is limited information on feeding and rearing beef calves, with even less on how feeding calves can impact finishing age and carcass quality. We are now beginning to see supermarket requirements for beef changing, with a greater demand for uniform cuts, and as farmers we invest so much at the finishing stage to meet these requirements.
Trouw Nutrition GB Ruminant Specialist, Georgina Thomas, explains how the LifeStart Programme gives dairy producers the key to unlocking the full potential of their calves, leading to significant increases in herd productivity.
The preweaning stage is the perfect opportunity to programme heifers for much greater mammary mass, fostering the ability to produce and secrete more milk in the future. In fact, over 1,500 genes within the functional tissue of the mammary gland can be influenced.
